Sr Hardware Engineer

We are the movers of the world and the makers of the future. We get up every day, roll up our sleeves and build a better world -- together. At Ford, we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves. Are you ready to change the way the world moves?

 

In this position...

As a Hardware Engineer in Ford’s Advanced Networking Group, you will own signal integrity and hardware robustness for high‑speed in‑vehicle communication links. This team identifies and develops optimal networking technologies for Ford’s next‑generation electrical architecture—introducing new solutions and enhancing existing ones—to reduce overall system cost while ensuring electrical robustness for automotive use.

 

You will author Layer 1–2 networking specifications and design verification documents used across all Ford vehicle programs, lead hardware design reviews, and perform simulations and lab validation for network interfaces. Depending on experience and qualifications, this position may be filled at the Senior Hardware Engineer level.

What you'll do...

• Analyze circuit designs against industry standards and automotive requirements for signal integrity (SI) and electrical robustness.

• Perform simulations to identify and resolve potential issues; conduct lab measurements for validation and correlation.

• Define SI budgets for individual segments (board, cable, connectors, etc.), considering jitter, noise, crosstalk, and EMI/EMC.

• Formulate board‑level requirements for layout, interconnects, routing, termination, and supporting components for end‑to‑end design.

• Develop design verification test methods and execute tests in accordance with applicable industry and internal standards.

• Lead functional‑failure root‑cause analysis and corrective actions for prototypes and production vehicles.

• Lead component‑level qualification of networking components for use at Ford by reviewing EMI/EMC, interoperability, and other conformance reports.

• Interface with Product Development teams—Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Electrical Distribution Systems (EDS), and Vehicle Validation—to integrate SI considerations throughout the development process.

• Provide technical guidance to Product Development on feasibility, design alternatives, and design oversight for in‑vehicle network implementations.

• Contribute to industry standards efforts to reduce component cost, improve test automation, and address common automotive challenges in collaboration with industry experts.

• Collaborate with software and firmware teams to support hardware bring‑up and testing.

• Build strong relationships with silicon, cable, and connector vendors to evaluate and introduce emerging technologies.

You'll have...

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or an equivalent technical discipline.

• 5+ years of progressive experience in electronic hardware design, with significant focus on complex high‑speed digital and mixed‑signal designs.

• 2+ years of experience with SI simulation and/or PCB design tools such as Altium Designer, Mentor Graphics, Cadence Allegro, Siemens HyperLynx, Cadence Sigrity, Ansys HFSS/SIwave, Polar Instruments, etc.

• 2+ years of hands‑on experience with electrical test equipment; proficient with oscilloscopes, vector network analyzers (VNA), time domain reflectometers (TDR), and circuit board rework.

• Familiarity with industry‑standard automotive communication interfaces (e.g., CAN, LIN, SerDes, PCIe, Ethernet).

• Proficiency in transmission line theory, S‑parameters, bit error rate (BER) testing, crosstalk, characteristic impedance, eye diagrams, and time‑domain analysis.

• Strong understanding of EMC/EMI principles in automotive applications.

• Background in high‑reliability electronics designed for high‑volume production, including use of DFMEA and worst‑case analysis (WCA) to develop robust designs.

 

Even better, you may have...

• PhD with 3+ years of relevant hardware/SI experience, or Master’s degree with 7+ years of relevant hardware/SI experience.

• 5+ years of experience with SI simulation and PCB design tools.

• In‑depth knowledge of transmission line and electromagnetic theory.

• Automotive networking experience (e.g., 10BASE‑T1S, 100/1000BASE‑T1, Multi‑Gig T1, GMSL