ADAS Lighting Feature System Engineer

Ford Motor Company

ADAS Lighting Feature System Engineer developing automotive exterior lighting features at Ford. Leading system engineering and compliance for advanced driver assistance systems in hybrid workplace.

Posted 7/22/2026full-timeDearborn • Missouri • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $100,000 - $150,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in ADAS Lighting feature development, including compliance with automotive lighting regulations and functional safety standards. Proficient in system engineering, feature requirements development, and photometric design analysis to ensure high-quality customer experiences.

Highest-signal resume keywords

ADAS Feature DevelopmentSystem EngineeringPhotometric Design AnalysisAutomotive Lighting RegulationsLeadership and Project Management

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Feature Requirements DevelopmentFailure Mode AvoidanceBeam Pattern ControlSensor/Actuator InterfacesModel-Based DesignData Acquisition/AnalysisVerification ProficiencySystem IntegrationRoot Cause InvestigationConcept and Logical Requirements

Soft Skills

Leadership SkillsExcellent CommunicationTeamworkInterpersonal SkillsProject Management

Tools & Technologies

SysMLMagicDrawJamaJiraMATLABSimulinkStateflowLucidShapeSPEOSZemax

Industry Keywords

ADASFMVSS 108ECE/UNECE R48ISO-26262LIDARCamera-Based PerceptionLED Matrix HeadlampGlare EvaluationHIL TestingVehicle Dynamics

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Switching

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Act as the technical authority for ADAS Lighting features—including Auto High Beam, Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS), Glare-Free/Matrix High Beam, and Cornering Lamps—leading requirements decomposition, cross-domain orchestration, and roadmap definition in collaboration with Product, Lighting Hardware, and Digital Design teams.
Lead the development of feature engineering deliverables including Concept, Logical and Technology requirements, Boundary diagrams, design analysis, Failure Mode Avoidance, robustness fields, and test procedures.
Develop and refine vehicle-level use cases, sensor/actuator interfaces, and feature-level specifications that govern beam pattern control, automatic high/low beam switching logic, and steering- and speed-dependent headlamp articulation.
Ensure global regulatory compliance (e.g., FMVSS 108, ECE/UNECE R48, R123, R149 for adaptive and matrix systems, ) and functional safety (ISO-26262) by partnering with the Automotive Safety Office and Functional Safety team to develop item definitions, hazard analyses, and safety concepts.
Ensure product requirements are compatible with delivering public domain for IIHS standards.
Establish feature objectives and ensure system operation meets end-user/customer objectives through a structured system-level test methodology, including photometric and field-of-illumination performance.
Work with Hardware (lighting module/LED driver), Software, and Test teams to ensure feature requirements are cascaded, aligned, and accepted, and that camera-based detection of oncoming/preceding vehicles correctly drives beam control.
Ensure new lighting features seamlessly integrated with existing ADAS features (camera perception, body control, steering angle, vehicle dynamics) to provide a superb customer experience.
Drive feature robustness through Failure Mode Avoidance (FMA) and advanced validation (HIL/SIL/Vehicle); lead complex root cause investigations (8D/5-Why) and present technical solutions to enterprise leadership.
Work with virtual validation teams to establish CAE/photometric simulation procedures to reduce dependence on vehicle-level and nighttime track testing.
Plan and help execute real-world evaluation of lighting features via vehicle/HIL/virtual testing—including night drives and glare evaluations—and identify system problems/issues.
Support sign-off of feature-level performance for first vehicle program implementation.
Gather quality history to manage and drive feature quality and improvements (i.e., Data Analytics/VOCF/Launch Feedback/Warranty/External Metrics such as JD Power).

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's Degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, Computer Engineering, or related degree; or foreign equivalency degree, or a combination of equivalent experience and education.
3+ years of experience developing features in the ADAS domain using radars, cameras, LIDAR, ultrasonic sensors and/or other related vehicle systems (e.g., body, electrical, chassis, powertrain, etc.).
2+ years of experience in system engineering including experience with the System V, Functional decomposition, design analysis, Concept, Logical and technology level requirements development, System integration and FMA analysis.
Strong leadership skills with a passion for quality and customer happiness.
Excellent communication, teamwork, interpersonal and project management skills.
Ability to work well independently and take initiative.
Even better, you may have....
2+ years of work experience designing and developing automotive exterior lighting systems or the software/sensing systems that deliver adaptive lighting features.
Knowledge of automotive lighting regulations and standards (FMVSS 108, UNECE R48/R123/R149, SAE lighting standards).
Experience with photometric design and analysis, including beam pattern development, luminance/illuminance measurement, luxmeters and/or goniometers, and glare evaluation.
Familiarity with LED matrix/pixel headlamp architectures, LED drivers, and thermal management of lighting modules.
Experience with camera-based perception used for vehicle detection in Auto High Beam control logic.
Experience with SysML/MagicDraw/Jama/Jira.
Understanding of embedded hardware and software design.
Experience with model-based design (e.g., MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow, state machine development).
Verification proficiency (e.g., design verification methods, data acquisition/analysis, hardware-in-the-loop).
Knowledge of virtual validation methods (e.g., HIL, MIL, SIL) and optical/photometric simulation tools (e.g., LucidShape, SPEOS, Zemax).

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.