ADAS Software Update Systems Engineer

Lincoln Motor Company; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Flexible family care days

Vehicle discount program

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking an ADAS Software Update Systems Engineer to own the software update strategy for the ADAS system, from concept through production. You will define system requirements with MBSE, author specifications, and ensure alignment with networking and diagnostic standards like UDS and CAN/CAN-FD.

You will collaborate with software engineers, suppliers, and cloud teams to drive implementation, validate outcomes, and maintain traceability across architecture decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, CS, or Systems Engineering.
• 2+ years in systems engineering, embedded software or automotive electronics with OTA work.
• Experience owning system requirements from concept to production using MBSE or DOORS.
• Strong knowledge of OTA/software update architectures and validations.
• Familiarity with UDS, CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet, DoIP, and related automotive standards.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own the software update strategy for the ADAS system from concept to production.
• Define system requirements using systems engineering principles and MBSE.
• Ensure software update specs meet architecture, networking and UDS standards.
• Author state diagrams and sequence models translating use cases to requirements.
• Collaborate with software engineers, D&R, suppliers and Cloud Ops to guide implementation.
• Lead investigations into anomalies and define validation criteria for specifications.
• Maintain architecture decisions and traceability artifacts across teams.

Skills

Embedded systems

Automotive electronics

Systems engineering

Requirements management

MBSE

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related field

Tools

DOORS

CAN/CAN-FD

UDS ISO 14229

Ethernet automotive networks

DoIP

Bootloader design

ECU architecture

Job description

We made history and now we work to transform the future - for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

In this position...

The ADAS Software Update Systems Engineer owns the system design, specification, and analysis of software update/OTA (over the air) update functionality for the ADAS system, ensuring ADAS software can be successfully updated in accordance with corporate vehicle software update expectations and processes.

What you'll do...

Architect and own the software update strategy for the ADAS system, defining system requirements from concept through production using systems engineering principles, and ensuring alignment with the team's overall functional strategy and architecture.

Ensure the ADAS system meets corporate software update specifications and architecture requirements, as well as networking and diagnostic standards such as UDS (ISO 14229).

Evaluate corporate software update specifications and architecture and identify where further specification is required to achieve successful software update for the ADAS system based on system architecture and ECU design.

Author specifications and behavioral models (e.g., state diagrams, sequence diagrams) that translate system-level use cases into implementable requirements for software and hardware teams.

Communicate complex technical requirements clearly to a diverse set of partners, including D&R engineers, suppliers, Cloud Operations, and Systems teams.

Partner directly with software engineers throughout development to guide implementation, resolve open design questions, and ensure requirements are correctly interpreted and realized in code.

Lead or support investigations into anomalies identified during development, working with internal engineering functions and suppliers to identify root cause and feed findings back into system architecture and specifications.

Define validation criteria for the specifications you author, treating validation as the final checkpoint of a strategy you built - not a standalone verification task.

Manage software update issue triage across the product lifecycle.

Collaborate with the appropriate cybersecurity and functional safety counterparts to ensuring update mechanisms (e.g., rollback, integrity checks, authentication) meet ADAS-level safety and security requirements.

Maintain clear documentation of architecture decisions, specifications, and validation outcomes to support traceability and knowledge transfer across teams.

You'll have...

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field.

2+ years of experience in systems engineering, embedded software, or automotive electronics, with responsibility for software update / OTA systems.

Demonstrated experience owning system requirements from concept through production, using formal systems engineering methods (e.g., MBSE, requirements management tools such as DOORS or similar).

Strong understanding of software update/OTA architectures - including update sequencing, dependency management, rollback strategies, and multi-ECU coordination.

Ability to evaluate existing specifications and identify gaps, translating high-level architecture into detailed, implementable requirements.

Working knowledge of automotive networking and diagnostic protocols, including UDS (ISO 14229), CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet-based automotive networks, and related standards (e.g., ISO 15765, DoIP).

Familiarity with ECU architecture and embedded software development constraints (memory, bootloader design, flash/partitioning strategies).

Experience partnering directly with software/controls engineers during implementation, including reviewing designs and resolving ambiguities in requirements.

Experience working with external suppliers, including reviewing supplier deliverables against specification and holding suppliers accountable to technical requirements.

Strong documentation discipline, with experience maintaining architecture decision records, specifications, and traceability artifacts.

Even better, you may have...

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field.

5+ years of experience in systems engineering, embedded software, or automotive electronics, with responsibility for software update / OTA systems.

Experience working on ADAS, active safety, or other safety-critical automotive systems.

Experience working on software update / OTA systems for highly complex systems or modules.

Experience with cloud-based OTA campaign management systems (e.g., campaign orchestration, fleet management, telemetry feedback loops).

Experience with systems engineering or electronic component release engineering during major vehicle build launch milestones.

Strong root-cause analysis (e.g., 8D, 5-Why) and problem-solving skills, with experience leading or contributing to technical anomaly/defect investigations.

Familiarity with Agile/SAFe development environments in an automotive or embedded context.

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a salary grade 7 and ranges from $99,600-$166,600.

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week.