Senior Embedded Controls Engineer, Vehicle Motion

Ford Motor Company

Develop embedded control systems for advanced vehicle motion functions at Ford. Collaborate with engineering teams and external suppliers to enhance vehicle dynamics and safety.

Posted 6/30/2026full-timePalo Alto • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $138,800 - $232,700 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Python

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Develop and implement control strategies for advanced vehicle motion functions, including lateral and longitudinal vehicle dynamics.
Design and mature embedded control algorithms that translate driver intent into natural, precise, and predictable vehicle behavior.
Support the development of a centralized vehicle motion control architecture by consolidating and integrating vehicle dynamic functions across multiple domains.
Collaborate with internal engineering teams and external suppliers to define functions, interfaces, and requirements for third-party components.
Partner with software integration teams to bring up core functions and translate software-level needs into electrical hardware and system requirements.
Participate in functional safety analyses for complex vehicle subsystems and apply safety-critical development principles throughout the design lifecycle.
Develop comprehensive test strategies and execute validation activities to verify firmware functionality, robustness, stability, and performance across operating conditions.
Create subsystem block diagrams, define interfaces, and lead subsystem design reviews across all vehicle program development phases.
Work with system integration leads to capture component-level requirements, provide technical expertise during sourcing discussions, and review and approve device transmittals.
Support early-phase firmware development activities, including hardware validation, labcar testing, prototype bring-up, and automation framework development for unit, SIL, and HIL testing.
Debug complex system issues across software, hardware, networks, and vehicle-level integration environments.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience with evidence of exceptional technical ability.
5+ years of experience developing embedded control systems for chassis systems, vehicle control modules, vehicle motion control, or similar dynamic control functions.
5+ years of experience with electrical hardware applications, prototype bring-up, and systems development.
5+ years of experience with vehicle network protocols such as CAN, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet.
Strong electrical engineering fundamentals and hands-on experience using electrical test equipment, including oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, signal generators, and power supplies.
5+ years of experience using embedded networking interface tools in automotive, aerospace, or a similarly complex embedded systems environment.
Working knowledge of systems development, vehicle architecture, diagnostics, network communication, functional safety, and hardware/software integration processes.
Experience creating and executing component-level test procedures and owning test results through resolution and release.
Even better, you may have...
Experience developing vehicle dynamic features such as stability control, anti-lock braking, hill hold, park assist, cruise control, adaptive cruise control, or related motion-control functions.
Strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, control theory, and physics-based algorithm development.
Experience with software build tools such as Bazel, SCons, CMake, or similar.
Experience with PCB-level hardware components and associated analysis/debug tools.
Ability to write test automation scripts using Python or similar scripting languages.
Strong software fundamentals, including software architecture, modular design, maintainability, and code quality.
Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, system debugging, embedded optimization, and vehicle-level integration.
Knowledge of electrical engineering fundamentals, including circuit analysis and design.
Familiarity with SIL, HIL, labcar, and vehicle validation environments.
Highly collaborative mindset with the ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly across software, hardware, systems, safety, and supplier teams.

Benefits

Comp & perks

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.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Embedded Control AlgorithmsVehicle DynamicsPrototype Bring-UpComponent-Level Test ProceduresCircuit Analysis and Design

Soft Skills

Collaborative MindsetClear Communication of Technical Topics

Certifications

Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Computer Science