Sr. Electronics Design and Characterization Engineer (Zonal BMS)

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Irvine, CA

About The Position

The Electronics Test and Validation team owns the module-level validation testing for all RV Tech electronic control units (ECUs). It is our responsibility to make sure RV Tech electronics are designed and manufactured correctly. With this goal in mind, we develop scalable tools, processes, hardware, and software solutions deployed for characterization, validation, and manufacturing. In this role, you will be a key individual contributor driving both design review and hardware characterization for vehicle electronics, with a particular focus on Zonal ECUs. You are not just assessing finished boards—you will actively review schematics alongside the EE design team early in the cycle, providing critical feedback to optimize the design and architect best-in-class verification methods. Because Zonal controllers feature high-density I/O and complex power switching (high-side/low-side drivers, e-fuses, PWM/H-bridges, and diagnostic circuits), success requires deep expertise in low-level electronics and circuit analysis. You will work cross-functionally across hardware engineering to ensure our electronics are built for peak performance, reliability, and seamless bench verification.

Requirements

BS/MS or equivalent work experience in Electrical Engineering or related field.
7+ years of experience in electronics design, characterization and validation testing.
Experience using lab instrumentation like oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, digital multimeters, DAQ, source measure units, current probes, and switch matrices.
Strong understanding of Electrical Engineering fundamentals and circuit analysis.
Experience in scripting and data analysis using Python.
Demonstrated use of AI tools (Claude, Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor, or similar) to write and refactor test code and to analyze characterization data, with sound judgment about where AI-generated work needs human verification.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on characterization experience with zonal/body controllers, power distribution or e-fuse modules, or motor/actuator drivers.
Familiar with low-level firmware and C programming.
Experience with Altium Designer.
Working knowledge of vehicle electrical systems and communication buses (Ethernet, SPI, CAN, LIN, SENT, etc.) and diagnostic protocols (UDS, XCP).
Experience in developing automated test setups.
Experience designing custom PCBAs, load emulation boards, or high-current test fixtures.
Practical understanding of automotive power fundamentals: load dump and transient immunity (ISO 7637 / ISO 16750), inrush and inductive kickback, current sensing methods (shunt vs. Hall), grounding and return path design, thermal derating, and measurement uncertainty.
Familiarity with ISO 26262 functional safety concepts and characterization evidence for ASIL-rated components.
Experience in Databricks or similar environment.
Proficient with using electronics simulation applications such as LTspice, PSpice, SIMetrix

Responsibilities

Develop detailed design verification and characterization test plans and test requirements for all phases of ECU programs, with input from reliability, design, and firmware teams.
Execute characterization testing plans according to project milestones.
Own test coverage reports and analysis.
Perform bench-level characterization at IC and PCBA levels, including high-side driver (HSD) and low-side driver behavior, output current and voltage limits, switching characteristics, wetting current, inrush and inductive kickback, current sense accuracy, quiescent and sleep current, and thermal derating.
Characterize protection and diagnostic behavior across fault conditions: open load, short to battery, short to ground, pin-to-pin shorts, over-current, over-voltage, reverse polarity, and load dump — and verify the ECU reports the correct diagnostics.
Lead the electronic fuse testing efforts for Zonal ECUs, including I2T characterization, repeatability across temperature, and correlation to design intent.
Provide early feedback to design engineers regarding design decisions and testability.
Support creation and present Design for Testability (DFT) reports for ECU designs.
Follow characterization schedules and communicate status with upper management and cross-functional teams.
Write automation scripts and instrumentation drivers to speed up characterization testing using Python, using AI coding agents to accelerate development while owning code quality, review, and validation.
Leverage AI tooling to analyze characterization datasets at scale — surfacing parametric drift, part-to-part and temperature-dependent variation, outliers, and failure clustering — and turn those findings into concrete design or test recommendations, with sound judgment about verifying AI-generated conclusions before acting on them.
Work with software engineers to flash, test, and troubleshoot firmware.
Participate in the cross-functional effort to root cause non-compliance test results during testing by leveraging data analysis, and drive design, firmware, and test partners to closure on findings.