Sr. Technical Specialist – HCU Controls Software & Hardware

• Job Category Engineering, Hardware, Software
• Employee Type Exempt
• Required Degree 4 Year Degree

Description

The Sr. Technical Specialist - HCU Controls, Software & Hardware serves as the senior technical authority for the Hybrid Control Unit as an integrated electronic control system. This role owns the complete HCU lifecycle— from vehicle and system requirements, controls and software architecture, and embedded implementation through hardware architecture, component selection, schematic and PCB design oversight, interfaces, integration, verification, release, production launch, and field support.

This individual establishes technical direction, makes system-level hardware/software tradeoffs, leads resolution of the most complex cross-functional issues, and ensures the HCU achieves vehicle performance, drivability, efficiency, functional safety, diagnostics, cybersecurity, electrical robustness, thermal performance, electromagnetic compatibility, manufacturability, quality, serviceability, and regulatory objectives. The role influences product and platform roadmaps, aligns internal teams and suppliers, mentors engineers, and advances reusable controls, software, and ECU hardware engineering practices across programs.

• Own the end-to-end HCU technical strategy, architecture, requirements, interfaces, controls, embedded software, electronic hardware, integration, verification, release, and production support.
• Define scalable HCU hardware and software architecture, including processors, power supplies, I/O, communications and network interfaces, sensing and actuation circuits, application software, basic software interfaces, runnables, scheduling, state management, fault handling, diagnostics, calibration, boot loader, and software update strategies.
• Lead decomposition and traceability of vehicle and system requirements into HCU controls, software, hardware, electrical interface, diagnostic, functional safety, cybersecurity, OBD, regulatory, manufacturing, and service requirements.
• Architect and develop hybrid supervisory control functions, including operating-mode management, torque and energy coordination, engine start/stop, high-voltage enablement, regenerative braking coordination, thermal and power limits, charging interfaces, and degraded-mode operation.
• Define control, software, electrical, and communication interfaces with the engine, transmission, battery management system, generator and traction inverters, electric motors, DC/DC converter, charger, braking, thermal, body, and vehicle control systems, including signal conditioning, loading, protection, grounding, and wake/sleep behavior.
• Develop and govern model-based controls and embedded implementation using MATLAB, Simulink, and Stateflow, while ensuring alignment with ECU hardware constraints, I/O characteristics, timing, memory, processor loading, and circuit-level assumptions; establish modeling standards, reusable components, simulation practices, design reviews, and production code-generation workflows.
• Provide technical oversight for ECU hardware and embedded software development, including component selection, schematics, PCB layout, power and signal integrity, derating, worst-case and thermal analyses, design-for-manufacture and test, embedded C and auto-generated code quality, timing, memory, CPU utilization, configuration, build, integration, and release readiness.
• Lead HCU hardware/software integration and verification across simulation, component, bench, environmental, EMC, MIL, SIL, HIL, dynamometer, and vehicle environments; establish test strategy, coverage, acceptance criteria, regression methods, design validation, production validation, and defect closure.
• Drive system safety analyses and safety mechanisms in alignment with ISO 26262, including technical safety requirements, FMEA/FMEDA, fault-tree analysis, freedom-from-interference considerations, and safety validation.
• Lead diagnostics and serviceability design, including fault detection, DTC strategy, debouncing, limp-home behavior, freeze-frame data, UDS services, OBD compliance, and manufacturing/service tool interfaces.
• Establish and chair system, hardware, controls, software, calibration, design, code, and issue-resolution reviews; make data-driven technical decisions and document tradeoffs, risks, verification evidence, and approvals.
• Serve as the principal technical interface to HCU…