Student Worker Program - Embedded Software Engineer (Junior)

Ford - Boston, MA

Full-time - Intern

Boston, MA

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

The Electric Motor Mechanical Design Associate position is part of Ford's Electric Vehicle Digital Design (EVDD) team, offering a 6-month Student Worker Program. This role focuses on the design, analysis, and development of electric motors for next-generation electric vehicles, providing hands-on experience in firmware development and embedded systems. The position allows students to collaborate with experienced engineers and contribute to real-world projects in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the design and implementation of firmware for distributed embedded systems with a focus on power/energy consumption and safety.
• Participate in the specification, design, implementation, and testing of bare-metal and RTOS-based low-level software for energy management and powertrain controls applications.
• Contribute to the development of embedded software, from low-level base software to application modules.
• Support the design and specification of interfaces between application software and firmware.
• Learn about multicore, timing-critical software architectures.
• Gain experience working with and resolving ambiguities in requirements, specifications, and designs.
• Develop basic real-time software components and interfaces under the guidance of senior engineers.
• Learn about software component testing methodologies and assist in their implementation.
• Gain hands-on experience with hardware and debuggers at a bench and HIL level to verify software operation.
• Learn about ISO26262-compliant software development practices.
• Assist in defining system-level power requirements and implementing low-power modes of operation for microcontrollers.
• Learn how to instrument and profile software to identify optimization opportunities.
• Contribute to early-phase firmware development activities, including hardware validation, lab car testing, and setting up automation frameworks for unit, SIL, and HIL testing.
• Assist in developing test plans and performing tests to validate firmware functionality, stability, and performance.

Requirements

• Current enrollment in a Bachelor's degree program in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Foundational coursework in embedded systems or related areas.
• Basic proficiency in C/C++.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Familiarity with RTOS concepts and low-level driver development.
• Experience with software build tools (e.g., Bazel, Scons, CMake).
• Basic knowledge of electrical engineering fundamentals, including circuit analysis and design.
• Experience with scripting languages, particularly Python, for test automation.
• Familiarity with software testing methodologies.

Benefits

• Hands-on experience in a fast-paced and innovative environment.
• Opportunity to work alongside top engineering, design, and software talent.
• Involvement in real-world projects that impact the automotive industry.