Powertrain Controls Platform Architect

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Powertrain Controls Platform Architect to join our department. This role is crucial for the development and integration of powertrain control modules, ensuring robust and efficient operation across various vehicle applications within the evolving landscape of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs). The successful candidate will be instrumental in configuring communication stacks and bootloaders, debugging low-level software, optimizing memory and chrono usage, and contributing to the architectural design of multi-core microcontroller solutions. A strong understanding of automotive embedded systems, C programming, bootloaders, low-level embedded software stack, AUTOSAR BSW, and sophisticated build processes is essential, coupled with an awareness of broader SDV platform concepts and how they impact powertrain systems.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent degree.
• Mastery of C programming for resource-constrained environments and low-level hardware abstraction.
• Experience in OSEK OS/AUTOSAR OS.
• Deep understanding of MCU architecture, including multi-core synchronization, memory protection units (MPU), and DMA.
• Experience in Tricore or ASIL-D Complaint Automotive microcontrollers MCAL/Low level drivers.
• Experience with UDS (ISO 14229) services, specifically Service 0x100x100x10 (Diagnostic Session Control), 0x110x110x11 (ECU Reset), 0x340x340x34 (Request Download), and 0x360x360x36 (Transfer Data).
• Experience with compilers (GHS, Tasking, or GCC) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing tools.
• Proficiency with Lauterbach Trace32 or similar hardware debuggers.
• Experience in debugging Traps/HW-SW Exception Safety and security:
• Experience in Functional safety process for ASIL-D and developing ASIL-D compliant boot software.
• Experience in programming the interface between the Main Core and the HSM (Hardware Security Module).
• Knowledge on how to implement Secure Boot, Authenticated Boot, and cryptographic signature verification (RSA/ECDSA) for every update.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of SDV and applicability to the powertrain domain, including how bootloaders interact with Vehicle OS layers and cloud-based update managers.
• Knowledge of Python or Perl for automation script development.
• Experience with Version Control Systems (GitHub, Bitbucket) and CI/CD pipelines for embedded software.

Responsibilities

• Configure and manage the communication stack for powertrain control modules using DaVinci. This includes adapting to different versions of the Vector SIP and addressing unique configuration needs for various platforms.
• Configure AUTOSAR BSW components (such as diagnostics, watchdog, NVM, and communication modules) to ensure safety, security, stability, reliability, and performance within the powertrain domain.
• Master debugging and problem-solving using Lauterbach to troubleshoot low-level processor resets and software issues, identify root causes, and implement solutions, focusing on the Communication Stack (ComStack) or low-level drivers (LLDs) provided by module suppliers (as object files).
• Develop and update section maps for Infineon TC38xx and TC39xx microcontrollers to optimize linking and building of applications, ensuring efficient placement of variables in RAM and ROM locations.
• Contribute to architecting the platform and strategically distributing runnables across different cores within powertrain microcontroller modules to maximize efficiency and achieve balanced CPU utilization.
• Develop C-code-based high-level drivers to interface with supplier-provided low-level drivers, creating bridging software that connects application software layers to the hardware.
• Integrate diverse software components, including custom device drivers, SIPs, and partner-built platform software, into the powertrain platform.
• Maintain an understanding of Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) platform systems, including hardware-agnostic design principles for microcontroller-based systems, and how powertrain control modules integrate into and contribute to overall vehicle platform requirements and common services.
• Configure the HSM and a common bootloader for the motion domain modules.
• Apply a deep understanding of C programming, pre-processors, compilers, makefiles, software build processes, and Continuous Integration (CI) automation to diagnose build issues and develop software within our established build environment.
• Analyze and troubleshoot vehicle/powertrain behavior, determine root causes, validate corrective actions, and develop preventative measures.

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