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Senior Systems Engineer, Vehicle Access & Passive Safety

Ford Motor Company

Allen Park, MI · HybridJob$115–193K/yrSeen 2w agoSeen in employer's feed 6 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$115–193K/yr
Location
Allen Park, MIHybrid
Work Authorization
Visa required • Visa sponsorship

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

The Senior Software Systems Engineer will lead development of requirements for vehicle access software features, including immobilizers, key cards, key fobs, and digital keys. The role works with cross-functional stakeholders to define performance and interfaces, validate hardware and system requirements, integrate prototypes, and support vehicle systems through the product life cycle. It also contributes to next-generation vehicle platform architectures for electric vehicles.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Systems Engineering, requiredAutomotive Systems, requiredSystems Development, requiredElectrical Architecture, requiredFunctional Architecture, requiredSystem Integration, requiredModel-Based Systems Engineering, requiredFeature Implementation, requiredTest Procedure Development, requiredGit, requiredTeamwork, requiredProblem-Solving, requiredCommunication, requiredProject Management, requiredWritten Communication, requiredVerbal Communication, requiredSystems Design, requiredEmbedded C, nice to havePython, nice to haveMATLAB, nice to haveSimulink, nice to haveSPICE, nice to haveIQ-FMEA, nice to haveCryptography, nice to haveCybersecurity, nice to haveCertificate and Key Exchanges, nice to haveNear-Field Communication, nice to haveBluetooth Low Energy, nice to haveUltra-Wideband, nice to have

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Computer Science or Engineering or Equivalent, requiredMaster's Degree in Listed Fields or Equivalent, nice to haveOver 5 Years Systems Engineering Experience, nice to have

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Parental Leave
Tuition Assistance
Paid Time Off

Full job description

We made history and now we work to transform the future – for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

Product Creation and Industrialization (PC&I) brings together Ford’s vehicle, electric, digital and design teams with our global manufacturing system. Working as one end-to-end organization, we turn ideas into high-quality vehicles, software and experiences across gas, hybrid and electric, designed around what customers need.

In this position...

The Senior Software Systems Engineer (Vehicle Access) will lead the development of the requirements that define the software involved in vehicle access features like the immobilizer, key cards, key fobs, and digital keys. You will work with cross-functional stakeholders to establish performance requirements, review signal chains, capture interface definitions, document state machines, and coordinate verification and validation to deliver successful implementation of vehicle features via hardware and software.

You will lead bring-up and validation activities as software is delivered, and support overall functionality and performance of vehicle systems throughout the product life cycle. You will conceptualize, design, engineer, develop, and support the launch of next-generation vehicle platform architectures for electric vehicles.

What you'll do...

  • Lead the feature and function development of systems related to Vehicle Access, defining requirements, iterating via stakeholder reviews, and enabling software development teams.

  • Define, test, and validate combined hardware and system requirements for Vehicle Access platform features and functions.

  • Lead and manage the integration of initial prototype systems, including debugging and engineering tests for prototype bucks, lab cars, and vehicles.

  • Conduct architecture investigations and execute trade-off studies to optimize design strategies for experience, cost, and performance.

  • Author and manage interface definitions for the functions you define, including CAN and Ethernet signal definitions

You'll have...

  • B.S. in Computer Science or Electrical, Computer, or Mechanical Engineering or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

  • Strong understanding of systems engineering fundamentals and ability to apply them to automotive concepts

  • Experience and working knowledge of systems development, electrical architecture, functional architecture, and system integration

  • Experience with model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools

  • Experience defining and driving to implementation complex and cross-functional features and functions

  • Experience with creating and executing component and system level test procedures

  • Experience using Git in a collaborative development workflow

  • Excellent teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and project management skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills

  • An eagerness to work cross-functionally in a dynamic environment where you are part of a high performing team

  • A systems approach to design and development with the desire and curiosity to strive for exceptional delivery execution and continuous improvementEven better, you may have...

  • 5 year’s experience in a systems engineering or similar role

  • Master’s Degree Computer Science or Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent

  • Expert in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools

  • Experience with embedded C, Python, MATLAB, Simulink, SPICE, IQ-FMEA, and similar

  • Experience with cryptography, cybersecurity, certificate/key exchanges, and similar

  • Experience with near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technologies

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

  • 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.

This position is a salary grade 8 and ranges from $115,000-$192,900.

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid

#LI-BB1 #UEV

How this job compares

Set against the 11,649 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 12, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$115–193K/yr
  • Michigan median$100–166K/yr81 salary ranges
  • US median$115–187K/yr8,794 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $154K, is 16% above the Michigan median midpoint ($133K) — in the middle half of Systems Engineer salary ranges in Michigan.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 151 open Systems Engineer jobs in Michigan and 11,649 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Michigan
Experience
Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 3 to 8 years (9,717 postings).
Education
4,385 of the 11,649 open Systems Engineer jobs (38%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 12, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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