Thermal Firmware Integration Engineer - Early Career Program, Advanced EV

Ford • Palo Alto, CA

16h • Hybrid

About The Position

Ford Motor Company is hiring a Thermal Firmware Integration Engineer for a six-month Early Career Program in Advanced EV, with a start as early as spring 2027. The program offers hands-on experience working with engineering, design, and software teams to develop electric vehicles and mobility technologies. The engagement may be shorter in some cases, but candidates must be able to dedicate six months.

The role works at the boundary between thermal hardware and embedded software, supporting bring-up, integration, verification, and hands-on debugging of thermal mechatronic systems. The work involves smart pumps, valves, electric compressors, actuators, motorized registers, and sensors, with the goal of ensuring firmware behaves correctly on real hardware. Candidates may be required to work onsite four or more days per week. Eligible candidates living more than 50 miles away may receive a $5,000 pre-tax relocation stipend.

The role is part of Ford’s Product Creation and Industrialization organization, which brings together vehicle, electric, digital, design, and manufacturing teams. Ford describes thermal systems work as balancing comfort, vehicle powertrain capability, battery fast charging, energy consumption, cost, reliability, noise/vibration/harshness, and packaging through cross-functional engineering collaboration.

The position is salary grade 4. Visa sponsorship is not available. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States, and employment eligibility will be verified at hire.

Requirements

• Pursuing a degree in Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• Solid grounding in mechatronic fundamentals, including sensors, actuators, motors, and position feedback, and how they interact with embedded software.
• Ability to read, trace, and debug C/C++ on embedded targets.
• Demonstrated debugging and diagnostic ability, including judgment to identify whether a problem originates in electrical, mechanical, or software systems.
• Hands-on comfort in a laboratory, including building test setups, instrumenting hardware, and generating data.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, written communication, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment.
• GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent.
• Ability to dedicate six months to the engagement.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with automotive communication protocols such as CAN, LIN, and Ethernet and associated tooling.
• Proficiency with Vector tools such as CANalyzer, CANoe, or CANape, or equivalent calibration and debugging environments.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop or bench-in-the-loop test environments.
• Familiarity with diagnostic standards and services such as UDS and DTC design, functional safety practice such as ISO 26262, or risk assessment methods such as FMEA/HARA.
• Knowledge of thermal physics, fluid mechanics, psychrometrics, or HVAC principles.
• Experience with electronics bench instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, and current probes.
• Experience with Agile delivery and workflow tools such as Jira and Confluence, and requirements management tools such as Jama.
• Experience with version control such as Git and code review practice.
• Proficiency in Python for scripting, test automation, or data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Support bench bring-up and integration of thermal mechatronic devices, including smart pumps, valves, electric compressors, actuators, motorized registers, and cabin/environmental sensors.
• Work with engineers to build and instrument prototype bench setups combining simulated and actual vehicle components for firmware integration testing.
• Write and execute verification test cases for component controls, application logic, and diagnostics, and report results to development teams.
• Analyze CAN, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet traces and vehicle logs to characterize device behavior and isolate integration issues.
• Read and trace embedded C to understand implemented behavior and support root-cause investigations across electrical, mechanical, and software domains.
• Support characterization of sensors and actuators across operating conditions and help define plausibility, validity, and fault-detection expectations with controls engineers.
• Support verification of diagnostic trouble codes and manufacturing self-test behavior.
• Document interfaces, test setups, and known issues, and track issues to closure in the team’s Jira workflow.

Benefits

• Eligible candidates living 50 or more miles away may receive a $5,000 pre-tax relocation stipend.
• The program offers meaningful involvement in breakthrough work with an experienced team and opportunities to develop skills for future career pursuits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed