Senior Vehicle Motion Controls Platform Engineer – Steering or Suspension

General Motors; Milford Charter Township (MI); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation benefits

Job summary

General Motors in Milford Charter Township, Michigan is seeking an experienced automotive controls engineer to lead end-to-end vehicle-motion controls design in the VMCC Platform Design team, focusing on steering or suspension domains.

You will translate vehicle dynamics into control architectures, develop model-based and embedded software, and mentor cross-functional teams to deliver robust, production-ready solutions.

Qualifications

• Requires MSc/PhD in Controls, Robotics, Aerospace, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• Minimum 5+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent collaboration and communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end controls design for steering or suspension/vertical-motion domains.
• Develop reusable control and estimation algorithms translating vehicle objectives into actuator commands.
• Coordinate with chassis domains to deliver cohesive vehicle-motion behavior.
• Translate vehicle dynamics and handling goals into control requirements and calibration strategies.
• Apply model-based development, HIL/DiL, and in-vehicle testing to design and validate controls.

Skills

MSc/PhD in Controls/ Robotics/ EE

5+ years experience

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

MSc or PhD in Controls, Robotics, Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering or equivalent

Tools

DOORS

DNG

JAMA

dSPACE HiL

Job description

The Role:
At General Motors, the Vehicle Motion Controls and Estimation (VMCC) Platform Design team develops reusable vehicle-motion control and estimation solutions for future vehicle platforms. This role provides technical leadership in either the steering-controls domain or the suspension and vertical-motion-controls domain, depending on the position.

Job Description
The Role:
At General Motors, the Vehicle Motion Controls and Estimation (VMCC) Platform Design team develops reusable vehicle-motion control and estimation solutions for future vehicle platforms. This role provides technical leadership in either the steering-controls domain or the suspension and vertical-motion-controls domain, depending on the position.

The steering focus includes electric power steering (EPS), steer-by-wire, and active rear steering. The suspension focus includes semi-active and active suspension and vertical vehicle motion. In either focus area, you will own the technical domain while helping develop a scalable VMCC platform that supports multiple vehicle configurations, actuator
technologies, operating modes, and driver modes.

This role is designed for an experienced automotive controls engineer from a leading OEM or Tier 1 supplier who can lead work from vehicle-dynamics analysis through control- architecture and algorithm design and into production software, calibration, and vehicle validation.

What You’ll do:

• Lead end-to-end controls design for either the steering or suspension/vertical-motion domain.
• Develop reusable control and estimation algorithms that translate vehicle-level motion objectives into actuator commands while accounting for system constraints, operating modes, and degraded operation.
• For steering-focused positions, develop controls for EPS, steer-by-wire, and active rear steering, including steering response, driver feedback, desired-state and trajectory tracking, disturbance rejection, mode transitions, and fault-tolerant or degraded operation.
• For suspension-focused positions, develop controls for adaptive and active suspension, including ride, handling, body-motion, wheel-motion, roll, pitch, and heave objectives.
• Define platform interfaces, control ownership, actuator coordination, arbitration, and technology-specific extensions that scale across vehicle configurations.
• Develop vehicle-motion state estimators, observers, sensor-processing and sensor-fusion methods, system-identification approaches, and parameter-estimation techniques that support robust controls performance.
• Coordinate with braking, propulsion, rear-steering, and other chassis domains to deliver cohesive vehicle-motion behavior.
• Translate vehicle-dynamics, ride, handling, stability, comfort, and controllability objectives into control requirements, performance metrics, algorithms, and calibration strategies.
• Use model-based development, vehicle-dynamics simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), driver-in-the-loop (DiL), and in-vehicle testing to design, calibrate, verify, and validate controls.
• Implement algorithms in production-oriented embedded software and support requirements development, interface definition, design reviews, diagnostics, and software-release activities.
• Provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, resolve cross-functional issues, and communicate design decisions across controls, software, systems, calibration, test, and program teams

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• MSc or PhD in Controls, Robotics, Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering or equivalent degree with relevant experience.
• 5+ year of relevant experience
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver clear technical reports and presentations.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills.
• Valid driver’s license for occasional test support.

What Will Give You A Competitive Edge (Preferred Skills)

• Experience writing and understanding software/hardware requirements and interfaces, with exposure to tools such as DOORS, DNG, JAMA, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with automotive product release and specification processes.
• Knowledge of related automotive systems (powertrain, driveline, CAN/LIN networks).
• Experience with advanced test setups (dSPACE HiL, DiL) and/or in-vehicle track testing.

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}. Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy.

About GM

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