Electrical Hardware Test Engineer – MCU

General Motors; Warren (MI); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Relocation benefits

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Hardware Test Engineer – MCU to join the Semiconductor Center of Excellence. You will define test strategies, perform MCU and board‑level characterization, and develop automated tests to validate silicon and hardware across EVKs, reference boards, and ECUs.

You will work with hardware design, ECU teams, and software to translate requirements into tests, mentoring junior engineers and contributing to robust test content and processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering or related field.
• 4+ years in hardware validation or test engineering for complex digital systems.
• Strong understanding of MCU subsystems from validation and debug perspective.
• Experience bringing up complex digital boards with power sequencing and interface bring‑up.
• Experience creating structured hardware test plans with traceability to requirements.
• Proficiency with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, analyzers, power supplies, etc.).
• Hands‑on electrical characterization across PVT corners and operating modes.
• Debug automotive serial interfaces (CAN‑FD, LIN, Ethernet, SPI) and high‑speed memories.

Responsibilities

• Define end‑to‑end hardware test strategies for MCUs across EVKs, reference boards, and ECUs.
• Plan and execute MCU and board level electrical characterization tests.
• Develop and maintain automated test frameworks and scripts.
• Create test content for MCU subsystems and interfaces (CAN, LIN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART).
• Use lab equipment to characterize signals, validate timing, and root‑cause issues.
• Collaborate with MCU designers, ECU teams, and software to map requirements to tests.
• Develop reusable test procedures and documentation across programs.
• Support DV/PV environmental testing and diagnostics for MCU functionality.

Skills

MCU subsystems

Hardware bring‑up

Python scripting

C/C++

Test automation

Power management

Signal integrity

Diagnostics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Protocol analyzers

Power supplies

Electronic loads

JTAG tools

Job description

Job Description The Role

General Motors is at the forefront of the transformation of automotive with the electrification of our portfolio and the development of leading‑edge central compute, connectivity, and autonomous capabilities. Our Semiconductor Engineering team is a dynamic, high‑energy, and innovative group focused on design and commercialization of leading‑edge silicon enabling the future of GM’s Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) platforms – central compute units, connectivity modules, and other controllers. We are seeking a skilled and driven Hardware Test Engineer – MCU to join our Semiconductor Center of Excellence. This role will contribute to the definition, development, and execution of hardware test strategies for state‑of‑the‑art Microcontroller (MCU) solutions used in next‑generation automotive electronics platforms. You will be responsible for MCU and MCU‑centric ECU board bring‑up, test plan creation, automated test development, and systematic debug to ensure our silicon and hardware platforms meet functional, performance, and reliability goals from early samples through production.

Responsibilities

• Define end‑to‑end hardware test strategies and structured bring‑up plans for MCUs and associated components (embedded flash, SRAM, external flash/DRAM where applicable, PMIC, transceivers, watchdog, oscillators) across EVKs, reference boards, and ECUs — including power‑on sequencing, clock/reset validation, basic sanity, peripheral bring‑up, regression suites, coverage goals, and clear pass/fail criteria.
• Plan and execute MCU and board‑level electrical characterization testing (for example voltage/current limits, static and dynamic power, leakage, sleep/wake current, timing margins, and I/O thresholds) across PVT corners and operating modes.
• Design, implement, and maintain automated test frameworks and scripts (for example, Python, C/C++, or similar) to improve coverage, repeatability, and execution efficiency.
• Develop test content and automation for key MCU subsystems and interfaces, such as CAN, LIN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, embedded flash & SRAM, ADC/DAC, PWM/timers, and HSM/security IP, including margin, and stress testing.
• Use lab equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, JTAG tools, etc.) to characterize signals, validate timing and margins, and root‑cause hardware issues.
• Partner closely with MCU hardware design engineers, ECU hardware teams, and software teams to translate system requirements into concrete test cases and coverage metrics.
• Develop and maintain reusable test procedures, documentation, and checklists that can be applied across multiple programs and platforms.
• Support DV/PV and component environmental testing by defining hardware functional monitoring, lab setups, and diagnostics required to exercise MCU‑level functionality.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to junior engineers on test methods, lab best practices, and debug techniques.

Qualifications – Required

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience in hardware validation or test engineering for complex digital systems, MCUs, or high‑integration ECUs.
• Strong understanding of MCU subsystems and IP blocks (CPU cores including lockstep, embedded flash, peripherals, automotive networking, power management, and safety mechanisms) from a validation and debug perspective.
• Proven hands‑on experience bringing up and testing complex digital boards, including power sequencing, clock/reset validation, and interface bring‑up.
• Demonstrated experience creating and executing structured hardware test plans, including definition of objectives, coverage, pass/fail criteria, and traceability to requirements.
• Proficiency with lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, and precision power / current measurement tools.
• Hands‑on experience with MCU and board‑level electrical characterization (voltage/current limits, static and dynamic power, leakage, timing margins, and I/O thresholds) across PVT corners, including correlation to specifications and models.
• Practical experience debugging automotive serial interfaces (CAN‑FD, LIN, Ethernet, SPI) and/or higher‑speed memory interfaces, including interpretation of signal integrity and timing issues.
• Experience developing automated hardware tests and data collection scripts (Python, C/C++, or similar scripting environments).
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to isolate root causes across silicon, board, and software boundaries.
• Exceptional collaboration and teamwork skills; proven ability to work across functional and organizational boundaries.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple test efforts in parallel, including planning, execution, and reporting.

Qualifications – Preferred

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with validation of automotive or other safety‑critical MCUs and ECUs.
• Experience defining and executing environmental, reliability, and margin testing (voltage/temperature corners, jitter and eye diagrams, long‑duration stress).
• Experience with test automation frameworks, CI pipelines, and lab management tools used to run large‑scale automated regressions.

Hybrid Role

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}. The selected candidate will be required to travel <25% for this role. This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

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