Principal Systems Engineer, Infotainment ECU

Overview

Principal Systems Engineer, Infotainment ECU — Mountain View, CA

We are CARIAD, an automotive software development team with the Volkswagen Group. Our mission is to make the automotive experience safer, more sustainable, more comfortable, more digital, and more fun. We are building the leading tech stack for the automotive industry and a unified software platform for over 10 million new vehicles per year. We seek talented, digital minds to help create code that moves the world and to build outstanding digital experiences for Volkswagen Group brands.

The Principal Systems Engineer, Infotainment ECU leads system‑level execution, integration, and validation of infotainment ECUs across hardware, SoC, board, software, and vehicle networks. You will drive system requirements, performance modeling, integration planning, supplier coordination, and validation activities to ensure robust ECU delivery within vehicle programs. You will provide technical leadership to cross‑functional teams and suppliers within the infotainment ECU scope.

Architecture, Requirements, and Performance Estimation

• Lead system requirements gathering and traceability for infotainment ECU features, diagnostics, and compliance. Contribute to architecture trade‑off analysis, performance and power estimations, and capacity planning; validate against user experience and vehicle constraints.
• Assist with build and maintain performance models to guide design choices; drive cross‑functional reviews and support domain signoffs with domain owner.

Hardware & Board‑Level Collaboration

• Partner with hardware leads to define and refine system‑level hardware requirements and constraints for the infotainment ECU (power, high‑speed interfaces, memory, connectivity, audio/display) and ensure they flow to silicon and PCB vendors.
• Review schematic/PCB progress, DFM/DFT readiness, and EVT/DVT/PVT builds; surface and track thermal, EMC/EMI, and reliability risks with the hardware team.
• Coordinate lab bring‑up activities and issue tracking with responsible domain teams, ensuring hardware owners stay in the loop and own fixes.

Vehicle‑Level Integration & Validation

• Lead ECU integration into vehicle networks (CAN/CAN FD, LIN, Ethernet as applicable) in partnership with network owners.
• Define and execute system integration tests across bench, HIL, and in‑vehicle with cross‑domain peers; triage issues across hardware, firmware, and applications with clear ownership and hand‑offs.
• Coordinate supplier deliverables (SoC vendors, ODMs, contract manufacturers) with clear requirements, acceptance criteria, and documentation; escalate risks early with supplier leads.

SoC, BSP, and Software Integration

• Partner with SoC, BSP, and middleware leads on SoC selection, boot chain (UEFI/U‑Boot, secure boot), BSP, middleware, and driver integration; co‑evaluate performance/power targets and trade‑offs.
• Support roadmap alignment with HMI, connectivity, and cloud teams; jointly validate audio, video, display, and storage pipelines through system‑level test plans.
• Ensure diagnostics, logging, security features, and OTA readiness at ECU level with contributors from each discipline, keeping ownership with respective domain leads.

General Skills

• Thoughtful Problem Solver & Communicator:
  Thinks analytically, critically & creatively and communicates with clarity, direction & purpose.
• Attentive Listener:
  Listens actively while withholding judgment and advice. Clarifies intentions & motivations to anticipate and address potential conflicts & avoid misunderstanding.
• Drives Diversity:
  Believes diverse teams build better products and outcomes.
• Leads with Integrity:
  Speaks up with compassion & empathy to uphold values and regulations.
• Thrives in Ambiguity:
  Approaches challenges with curiosity and action, mapping situations and making high‑impact decisions with limited information.
• Creates Clarity & Momentum:
  Aligns people, processes and systems to create forward momentum and removes impediments across organizational boundaries.
• Highly Accountable:
  Takes responsibility, owns mistakes, and acts with commitment to broader interests of society, environment, company, and…