ADAS Software Update Systems Engineer

Ford Motor Company • Dearborn, MI

8d • $99,600 - $166,600 • Hybrid

About The Position

The ADAS Software Update Systems Engineer owns the system design, specification, and analysis of software update/OTA (over the air) update functionality for the ADAS system, ensuring ADAS software can be successfully updated in accordance with corporate vehicle software update expectations and processes.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
• 2+ years of experience in systems engineering, embedded software, or automotive electronics, with responsibility for software update / OTA systems.
• Demonstrated experience owning system requirements from concept through production, using formal systems engineering methods (e.g., MBSE, requirements management tools such as DOORS or similar).
• Strong understanding of software update/OTA architectures — including update sequencing, dependency management, rollback strategies, and multi-ECU coordination.
• Ability to evaluate existing specifications and identify gaps, translating high-level architecture into detailed, implementable requirements.
• Working knowledge of automotive networking and diagnostic protocols, including UDS (ISO 14229), CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet-based automotive networks, and related standards (e.g., ISO 15765, DoIP).
• Familiarity with ECU architecture and embedded software development constraints (memory, bootloader design, flash/partitioning strategies).
• Experience partnering directly with software/controls engineers during implementation, including reviewing designs and resolving ambiguities in requirements.
• Experience working with external suppliers, including reviewing supplier deliverables against specification and holding suppliers accountable to technical requirements.
• Strong documentation discipline, with experience maintaining architecture decision records, specifications, and traceability artifacts.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering, embedded software, or automotive electronics, with responsibility for software update / OTA systems.
• Experience working on ADAS, active safety, or other safety-critical automotive systems.
• Experience working on software update / OTA systems for highly complex systems or modules.
• Experience with cloud-based OTA campaign management systems (e.g., campaign orchestration, fleet management, telemetry feedback loops).
• Experience with systems engineering or electronic component release engineering during major vehicle build launch milestones.
• Strong root-cause analysis (e.g., 8D, 5-Why) and problem-solving skills, with experience leading or contributing to technical anomaly/defect investigations.
• Familiarity with Agile/SAFe development environments in an automotive or embedded context.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own the software update strategy for the ADAS system, defining system requirements from concept through production using systems engineering principles, and ensuring alignment with the team's overall functional strategy and architecture.
• Ensure the ADAS system meets corporate software update specifications and architecture requirements, as well as networking and diagnostic standards such as UDS (ISO 14229).
• Evaluate corporate software update specifications and architecture and identify where further specification is required to achieve successful software update for the ADAS system based on system architecture and ECU design.
• Author specifications and behavioral models (e.g., state diagrams, sequence diagrams) that translate system-level use cases into implementable requirements for software and hardware teams.
• Communicate complex technical requirements clearly to a diverse set of partners, including D&R engineers, suppliers, Cloud Operations, and Systems teams.
• Partner directly with software engineers throughout development to guide implementation, resolve open design questions, and ensure requirements are correctly interpreted and realized in code.
• Lead or support investigations into anomalies identified during development, working with internal engineering functions and suppliers to identify root cause and feed findings back into system architecture and specifications.
• Define validation criteria for the specifications you author, treating validation as the final checkpoint of a strategy you built — not a standalone verification task.
• Manage software update issue triage across the product lifecycle.
• Collaborate with the appropriate cybersecurity and functional safety counterparts to ensuring update mechanisms (e.g., rollback, integrity checks, authentication) meet ADAS-level safety and security requirements.
• Maintain clear documentation of architecture decisions, specifications, and validation outcomes to support traceability and knowledge transfer across teams.

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