Sr. Electrical Architecture Engineer

Blue Bird Careers•Troy, MI

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Blue Bird Corporation is seeking a Lead Electrical Architecture Engineer to define and implement the electrical architecture for next-generation commercial vehicle platforms. This role is responsible for the vehicle's electrical backbone, including power distribution, communication networks, electrical interfaces, wiring architecture, and system integration. The engineer will collaborate with Systems & Integration teams to ensure seamless integration of electrical systems, supporting manufacturability, serviceability, reliability, and future scalability. This leadership position involves providing technical direction to internal teams, suppliers, and external partners, owning electrical architecture decisions, technical standards, and design quality throughout the product lifecycle. It's an opportunity for someone who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys building new architectures from scratch, and desires significant ownership over the electrical foundation of a new vehicle platform.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field
8+ years of experience developing electrical architectures, vehicle electrical systems, or electrical integration for automotive, commercial vehicle, or heavy-duty vehicle platforms
Deep understanding of vehicle electrical architecture and electrical systems integration
Strong experience designing CAN, J1939, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, and multiplexed vehicle communication networks
Experience developing high-voltage and low-voltage electrical architectures for commercial or automotive vehicle platforms
Expertise with ECAD tools such as Siemens Capital, Zuken E3.series, AutoCAD Electrical, or equivalent
Strong understanding of electrical distribution, grounding strategies, power management, and wiring architecture
Experience developing wiring harness architecture, connector strategies, and electrical interface definitions
Familiarity with Vector CANalyzer, CANoe, CANape, and electrical diagnostic tools
Strong understanding of electrical DFMEA, DVP&R, requirements management, and systems integration methodologies
Ability to provide technical leadership across internal engineering teams, suppliers, and outsourced engineering organizations
Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and technical decision-making skills
All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience defining vehicle electrical architecture, communication networks, and electrical integration strategies for production vehicle programs
Experience leading cross-functional electrical integration activities through prototype development, validation, manufacturing launch, and production
Experience working directly with suppliers and external engineering organizations
Experience implementing multiplex electrical systems and distributed vehicle controls
Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), SysML, or architecture modeling tools
Familiarity with functional safety (ISO 26262), cybersecurity (ISO/SAE 21434), and ASPICE principles
Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline

Responsibilities

Define and own the vehicle electrical architecture, including power distribution strategy, grounding philosophy, wiring topology, electrical interfaces, and system partitioning.
Develop CAN, J1939, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, and future communication network architectures supporting propulsion, body controls, diagnostics, telematics, and vehicle systems.
Lead integration of 12V/24V electrical systems and high-voltage propulsion architectures, including batteries, inverters, DC/DC converters, charging systems, and power electronics.
Develop and maintain electrical interface definitions, connector strategies, communication mappings, and integration requirements between vehicle systems and suppliers.
Define vehicle wiring architecture, harness topology, routing strategy, electrical protection, connector selection, and serviceability requirements.
Partner with Systems Integration, Propulsion Integration, Vehicle Integration & Validation, Manufacturing, Quality, and Program Management teams to ensure electrical architecture supports vehicle-level integration and launch readiness.
Provide technical direction to suppliers and external engineering partners while maintaining ownership of electrical architecture, design quality, technical deliverables, and engineering decisions.
Support prototype builds, validation testing, manufacturing launch, and early production by resolving electrical integration issues and ensuring production-ready system performance.
Develop electrical design standards, architecture guidelines, best practices, and reusable design strategies to improve engineering consistency and future platform scalability.
Ensure electrical architectures comply with FMVSS, SAE, ISO, EMC, cybersecurity, and applicable commercial vehicle regulations and industry standards.
Create structure and drive execution in environments where requirements, technologies, and vehicle architectures are evolving simultaneously.