Staff Platform Security Engineer

Ford • Palo Alto, CA

17h • $150,200 - $283,500 • 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.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 10+ years of embedded systems development experience
• Strong hands-on experience with Embedded C as primary development language
• Proven track record of building security into shipped embedded products
• Strong experience working in Linux-based embedded environments
• Experience designing and implementing embedded security solutions (platform-level security, secure services, key provisioning, etc.)
• Comfortable working in early-stage, prototype, and pre–go-to-market environments
• Ability to work independently, operate in ambiguity, and drive solutions end-to-end
• Experience collaborating with systems engineering, cybersecurity, and test/validation teams
• Proficiency with Git for source control
• Experience using Jira or similar tools for work tracking and issue management
• Strong problem-solving, debugging, and unit testing skills in embedded contexts

Nice To Haves

• Rust programming experience
• Experience with TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
• Experience with secure boot implementations
• Experience with key provisioning and cryptographic services
• Background in automotive platforms (highly preferred)
• Experience in consumer devices (mobile, IoT, etc.)
• Experience at semiconductor companies (e.g., Qualcomm, AMD, Intel, Broadcom)

Responsibilities

• Design and implement embedded security solutions for next-generation automotive platforms.
• Translate high-level security and system requirements into scalable, secure embedded system designs.
• Collaborate with systems engineering to refine requirements and ensure feasibility in embedded environments.
• Partner with cybersecurity teams to define and implement security architectures and platform-level security components.
• Work closely with test teams to support validation activities, including test case development and issue resolution.
• Identify gaps in existing architecture and design, then build and integrate missing components end-to-end.
• Develop, maintain, and optimize embedded software using Embedded C as the primary language.
• Implement and support unit testing and participate in broader system and integration testing efforts.
• Utilize Git for version control and Jira for task/issue tracking to manage day-to-day development work.
• Contribute to secure services, key provisioning workflows, and cryptographic operations within the platform.
• Troubleshoot complex issues in a Linux-based embedded environment, including performance and security-related defects.
• Operate as a self-directed engineer, driving delivery of key platform milestones and contributing production-level code on aggressive timelines.

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: Senior