Senior Vehicle Controls Integration Engineer

Senior Vehicle Controls Integration Engineer

Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation.

The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 25,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses sold. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions.

The Senior Vehicle Controls Integration Engineer owns the integration of intelligent vehicle control systems across a new commercial chassis platform from concept through production launch. This role serves as the technical authority for vehicle controls integration, embedded electronic systems, sensors, actuators, and electromechanical interfaces while ensuring seamless integration between hardware, software, electrical architecture, and mechanical systems. Responsibilities include developing system requirements, defining interfaces, supporting controls integration, and delivering production-ready vehicle functionality.

Working closely with other engineering teams, manufacturing, suppliers, and external engineering partners, this position is empowered to establish technical direction, make timely engineering decisions, and drive execution across the complete product lifecycle.

This is a high-impact role for an experienced engineer who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys solving complex integration challenges, and wants meaningful ownership over the intelligent systems that define vehicle capability, safety, and customer experience.

Essential duties and responsibilities include:

• Vehicle Controls Architecture:
  Develop and own the vehicle controls architecture for embedded controllers, electronic actuators, sensors, and intelligent electromechanical systems supporting the commercial chassis platform.
• Systems Integration:
  Lead integration of electrical, software, and mechanical systems to ensure robust functionality, diagnostics, reliability, manufacturability, and production-ready performance.
• Requirements & Interface Definition:
  Develop and manage system requirements, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), communication interfaces, and functional interactions supporting vehicle controls and intelligent systems.
• Controls Strategy & Integration:
  Partner with controls software, electrical architecture, and systems engineering teams to define control strategies, diagnostics, fault management, and system behaviors that support overall vehicle performance.
• Supplier & External Engineering Leadership:
  Provide technical direction to suppliers and external engineering partners while maintaining ownership of system requirements, engineering decisions, integration quality, and production readiness.
• Validation & System Verification:
  Develop and execute validation strategies supporting Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), subsystem integration, vehicle validation, and production readiness.
• Diagnostics & Functional Safety:
  Support development of diagnostics, fault detection, system monitoring, cybersecurity considerations, and functional safety activities appropriate for commercial vehicle applications.
• Cross-Functional Technical Integration:
  Partner with Electrical Architecture, Propulsion Systems Integration, Chassis & Vehicle Integration, Manufacturing, Quality, and Program Management to ensure successful system integration from concept through launch.
• Prototype, Launch & Manufacturing Support:
  Support prototype builds, manufacturing launch, and early production by resolving controls integration issues and rapidly driving corrective actions to maintain program timing.
• Root Cause Analysis:
  Lead investigation and resolution of complex controls, communication, software, sensor, actuator, and electromechanical integration issues throughout development and production.
• Operate in Ambiguity:
  Create structure and drive execution…