Principal Engineer, Automotive Innovation & Advanced Technologies

Stoneridge; Detroit (MI); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Stoneridge is seeking a highly experienced Principal Engineer to identify and industrialize emerging automotive technologies, shaping the future of vehicles. The role focuses on ADAS, camera systems, zonal compute, PaaK, connectivity, and software-defined vehicles, steering technology from concept to production while collaborating with startups, suppliers, and OEMs.

On-site Novi, MI with hybrid flexibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science.
• 10+ years automotive industry experience.
• Experience delivering production automotive systems and technologies.
• Strong understanding of vehicle electronics, architectures, and system integration.
• Demonstrated experience bringing innovative technologies from concept to production.
• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Scout, evaluate, and assess emerging technologies.
• Develop technology roadmaps and identify growth opportunities.
• Lead proof-of-concept and prototype activities to validate new technologies.
• Define requirements, development roadmaps, industrialization and validation concepts.
• Influence product design through technical expertise and market awareness.
• Prepare recommendations and business cases.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Innovation ability

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science

Job description

Since 1965, Stoneridge has designed and manufactured advanced, award-winning technologies including driveline and transmission actuation systems, vision systems, emissions control systems, safety systems, and security and monitoring systems for vehicle OEMs in the commercial vehicle, automotive, off-highway and agricultural vehicle markets. We’re focused on the areas of greatest market need – both today and tomorrow. Our core products and technologies are aligned with industry megatrends including safety and security, vehicle intelligence, fuel efficiency and emissions. Join the Stoneridge Team as we continue to build upon our strong history and reputation for quality products to deliver innovative products and systems that address a need, exceed our customers’ expectations, and motivate our team.

Position

Principal Engineer, Automotive Innovation & Advanced Technologies

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Engineer to identify, evaluate, and industrialize emerging technologies that will shape the future of automotive products and services.

The ideal candidate combines deep automotive engineering experience with expertise in advanced technology domains such as ADAS, camera systems, zonal architectures, Phone-as-a-Key (PaaK), connectivity, electronic control units, electrical architecture and software-defined vehicles. This individual thrives in ambiguous environments, translates innovative concepts into practical solutions, and has a demonstrated ability to bring new technologies from concept to application readiness.

Major Responsibilities

• Innovation & Technology Strategy:
  • Scout, evaluate, and assess emerging technologies.
  • Develop technology roadmaps and identify opportunities for new business growth.
  • Engage with startups, suppliers, technology partners, customers, and research organizations to evaluate innovative solutions.
  • Lead proof-of-concept and prototype activities to validate new technologies.
• Advanced Automotive Technology Leadership:
  • Serve as a technical expert in one or more advanced vehicle technology domains, with preference given to:
  • Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), camera and vision systems, zonal compute and vehicle EE architecture, phone-as-a-key (PaaK), connectivity and V2Cloud, SDV, etc.
  • Assess technology maturity, integration complexity and product readiness.
  • Support customer engagements, technical discussions, demos.
• Technical:
  • Lead the transition of innovative concepts into application-ready solutions.
  • Define requirements, development roadmaps, industrialization and validation concepts.
  • Influence product design through technical expertise and market awareness.
  • Prepare recommendations and business cases.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of automotive industry experience.
• Experience delivering production automotive systems and technologies.
• Strong understanding of vehicle electronics, architectures, and system integration.
• Demonstrated experience bringing innovative technologies from concept to production.
• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep expertise in at least one of the following: ADAS systems, automotive camera technology, zonal compute architecture, phone-as-a key (PaaK), connectivity, software-defined vehicle technology (SDV).
• Experience working with OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.
• Knowledge of AI/ML applications in automotive environments.
• Experience with innovation processes, technology incubation or advance engineering organizations
• Patent generation, technology scouting and licensing, research experience.

LOCATION AND TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Up to 15% of travel required for this position

Additional Considerations

• Relocation assistance is not offered for this position, and candidates must reside within a commutable distance to Novi, Michigan
• This role requires on-site presence a minimum of three (3) days per week, with the option to work remotely two (2) days per week

Stoneridge is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by the applicable laws in the countries we operate. Stoneridge also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories.