Embedded Controls Engineer, Body Controls
Ford is hiring an Embedded Controls Engineer to design, implement, and validate body-controls firmware (windows, seats, lighting, latches, wipers, small motors) from prototype through production. Day-to-day work centers on production-grade C for real-time embedded systems, RTOS/bare-metal development, CAN/LIN/Automotive Ethernet, hardware bring-up, and SIL/HIL testing.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Palo Alto, CA, United States
- Work setup
- Onsite
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Category
- Embedded
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Master's or Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Science, or equivalent experience
- 3+ years writing clean, efficient, production-grade C code for real-time embedded systems, with understanding of coding standards like MISRA C
- Hands-on experience developing with RTOS (e.g., FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS, OSEK/AUTOSAR) and bare-metal embedded software
- Strong experience in low-level debugging, hardware bring-up, and optimizing code for timing, memory footprint, and low-power modes
- 3+ years of experience on electrical hardware applications, prototype bring-up, and systems development
- 3+ years of experience with vehicle network protocols such as CAN, LIN & Automotive Ethernet
- Strong EE fundamentals and hands-on experience with electrical test equipment (oscilloscopes, DMMs, signal generators, power supplies)
- 3+ years of experience using embedded networking interface tools for automotive, aerospace, or similar fields
- Working knowledge of systems development, vehicle architecture, battery technologies, tool development, motor calibration, OBD calibration, functional safety, network, and diagnostics processes
- Experience creating and executing component-level test procedures and owning all test results
Nice to have
- Highly collaborative mindset and strong communication skills
- Experience in driver development and RTOS integration
- Experience with software build tools like Bazel, Scons, Cmake
- Experience with fundamental hardware components on PCB and their analysis tools
- Ability to write testing scripts using scripting languages (Python)
- Fluent in software fundamentals including software design and maintainability
- Hands-on experience in hardware bring-up, system debugging, and code optimization
- Knowledge of electrical engineering fundamentals including circuit analysis and design
Full description
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Embedded Controls Software Engineer to join our team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in embedded development supporting complex, distributed, safety critical embedded systems. Has hands-on experience developing drivers and controlling actuators for low-voltage motors and lighting control.
Body systems span a diverse range of critical customer-facing attributes, hardware, and software. The team is responsible for controls of seats, tailgate, windows, latches, wipers, mirrors, various sensing systems, interior and exterior lighting, and control of other small motors in the vehicle domains. We work very closely with the interiors team, exteriors teams, low voltage electrical architects, and UI/UX team to deliver the best end-to-end user experience.
What you'll do...
- Specify, design, and implement software architecture for body controls firmware, taking ownership of the software codebase from initial prototype bring-up to high-volume production.
- Create control/estimation algorithms for various body control features like window control, closure system, and lighting.
- Lead the design and integration of various body controls hardware components on electrical test assets such as benches, bucks, labcars, and vehicles.
- Collaborate with software integration teams to bring up core functions and broadcast software level requirements to electrical hardware and systems teams.
- Understand functional safety principles and participate in functional safety analyses of complex vehicle subsystems.
- Develop comprehensive test plans and perform thorough testing to validate firmware functionality, stability, and performance under various conditions, including low power modes.
- Spearhead body controls feature development, working cross-functionally with hardware, software, architecture, and many other teams to author feature boundary diagrams and validation strategies.
- Author subsystem block diagrams and lead subsystem reviews through all vehicle program development phases
- Early phases of firmware development will focus on hardware validation, labcar testing, and setting up the automation framework for unit, SIL and HIL testing.
You'll have...
- Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Science, or equivalent experience with evidence of exceptional ability.
- 3+ years of experience writing clean, efficient, and robust production-grade C code for real-time embedded systems, with a strong understanding of coding standards like MISRA C.
- Hands-on experience developing with Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) (e.g., FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS, OSEK/AUTOSAR) as well as bare-metal embedded software environments.
- Strong experience in low-level debugging, hardware bring-up, and optimizing code for timing constraints, memory (RAM/Flash) footprint, and low-power modes.