ADAS Software Update Systems Engineer

Ford; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Parental leave

Vehicle discount program

Job summary

Ford Motor Company in Michigan is seeking an experienced Software Update Architect for the ADAS program. You will own the OTA strategy, translate system use cases into software/hardware requirements, and collaborate with software engineers, suppliers, and Cloud Ops to ensure robust updates across ECUs.

You will define validation criteria, maintain architecture decisions, and guide cross‑functional teams to meet safety and security standards while operating in a hybrid onsite setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer/Electrical/Systems Engineering or related field.
• 2+ years in systems engineering, embedded software, or automotive electronics with OTA experience.
• Experience owning system requirements from concept through production using formal SE methods.
• Strong knowledge of software update architectures including sequencing, rollback, and multi-ECU coordination.
• Experience with automotive networking and diagnostic protocols: UDS, CAN/CAN-FD, DoIP, and Ethernet.
• Familiarity with ECU architecture and embedded constraints; working with suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own the software update strategy for the ADAS system from concept to production.
• Ensure updates meet corporate specs and architecture, including networking standards.
• Evaluate specs, identify gaps, and translate to implementable requirements.
• Author specifications and behavioral models translating use cases into requirements.
• Communicate complex requirements to D&R engineers, suppliers, Cloud Ops, and Systems teams.
• Guide implementation with software engineers and resolve design questions.
• Lead or support anomaly investigations and feed findings back to architecture.
• Define validation criteria and ensure traceability of decisions.

Skills

Systems engineering

Embedded software

Automotive electronics

Requirements management

MBSE

UDS

CAN/CAN-FD

DOORS

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

UDS

CAN/CAN-FD

Ethernet

DoIP

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.

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.

Benefits

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.