Senior Yocto Build Engineer

Ford; Palo Alto, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 139,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Parental leave and back-up child care

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off and holidays

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Ford is seeking an experienced embedded build systems engineer to design, implement and optimize Yocto/OpenEmbedded environments for automotive platforms. The role focuses on layers, recipes, BSPs, and toolchain setups across multiple architectures.

You will drive secure, reproducible builds and collaborate with stakeholders to meet quality and delivery goals. Hybrid work arrangement and extensive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, STEM, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Yocto Project and OpenEmbedded build systems.
• Strong experience developing and maintaining layers, recipes, machine files, distro configurations, and image builds for Linux-based embedded systems.
• Expert-level understanding of Git and version control strategies, including branching, release management, and layered software integration.
• Deep knowledge of Linux internals, cross-compilation, toolchains, and embedded software packaging workflows.
• Experience with C/C++ development and toolchain customization for embedded systems.
• Scripting experience in Python and Bash.
• Experience with containerization technologies and tools such as Docker, Podman, and Buildah.
• Strong understanding of build security practices, artifact signing, reproducibility, and vulnerability scanning for embedded systems.
• Experience with build performance optimization, observability, and metrics collection for large-scale Yocto environments.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain Yocto/OpenEmbedded build systems for automotive and embedded Linux platforms.
• Create and optimize layer stacks, recipes, machine configurations, distro policies, and image definitions for production targets.
• Develop and maintain BSP integrations, SDK generation, and cross-toolchain setups for multiple architectures.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable embedded build system improvements.
• Drive architectural decisions for build reproducibility and image composition strategies.
• Develop and maintain automation tools, scripts, and internal build frameworks.
• Manage build infrastructure, including local and CI-based Yocto builds and artifact retention.
• Implement security practices for embedded builds, including signed artifacts and SBOM generation.
• Ensure compliance with automotive standards while supporting multi-target development.
• Document build architecture and operational procedures for teams and releases.

Skills

Yocto Project

OpenEmbedded

Build systems

BSP integrations

C/C++ development

Python scripting

Linux internals

Cross-compilation

Git

CI/CD tooling

Container technologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Git

Docker

Podman

Buildah

Job description

What you'll do

• Design, implement, and maintain Yocto/OpenEmbedded build systems for automotive and embedded Linux platforms.


• Create and optimize layer stacks, recipes, machine configurations, distro policies, and image definitions for production targets.


• Develop and maintain BSP integrations, SDK generation, and cross-toolchain setups for multiple hardware architectures and target boards.


• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and translate them into scalable embedded build system improvements that support quality, security, and delivery speed.


• Drive architectural decisions for build reproducibility, layered customization, dependency management, and image composition strategies.


• Develop and maintain automation tools, scripts, and internal build frameworks to streamline image builds, testing, and release workflows.


• Manage build infrastructure, including local and CI-based Yocto builds, sstate caching, shared downloads, and artifact retention strategies.


• Implement security practices for embedded builds, including signed artifacts, vulnerability scanning, SBOM generation, and compliance with manufacturing requirements.


• Ensure compliance with automotive industry standards and regulatory requirements while supporting embedded software development across multiple target platforms.


• Document build architecture, layer structure, image definitions, and operational procedures for engineering teams and release stakeholders.


• Provide support for build-related incidents, performance issues, recipe failures, and release blockers across development and validation environments.


• Establish build metrics, KPIs, and dashboards to monitor build health, throughput, and developer productivity.


• Optimize Yocto build performance through layer cleanup, incremental build tuning, cache strategy adjustments, and dependency pruning.


• Work with third-party vendors, silicon partners, and platform teams to integrate BSPs, toolchains, and software modules into the release pipeline.


• Drive adoption of Yocto best practices across development teams and mentor engineers on embedded Linux build workflows, automation, and debugging.


• Provide technical leadership as a senior IC, helping shape the roadmap for embedded Linux build infrastructure, toolchain evolution, and software delivery.

You’ll have

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, STEM, or equivalent professional experience.


• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Yocto Project and OpenEmbedded build systems.


• Strong experience developing and maintaining layers, recipes, machine files, distro configurations, and image builds for Linux-based embedded systems.


• Expert-level understanding of Git and version control strategies, including branching, release management, and layered software integration.


• Deep knowledge of Linux internals, cross-compilation, toolchains, and embedded software packaging workflows.


• Experience with C/C++ development and toolchain customization for embedded systems.


• Scripting experience in Python and Bash.


• Experience with containerization technologies and tools such as Docker, Podman, and Buildah.


• Strong understanding of build security practices, artifact signing, reproducibility, and vulnerability scanning for embedded systems.


• Experience with build performance optimization, observability, and metrics collection for large-scale Yocto environments.

Even better, you may have

• Master's degree in Computer Science or other STEM focus areas with prior experience as an embedded software developer.


• Experience with AOSP build system and Android repo workflows.


• Experience with Bazel, CMake, or other build systems in a mixed-language embedded environment.


• Experience with automotive ECUs, Linux-based compute platforms, or multiple target architectures.


• Programming experience in Rust and Cargo, including integrating Rust components into embedded Linux product stacks.


• Experience with BSP maintenance, kernel customization, bootloader integration, and device tree updates.


• Knowledge of automotive industry standards, including ISO 26262 and ASPICE.


• Familiarity with regulatory compliance requirements for embedded systems.


• Experience with vulnerability scanning and security tooling in software supply chains.


• Experience with artifact management, release pipelines, and software factory automation.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder...or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage


• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more


• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more


• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases


• Tuition assistance


• Established and active employee resource groups


• Paid time off for individual and team community service


• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day


• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a salary grade 8 and ranges from $138,800-232,700.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
Internal applicants: moving into this role may result in an adjustment to your current compensation based on the posted pay range for this role, taking into consideration your qualifications and other relevant factors.

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week.