ADAS Interior Perception Systems Engineer

Ford • Dearborn, MI

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a statistically fluent systems engineer to define and verify performance targets for interior perception systems. Because these systems interact directly with the driver, consistency of feature experience across a diverse customer population is a core design objective. This role exists to define, measure, and continuously improve that consistency.

What success looks like in this role
Within your first few months, you will have built relationships with feature owners, hardware engineers, validation leads, and key suppliers, and developed a working understanding of our current interior perception architecture and KPI landscape.
Within your first year, you will have led the definition of a platform-level KPI and validation framework that is adopted across multiple vehicle programs, and you will be the recognized internal authority on interior perception performance methodology.
Looking further out, you will shape how Ford approaches interior perception validation for the next generation of driver-assist features, and mentor a growing community of engineers contributing to that work.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics/Statistics, or related field
• 3+ years of experience decomposing high-level feature requirements into quantitative subsystem KPIs in automotive, aerospace, defense, medical devices, or a similarly safety-relevant domain
• Demonstrated fluency in applied statistics – hypothesis testing, confidence and tolerance intervals, sample size justification, and reasoning about rare-event rates
• Experience defining or executing validation strategies under finite test budgets
• Strong communication skills – particularly the ability to explain and defend a statistical recommendation to non-statistical stakeholders and drive consensus across cross-functional teams

Nice To Haves

• Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics/Statistics, or related field
• 5+ years of systems engineering experience in a safety-relevant domain
• Experience with ADAS perception systems and performance evaluation (ROC/DET analysis, operating point selection, confusion matrix decomposition by subgroup)
• Experience with driver/occupant monitoring or camera-based biometric systems
• Proficiency in Python (or comparable language) for statistical analysis of large datasets
• Familiarity with naturalistic driving studies, exposure modeling, or reliability and field-return analysis
• Understanding of functional safety (ISO 26262) and SOTIF standards and processes
• Experience with systems modeling and/or requirements management tools (SysML/MagicDraw, Polarion, JAMA, DOORS, etc.) and failure mode analysis techniques
• Familiarity with requirement formats including INCOSE and EARS
• A track record of driving consensus on performance targets in environments with competing technical and program pressures
• Experience presenting and defending performance methodology to executive technical leadership
• History of building validation frameworks or evaluation methodologies that were adopted beyond their original scope
• Recognized depth in either applied statistics or perception system design – and working fluency in the other

Responsibilities

• Define quantitative performance targets. Translate feature-level requirements into verifiable perception subsystem KPIs (e.g., detection and false-positive rates, time-to-detect) and drive alignment on those targets with feature owners and senior leadership.
• Characterize system performance across the full range of customer and environmental noise factors (occupant anthropometry, appearance variation, eyewear, lighting, sun load) and develop methodologies to drive consistent feature availability across our customer population.
• Design statistically efficient validation strategies (design of experiments, stratified sampling, sequential testing, resampling-based confidence estimation) that characterize system robustness across interacting noise factors while making efficient use of test time and resources.
• Build application-agnostic performance and validation frameworks that decouple core perception KPIs from vehicle-specific factors such as camera mounting position, interior geometry, and occupant position, enabling reuse across platforms.
• Define real-world usage profiles and exposure models to project bench and track performance into expected field performance for a representative customer population.
• Collaborate with feature systems engineers to define design objectives, functional requirements, and architectural decisions for driver engagement systems.
• Partner directly with vendor technical leads and our hardware team to refine sensor and illuminator packaging requirements and propose system architecture modifications that reduce application sensitivity.
• Represent the interior perception subsystem in cross-functional design reviews and support root cause analysis and statistical characterization of any field issues.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level