Staff Embedded Controls Engineer, Vehicle Motion

Ford; Palo Alto, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 284,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Immediate medical, dental, vision and,

Flexible family care days

Tuition assistance

Vehicle discount program

Paid time off

Job summary

Ford is seeking a Staff Embedded Controls Software Engineer to advance its next-generation centralized vehicle motion control system. The role targets embedded development for safety-critical systems with a focus on real-time control strategies and hardware bring-up.

The ideal candidate has 6+ years in embedded controls, strong C/Python skills, and experience with CAN/LIN and automotive Ethernet. This position is hybrid, with salary in the leadership range and relocation/visa sponsorship as

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent in EE, ME, or CS.
• 6+ years of embedded controls systems experience.
• 6+ years of electrical hardware applications.
• 6+ years of Vehicle Network Protocols (CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet).
• 6+ years of C, Python, Git, Bazel, CANape, and RTOS.
• Strong EE fundamentals and hands-on with electrical test equipment (oscilloscopes, DMMs, etc.).
• 4+ years using embedded networking interface tools for automotive/aerospace.
• Experience with systems development, vehicle architecture, battery technologies, software/hardware tool development, and diagnostics processes.
• Experience creating and executing component-level test procedures and owning results.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement the control strategy for vehicle motion attributes, including lateral and longitudinal dynamics.
• Collaborate with suppliers to define interfaces into 3rd party components for centralized motion control.
• Coordinate with software integration teams to bring up core functions and broadcast requirements to hardware teams.
• Understand functional safety principles and perform analyses on complex subsystems.
• Develop comprehensive test plans and validate firmware functionality across conditions.
• Author subsystem diagrams and lead reviews across development phases.
• Collaborate with system leads to capture component requirements and drive testing processes.
• In early firmware phases, focus on hardware validation, labcar testing, and automation setup for unit, SIL, and HIL testing.

Skills

C programming

Python

Git

RTOS

Vehicle networks

Hardware tests

SIL/HIL testing

Education

Master’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Bazel

SCons

CMake

CANape

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
  

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 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.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL6

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. #LI-Hybrid

#LI-MZ1 #UEV