Staff Embedded Controls Engineer, Vehicle Motion

Ford; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,200 - 283,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Flexible family care days

Tuition assistance

Vehicle discount program

Paid holidays

Job summary

Ford is seeking a Staff Embedded Controls Software Engineer to advance a centralized vehicle motion control system, bridging the driver with vehicle dynamics in a safety-critical environment.

The role requires a master’s degree in EE/ME/CS, 6+ years in embedded controls, hardware bring-up, and strong C, Python, and RTOS skills; you will lead tests, reviews, and interfaces with hardware and suppliers.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in electrical/mechanical engineering or computer science with evidence of exceptional ability.
• 6+ years of experience on embedded controls systems such as chassis systems or vehicle dynamics.
• 6+ years of experience with electrical hardware applications and prototype bring-up.
• 6+ years of experience with Vehicle Network Protocols such as CAN, LIN & Automotive Ethernet.
• 6+ years of experience with C, Python, Git, Bazel, CANape, and RTOS.
• Experience with systems development, vehicle architecture, and functional safety principles.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement control strategies for lateral and longitudinal vehicle dynamics.
• Collaborate with suppliers to define interfaces into 3rd party components.
• Lead subsystem reviews and capture component-level requirements.
• Perform functional safety analyses of complex subsystems.
• Develop test plans and validate firmware functionality across conditions.
• Enable hardware bring-up and unit/SIL/HIL testing frameworks.

Skills

Embedded controls

C

Python

Git

RTOS

CANape

Bazel

CMake

Scons

Education

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

Tools

CANape

Bazel

CMake

Scons

Python

RTOS

Automotive Ethernet

CAN

Job description

The dynamics that a driver feels as lateral and longitudinal forces in a vehicle define the vehicle's DNA. Join us in developing our next-generation centralized vehicle motion control system, where we can further bridge the interaction between the driver and the vehicle in a natural and intuitive way.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Staff Embedded Controls Software Engineer to join our team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in embedded development for complex, distributed, safety-critical embedded systems and hands‑on experience developing math- and physics-based control strategies.

What you’ll do

• Create and implement the control strategy for various vehicle motion attributes and functions, including lateral and longitudinal vehicle dynamics.
• Work with suppliers to define functions and interfaces into 3rd party components, driving further consolidation and integration of vehicle functions into our centralized vehicle motion control system.
• Collaborate with software integration teams to bring up core functions and broadcast software level requirements to electrical hardware and systems teams.
• Understand functional safety principles and participate in functional safety analyses of complex vehicle subsystems.
• Develop comprehensive test plans and perform thorough testing to validate firmware functionality, stability, and performance under various conditions.
• Author subsystem block diagrams and lead subsystem reviews through all vehicle program development phases
• Collaborate with other system integration leads to capture component level requirements, provide subject matter expertise in sourcing discussions, and collect and approve Device Transmittals.
• Early phases of firmware development will focus on hardware validation, labcar testing, and setting up the automation framework for unit, SIL and HIL testing.

You’ll have

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Computer Science, with evidence of exceptional ability, or equivalent.
• 6+ years of experience on embedded controls systems such as chassis systems, VCM, or similar dynamic functions.
• 6+ years of experience on electrical hardware applications, prototype bring-up, and systems development.
• 6+ years of experience with Vehicle Network Protocols such as CAN, LIN & Automotive Ethernet
• 6+ years of experience with C, Python, Git, Bazel, CANape, and RTOS
• Strong EE fundamentals and hands‑on experience with electrical test equipment (oscilloscopes, DMMs, signal generators, power supplies, etc.)
• 4+ years of experience using embedded networking interface tools for automotive, aerospace, or similar field
• Experience and working knowledge of systems development, vehicle architecture, battery technologies, software/hardware tool development, motor calibration technologies, OBD calibration, functional safety, network, and diagnostics processes
• Experience with creating and executing component‑level test procedures and owning all test results.

Even better, you may have

• Highly collaborative mindset and strong communication skills
• Experience developing features such as hill hold, stability controls, anti-lock braking, park assist, cruise or adaptive cruise control, or other similar vehicle dynamic features.
• Experience with software build tools like Bazel, Scons, Cmake etc.
• Experience with fundamental hardware components on PCB and their analysis tools.
• Ability to write testing scripts for using scripting languages (Python)
• Fluent in software fundamentals including software design and maintainability.
• Hands‑on experience in hardware bring‑up, system debugging, and codeoptimization
• Knowledgeofelectrical engineering fundamentals including circuit analysis and design

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 leadership level 6 and ranges from $150,200-$283,500. 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.

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. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week.