Senior Systems Engineer, Vehicle Access & Passive Safety
About The Position
The Senior Software Systems Engineer (Vehicle Access) will lead development of requirements for software involved in vehicle access features, including immobilizers, key cards, key fobs, and digital keys. The role works with cross-functional stakeholders to establish performance requirements, review signal chains, capture interface definitions, document state machines, and coordinate verification and validation for successful feature implementation through hardware and software. The engineer leads bring-up and validation as software is delivered and supports vehicle system functionality and performance throughout the product life cycle. The position also conceptualizes, designs, engineers, develops, and supports the launch of next-generation vehicle platform architectures for electric vehicles. Product Creation and Industrialization brings together Ford’s vehicle, electric, digital, and design teams with its global manufacturing system to develop vehicles, software, and customer experiences across gas, hybrid, and electric platforms.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
- Strong understanding of systems engineering fundamentals and ability to apply them to automotive concepts.
- Experience and working knowledge of systems development, electrical architecture, functional architecture, and system integration.
- Experience with model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools.
- Experience defining complex, cross-functional features and functions and driving them to implementation.
- Experience creating and executing component- and system-level test procedures.
- Experience using Git in a collaborative development workflow.
- Excellent teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and project management skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Eagerness to work cross-functionally in a dynamic environment as part of a high-performing team.
- Systems-oriented approach to design and development, with curiosity and desire to pursue exceptional delivery execution and continuous improvement.
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States; employment eligibility will be verified at hire.
Nice To Haves
- More than 5 years of experience in systems engineering or a similar role.
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent.
- Expertise in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools.
- Experience with embedded C, Python, MATLAB, Simulink, SPICE, IQ-FMEA, or similar tools and methods.
- Experience with cryptography, cybersecurity, certificate/key exchanges, or similar.
- Experience with near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technologies.
Responsibilities
- Lead feature and function development for Vehicle Access systems, defining requirements, iterating through stakeholder reviews, and enabling software development teams.
- Define, test, and validate combined hardware and system requirements for Vehicle Access platform features and functions.
- Lead and manage integration of initial prototype systems, including debugging and engineering tests for prototype bucks, lab cars, and vehicles.
- Conduct architecture investigations and trade-off studies to optimize design strategies for experience, cost, and performance.
- Author and manage interface definitions for defined functions, including CAN and Ethernet signal definitions.
- Lead bring-up and validation activities as software is delivered and support vehicle system functionality and performance throughout the product life cycle.
Benefits
- Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, and subsidized back-up child care.
- Family-building benefits, including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement and fertility treatments.
- 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.
- Paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
- Visa sponsorship is available.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
