IVI Hardware Architecture - Technical Specialist

Ford Motor Company; Dearborn (MI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI, seeks an IVI Hardware Architecture - Technical Specialist to lead hardware direction for in-vehicle infotainment ECUs, interfaces, and power networks.

You will define requirements, review designs, and sign off on hardware before production, while guiding cross-functional teams through validation and issue resolution across concept to launch.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of automotive electronic hardware design, design and release, or electrical/electronic architecture.
• Experience defining hardware architecture, requirements, interface specs, and validation strategies for automotive ECUs.

Responsibilities

• Own hardware architecture and technical direction for IVI ECU platforms and interfaces.
• Serve as final technical sign-off for IVI ECU hardware release, and validate before production.
• Define hardware/system requirements, interface specs, architecture principles, and validation methods.
• Lead reviews of schematics, PCB layouts, power architectures, and high-speed interfaces.
• Provide technical guidance on ECU boot, power sequencing, reliability, and cross-functional issues.

Skills

Hardware architecture

Automotive electronics

Schematics review

PCB knowledge

Signal integrity

Power management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

LTspice

MATLAB/Simulink

PCB design tools

Job description

Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

The IVI Hardware Architecture - Technical Specialist is a senior, hands-on individual-contributor role responsible for the hardware architecture, technical direction, and engineering maturity of Ford in-vehicle infotainment electronic control units and their key electrical interfaces. The Technical Specialist provides deep expertise in high-performance automotive compute hardware, including power delivery, processing, memory, storage, display, connectivity, thermal, and high-speed vehicle-network interfaces.

The role defines and governs hardware requirements, architecture decisions, design reviews, validation expectations, and technical issue resolution for IVI hardware programs. Working with Ford engineering teams, suppliers, systems engineering, software, validation, quality, and vehicle electrical architecture teams, this individual ensures IVI hardware designs are robust, manufacturable, validated, and ready for production, and serves as the final technical sign-off for hardware design and pre- and post-test validation before release.

The Technical Specialist is expected to interpret schematics and PCB layouts, evaluate circuit and system behavior, support hands-on laboratory investigation when needed, and lead resolution of complex hardware and cross-domain issues from concept through launch and post-launch quality support.

The What You'll Do...

• Own the hardware architecture and technical direction for IVI ECU platforms and their interfaces to displays, vehicle networks, power modes, connectivity modules, and associated vehicle electronics.
• Serve as the final technical sign-off for IVI ECU hardware release, approving hardware design and pre- and post-test validation before production.
• Define hardware-level and system-level requirements, interface specifications, architecture principles, design constraints, and validation methods for internal teams and external suppliers.
• Lead technical reviews of schematics, PCB layouts, component selections, power architectures, thermal approaches, high-speed interfaces, and design-validation evidence.
• Evaluate hardware capability and margin for processor, memory, storage, display, connectivity, power, thermal, and network workloads.
• Provide expert technical guidance for ECU boot, wake/sleep, power sequencing, network management, reliability, performance, and hardware/software interaction.
• Lead or support hands-on lab investigations of complex board-, ECU-, and vehicle-level failures using appropriate electrical, thermal, network, and diagnostic tools.
• Review WCCA strategy and results, identify design risks, and drive mitigations with responsible design and supplier teams.
• Define and approve hardware validation, integration, robustness, EMC, environmental, and production-readiness expectations.
• Lead technical root-cause investigations and corrective actions for significant hardware and cross-functional issues using structured methods such as 8D, fishbone, fault-tree analysis, and FMEA.
• Provide technical leadership to suppliers and internal design teams; assess design maturity and provide technical recommendations for gateway, milestone, and release decisions.
• Ensure IVI hardware designs support applicable cybersecurity, functional-safety, EMC, environmental, regulatory, manufacturing, and service requirements.
  
  

You'll have...

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in automotive electronic hardware design, design and release, or electrical/electronic architecture, including work on cockpit, infotainment, connectivity, modem, gateway, or other complex vehicle ECU hardware.
• Demonstrated experience defining hardware architecture, electrical and system requirements, interface specifications, and validation strategies for automotive ECUs, and leading technical design reviews through production.
• Strong ability to read, interpret, and technically review schematics, PCB layouts, data sheets, and validation reports, with deep knowledge of high-performance compute ECU hardware — processors/SoCs, memory and storage interfaces (LPDDR, eMMC/UFS), power delivery and sequencing, thermal management, signal/power integrity, and high-speed vehicle interfaces (Automotive Ethernet, CAN/CAN FD, LIN, USB, PCIe, display).
• Proven experience resolving complex hardware issues at board, module, and vehicle-system levels using structured problem-solving methods (8D, fishbone, fault-tree, FMEA), with strong communication skills across internal teams, suppliers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
  
  

Even better, you may have...

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 15+ years of relevant automotive electronics experience, including recognized technical leadership in ECU hardware architecture, design and release, or electronics development.
• Experience serving as the technical lead or technical authority for an automotive ECU from concept through production launch and post-launch quality support.
• Deep expertise in one or more IVI hardware domains, such as power management (PMICs, DC/DC converters, load switches, sequencing, low-power modes); high-speed digital design, signal integrity, power integrity, clocking, reset, and EMI/EMC mitigation; SoC and memory subsystem integration; or thermal design, characterization, and derating for high-performance compute ECUs.
• Deep expertise in one or more IVI interface domains, such as display, touch, camera, and video hardware interfaces; Automotive Ethernet, network switch, gateway, and diagnostic hardware; or wireless and connectivity-module integration, including cellular, GNSS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, antenna, and RF coexistence considerations.
• Experience performing, reviewing, or driving closure of Worst-Case Circuit Analysis, tolerance analysis, derating analysis, and related electrical design-risk assessments, as well as automotive EMC/EMI design, test planning, test execution, and corrective-action development.
• Knowledge of automotive cybersecurity and functional-safety processes as applied to connected electronic modules (ISO/SAE 21434, ISO 26262), along with automotive product-development and quality processes such as APQP, PPAP, DFMEA, PFMEA, DV/PV, supplier technical reviews, and launch readiness; familiarity with Ford processes and tools such as GPDS is a plus.
• Proficiency with relevant lab and engineering tools (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum/network/power analyzers, electronic loads, thermal cameras, environmental chambers, CAN/Ethernet analysis tools), electrical simulation tools (LTspice, MATLAB/Simulink, Mathcad, HyperLynx, SI/PI tools), PCB design, fabrication, assembly, manufacturing test, and DFM/DFT practices, and basic scripting or automation (Python, MATLAB, or similar) for lab automation, data reduction, and test reporting.
  
  

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