Position Description:
Hardware in the Loop (HiL) End-of-Line Engineer
The Hardware in the Loop (HiL) End-of-Line Engineer plays a critical role in supporting product development and system integration by developing and implementing automated test methods using HiL equipment. The engineer is responsible for documenting and reviewing execution reports, reporting incidents, and tracking software updates to resolve issues. This position requires expertise in software test design, vehicle functional partitioning, electrical and communication architectures, and knowledge of Ford's embedded software processes and Global Product Development System. The engineer will collaborate closely with feature owners, engineering teams, and suppliers to develop a deep understanding of vehicle functions, implement effective test design strategies for early defect identification, and provide evidence of defect elimination.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary point of contact between the test organization and feature owners, engineering teams, and suppliers.
- Manage test projects for assigned features and programs, including integration/definition, scope/coverage, time management, communications, and risk assessment.
- Develop and negotiate the testing scope and statements of work.
- Support tradeoff analysis of test requirements vs. test environment capabilities to define test scope and instrumentation strategies.
- Analyze requirements, vehicle component electrical schematics, functional specifications, and FMEA documentation.
- Design, maintain, and execute test procedures in alignment with test design guidelines and strategies.
- Document test environment, automation, and vehicle variant management requirements.
- Implement and validate test environment, automation, and vehicle variant management solutions.
- Develop and execute intake tests to validate the test environment.
- Analyze test execution results, generate reports, document incidents, and drive them to resolution.
- Troubleshoot vehicle systems and test environment functionality to minimize false positive incident reports.
- Implement continuous improvement strategies for test design, management, and execution processes.
Required Skills and Experience:
- 5+ years of experience in automotive software development or validation.
- 5+ years of experience with the software development life cycle, including CMMI or Agile process experience.
- 5+ years of experience utilizing software testing or quality assurance methodologies, including ISTQB test methods.
- 2+ years of experience with Global Diagnostics (Part 1 or Part 2) specification testing.
- 2+ years of experience in validation support of dSPACE or National Instruments HiL simulators.
- 2+ years of experience with dSPACE ControlDesk and AutomationDesk software.
- 2+ years of experience in test automation and scripting development.
- 2+ years of experience in distributed feature testing.
- 2+ years of experience in ADAS/DAT feature testing support.
- 2+ years of experience using Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for implementing agile practices and setting up software development workflows at an enterprise scale.
- Functional understanding of ASPICE software development processes and ISO 26262 functional safety standards.
Preferred Skills and Experience:
- Experience in the development and execution of functional test procedures within a software or vehicle testing organization.
- Experience in bench testing of distributed electrical systems, including bench functional integration, test execution, measuring and instrumentation, incident reporting, and root cause analysis.
- Experience with electrical schematics for vehicle components and systems and the electrical architectures of distributed systems.
- Experience with the development and verification of embedded software using HiL equipment and software (e.g., dSPACE, National Instruments).
- Experience in test automation collaboration with international teams.
- Experience with Ford Diagnostics Engineering tools and software downloads.
- Experience in End-of-Line (EOL) validation support or ECU diagnostics testing.
- Experience in software configuration management.
- Experience in software development with compiled and interpreted languages, including C++, Python, Visual Basic, and MATLAB, as well as their corresponding integrated development environments (IDEs) (e.g., MS Visual Studio, Simulink).
- Experience with embedded controller networks (CAN, LIN) and the use of ECU diagnostic and network communication tools to verify and troubleshoot distributed vehicle systems (e.g., CANoe, CANalyzer).
Education:
- **Required**: Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- **Preferred**: Master’s Degree in Engineering or a related field.
Additional Safety Training/Licensing/Personal Protection Requirements:
- [Details on any specific safety training, licensing, or personal protection requirements should be added here, if applicable.]
