HIL Systems Engineer - Automotive Validation & Testing

Ford, Inc; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Paid time off

Hybrid work model

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Ford is seeking a hands-on HIL System Engineer to develop, integrate, and validate vehicle systems using Hardware-in-the-Loop environments. You will build test benches with dSPACE HIL hardware and software, validate features across ADAS, EV, and Powertrain domains, and work with cross-functional teams to improve vehicle quality.

The role requires strong system-level validation experience, Python/C++ scripting, and experience with HIL tools like dSPACE ControlDesk/AutomationDesk.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 2+ years in automotive domains (ADAS, High Voltage/Electrification, Powertrain, OTA).
• 2+ years of system-level validation, integration, software testing, or quality-assurance experience.
• 2+ years commissioning, configuring, supporting, or validating dSPACE HIL simulators.
• 2+ years of experience with dSPACE ControlDesk, AutomationDesk, or similar HIL tools.
• Experience developing and maintaining automated test cases, scripts, or libraries.
• Experience with Python and C++ programming.
• Knowledge of vehicle electrical systems and embedded systems.
• Strong troubleshooting and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, configure, validate, and maintain HIL test benches and related hardware/software.
• Define feature boundaries and modeling requirements for HIL environments.
• Collaborate with core engineering teams to develop HIL strategies and test benches.
• Create, execute, and maintain system-level test plans, cases, and automated scripts.
• Develop reusable test automation libraries for System HIL environments.
• Expand test coverage and identify new test methods to improve quality.
• Analyze ECUs and vehicle features to identify validation needs and solutions.
• Configure and integrate simulation and automation tools on HIL benches.

Skills

Python

C++

Test automation

HIL testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

dSPACE HIL tools

ControlDesk

AutomationDesk

Jira

TestRail

Job description

Ford is seeking a hands-on HIL System Engineer to develop, integrate, and validate vehicle systems using Hardware-in-the-Loop environments. You will build test benches with dSPACE HIL hardware and software, validate features across ADAS, EV, and Powertrain domains, and work with cross-functional teams to improve vehicle quality.

The role requires strong system-level validation experience, Python/C++ scripting, and experience with HIL tools like dSPACE ControlDesk/AutomationDesk.