Senior Staff WiFi Connectivity Engineer

Ford • Palo Alto, CA

4d

About The Position

Wireless Projection Optimization: Take full ownership of WiFi performance for Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. Optimize the stack for low-latency, high-throughput video streaming and jitter-free audio, ensuring a seamless user experience. Projection Certification: Lead the connectivity-side validation for Apple and Google certification. Ensure the WiFi subsystem meets all KPIs regarding connection setup time, throughput stability, and multi-protocol handling required for official projection approval. Complex Concurrency Management: Architect and implement solutions for complex WiFi use cases, including Multi-Role/Multi-Channel (MCC/SCC) concurrency. Technical Roadmap & Ownership: Define the long-term roadmap for WiFi at Ford. Take accountability for the end-to-end software lifecycle, from silicon selection to production-ready drivers. Architectural Leadership: Design and implement WiFi drivers and firmware integrations optimized for hypervisor-based architectures (Xen/KVM), ensuring robust resource sharing between Linux Dom0 and Android Guest VMs. Global Certification & WFA: Drive the strategy for WiFi Alliance (WFA) certification and regulatory compliance (FCC/CE). Establish internal standards for Interoperability (IOP) testing across global mobile device ecosystems. Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the central lead between Hardware, Antenna/RF, Cyber Security, and the Projection/Infotainment teams to ensure a cohesive wireless ecosystem. Supplier Influence: Manage technical relationships with Tier 1 chipset vendors. Influence vendor roadmaps to prioritize features like advanced co-existence and high-stability projection. 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 5 and ranges from $163,080-308,880. For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL5 Visa sponsorship is available for this position. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 10+ years in WiFi driver development and wireless systems, with a track record of shipping connectivity solutions for high-volume consumer or automotive products.
• Demonstrated experience optimizing WiFi for Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, including deep knowledge of Wi-Fi Direct (P2P) and SoftAP protocols.
• Mastery of C and C++ for Linux application / kernel-level development, specifically within the network stack (cfg80211, mac80211).
• Expert-level ability to debug and fix latency, packet loss, and throughput issues using network sniffers and logic analyzers.
• Proven experience architecting connectivity solutions in virtualized environments where hardware resources are partitioned or shared between OSs.
• Hands-on experience with Apple/Google connectivity certification requirements and WFA Sigma testing.
• Expert knowledge of 802.11 standards (including Wi-Fi 6/6E/7) and the ability to solve "impossible" bugs spanning hardware, firmware, and OS.
• BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Deep understanding of 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz co-existence and interference mitigation strategies (e.g., WiFi/Bluetooth/LTE co-ex).
• Experience implementing WPA3, secure boot, and encrypted firmware loading.
• Active contributor to the Linux Kernel or other relevant networking projects.

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of WiFi performance for Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.
• Optimize the stack for low-latency, high-throughput video streaming and jitter-free audio
• Lead the connectivity-side validation for Apple and Google certification.
• Architect and implement solutions for complex WiFi use cases, including Multi-Role/Multi-Channel (MCC/SCC) concurrency.
• Define the long-term roadmap for WiFi at Ford.
• Take accountability for the end-to-end software lifecycle, from silicon selection to production-ready drivers.
• Design and implement WiFi drivers and firmware integrations optimized for hypervisor-based architectures (Xen/KVM)
• Drive the strategy for WiFi Alliance (WFA) certification and regulatory compliance (FCC/CE).
• Establish internal standards for Interoperability (IOP) testing across global mobile device ecosystems.
• Act as the central lead between Hardware, Antenna/RF, Cyber Security, and the Projection/Infotainment teams to ensure a cohesive wireless ecosystem.
• Manage technical relationships with Tier 1 chipset vendors.
• Influence vendor roadmaps to prioritize features like advanced co-existence and high-stability projection.

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
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees