Senior Systems Engineer, Telematics

ABOUT SLATE

At Slate, we're building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love-and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Slate's Electrical Engineering group is seeking a passionate and dynamic Senior Systems Engineer, Telematics with strong experience in connected vehicle systems, automotive communications, diagnostics, and systems engineering. This position will be responsible for defining and integrating vehicle-side telematics and connectivity solutions across the vehicle architecture, enabling secure communication between cloud platforms, mobile interfaces, and automotive ECUs.

The ideal candidate has hands-on experience with vehicle communication networks, diagnostics, gateway communications, and connected vehicle architectures using CAN FD, UDS, and telematics communication protocols.

In this position, the candidate will develop vehicle-side telematics system requirements and support the integration, validation, and deployment of a telematics connected vehicle solution from concept to production.

WHAT YOU GET TO DO

• Develop and maintain vehicle-side telematics requirements involving connected vehicle services, diagnostics, OTA updates, remote vehicle functions, and cloud connectivity.
• Define communication requirements and interfaces across telematics ECUs, secure gateways, vehicle domain controllers, and automotive networks including CAN FD, LIN, and Ethernet.
• Develop diagnostic and communication requirements using UDS services, DTC strategies, network management, and secure communication mechanisms.
• Work cross-functionally with cybersecurity, software, cloud, mobile application, and vehicle systems teams to define end-to-end connected vehicle behaviors and interfaces.
• Support implementation and validation of telematics features including remote commands, vehicle status reporting, diagnostics access, OTA / FOTA capabilities, and connected services.
• Collaborate with suppliers to develop interface definitions, communication specifications, DBC files, diagnostics behaviors, and validation plans.
• Support vehicle integration activities including communication debugging, diagnostic troubleshooting, network analysis, and issue resolution using automotive communication tools.
• Develop systems engineering artifacts including requirements decomposition, interface control documents, architecture diagrams, diagnostics specifications, and test strategies.
• Lead technical discussions related to connected vehicle architecture, telematics communication flows, gateway routing, diagnostics access, and future connectivity technologies.
• Test, verify, and validate telematics and connected vehicle systems using industry standard automotive communication and diagnostics tools.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field. Master's degree is preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in automotive telematics, connected vehicle systems, vehicle communications, or systems engineering.
• 5+ years of experience with automotive communication protocols, including CAN FD, CAN, LIN, Ethernet, USB, and UDS diagnostics.
• Strong experience with connected vehicle architectures involving telematics control units (TCUs), secure gateways, cloud connectivity, remote diagnostics, or OTA systems.
• Strong experience with telematics supported communication protocols, such as WIFI, RF connectivity, multi-antenna (MIMO) systems, 5G, and/or Bluetooth.
• Strong troubleshooting and cross-functional integration experience across software, electrical, cloud, and supplier teams.
• Strong understanding of vehicle network architectures, ECU communication strategies, and diagnostics integration.
• Experience with the standards and regulations defining telematics data and communications, such as NMEA 0183 / 2000, IEEE 802.3, SOME / IP.
• Experience using automotive communication and diagnostics tools, such as CANoe, CANalyzer, Vehicle Spy, Wireshark, or ETAS tools.
• Experience with systems engineering activities, including requirements decomposition, interface definition, integration, and validation.
• Experience with requirements and architecture tools such as Polarion, DOORS, or PREEvision.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to achieve common goals.
• Highly adaptable and proactive, excelling in fast-paced start-up and new model launch environments.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with OTA / FOTA systems, secure boot, cybersecurity integration, and secure vehicle communications.
• Familiarity with telematics backend integration, cloud communication flows, and connected services…