Platform Software Engineer

At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

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 will develop C language-based software designs for Ford Electrified Powertrains. The scope of software platform design includes Board Support Packages that support system control and coordination of related hybrid sub-systems; regenerative brakes, high-voltage battery, transaxle motor and generator, engine torque and engine power management.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement real-time embedded software for hybrid vehicle controllers, incorporating knowledge of microprocessor architecture, low-level drivers, and Board Support packages.
• Ensure that each system can manage functions such as regenerative braking, battery management, and motor control with precise, real-time response.
• Design software that aligns with real-time operating system (RTOS) requirements for optimal performance, secure access control, and quick response times.
• Apply advanced cybersecurity methods, including secure boot, software signing, and cryptographic protocols to protect vehicle control software.
• Integrate message authentication techniques within Controller Area Network (CAN) systems, ensuring data integrity and secure communication between control units.
• Implement secure boot methods to verify the integrity of software during startup, using digital signatures to ensure only trusted code is executed on vehicle controllers.
• Integrate message authentication protocols (such as CAN Message Authentication) into vehicle systems to verify communication authenticity and prevent unauthorized data manipulation in real-time.
• Configure secure over-the-air (OTA) software updates to maintain software integrity within the vehicle’s Hybrid Control Unit (HCU).
• Conduct threat modeling and vulnerability assessments for hybrid and electric vehicle software platforms to identify potential security weaknesses.
• Apply penetration testing techniques and risk assessment frameworks to analyze vulnerabilities in real-time operating systems (RTOS) and embedded software, ensuring compliance with automotive cybersecurity standards like ISO/SAE.
• Interpret and implement requirements using C programming to develop core platform software for real-time control systems in hybrid and electric vehicles.
• Focus on secure data transmission, OTA flash functionality, and both low- and high-level driver integration.
• Integrate and configure tools for over-the-air flash updates and CAN message authentication, ensuring compliance with network operating systems and corporate standards like VBF file formats.
• Complete all multiplex compliance testing to verify CAN protocol functionality and message integrity.

Qualifications:

• BS in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Computer Science or related field or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 2+ years of experience in real-time embedded control software and design experience including C Programming language, ETAS RTOS, and associated board support packages.
• 2+ years experience with microprocessor architectures and associated low-level drivers.
• MS in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Computer Science.
• Experience with calibration development tools, especially ATI emulators preferred.
• Experience with Infineon Aurix microcontroller architecture preferred.