Senior Vehicle Motion Controls Platform Engineer – Steering or Suspension

General Motors Africa & Middle East; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation benefits

Job summary

General Motors seeks an experienced automotive controls engineer to lead end-to-end design in either steering or suspension/vertical-motion domains. You will translate vehicle motion objectives into actuator commands while accounting for modes, constraints, and fault tolerance.

You will develop estimators and sensor fusion methods, coordinate with chassis domains, and ensure robust performance through model-based methods, HIL/DiL testing, and production software readiness.

Qualifications

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

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.
• Define platform interfaces, ownership, and scaling across configurations.
• Support model-based development, HIL/DiL testing, calibration, and production software release.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication

Collaboration

Driver’s license

Education

MSc/PhD in Engineering

Tools

DOORS

JAMA

DNG

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.

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