Gasoline Engine Controls Development Senior Engineer

The Gasoline Engine Controls Development Engineer is responsible for developing new features and enhancing existing algorithms. This role involves working closely with a cross-functional team and utilizing various tools (vehicle, HIL, dyno, virtual environments, rapid prototyping) through the V-model software development process to ensure the quality and robustness of production algorithms.

The controls engineer will interface with systems and calibration teams to fully understand requirements, develop implementation strategies, assess compliance and robustness, ensure ease of calibration, and document impacts against regulatory requirements. Responsibilities include implementing designs efficiently and validating them against requirements in both virtual and physical environments throughout the production process. The controls engineer is also expected to provide technical guidance, training, and act as an expert in their field of specialization.

Controls algorithm development typically begins as an advanced effort but must ultimately meet program timelines and conform to high-level functional requirements.

The successful candidate will ensure projects remain on track by developing plans, tracking progress, and presenting technical reports to management and project chiefs. They will also actively participate in decision-making regarding control strategy design to achieve functional objectives.

The candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing a set of controls features, controlling determined actuators, reading values from sensors or estimating engineering quantities, in each physical architecture.   

Specific Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Reading, understanding and approval of the requirements that are defined in the CFTS (Controls Function Technical Specification) documents defined by the Controls Features team. 

• Development of the architecture and definition of the interfaces of the Software Components (SWC). 

• Creation of interface files (arxml) that are compliant with the Autosar specifications. 

• Integration of the Autosar composition files, making sure that there are no unconnected interface ports across the Software Components (SWC). 

• Analysis of the Controller Area Network (CAN) Database Communication files (DBC), to identify and implement any new messages and signals received by or sent from the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to the other nodes. 

• Analysis and implementation of the interfaces related to the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) and Function Inhibition Identifiers (FIDs) that are needed to exchange information across the Engine Controls SWCs. 
• Analysis and implementation of the interfaces related to Data Identifiers (DIDs) and Legislative Diagnostics Identifiers (PIDs) to be accessed through a scan tool.
• Analysis and implementation of the interfaces that are needed to store information into Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM).

• Definition of the Variant Management implementation that is needed to turn on or off a determined feature/functionality, based on the program/engine/vehicle it is applied to. This is to optimize the resources (CPU bandwidth, RAM, ROM usage) based on the build target. 

• Definition of the implementation requirements in the CCDD (Center of Excellence Controls Design Document). 

• Design and Documentation of Controls Algorithms, harmonized across different platforms and architecture variants to drive scalable and common solutions whenever possible. 

• Creation of the links among the high-level requirements in the CFTS, the implementation requirements in the CCDD and the implementation model. 

• Model In the Loop (MIL) reports generation. 

• Automatic code and Autosar RunTime Environment (RTE) generation using an integration pipeline. 
• Generation of local prototype software builds, to test the integration and verify the developed functionality in an embedded and integrated environment.

• Write and store the Design Verification Plans (Controls DVP) and verify them at the Hardware In The Loop (HIL) simulator, with report generation (DVP&R). 

• Update of the artifacts needed for the generation of the ADD (Algorithm Description Document) of the controls algorithms. 

• Explanation of the Controls Algorithms to the other stakeholders/customers, such as the Calibration Teams. 

• Tracking of the features that are defined as Auxiliary Emissions Control Devices. 

• Attend the Requirements Review Board for the review and approval of the Controls Algorithm changes with the Controls Features team and other stakeholders, including justifications of the impacts on Auxiliary Emissions Control Devices. 

• Provide Controls Design Review tracking documents, to confirm that changes are complete and tested according to the Agile Definition of Done, and lessons learned are acknowledged, for the final approval before the implementation scheduling. 

• Attend and actively participating in Agile framework recurring meetings, such as daily standups, Big Room Planning, Sprint Planning Ceremonies. 

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, or an equivalent engineering degree in the related field from an accredited university, with experience in controls / calibration of gasoline spark-ignition engines
• Excellent knowledge of internal combustion engines
• Knowledge of modern and classical control principles
• Experience in data acquisition, including collecting and processing data
• 5 + years of experience in engine development, emissions development, engine technologies, and competitive products
• Outstanding problem-solving and analytical skills
• Strong teamwork skills and ability to work independently
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, automotive engineering or related field from an ABET-accredited university
• Experience with powertrain development (systems, controls, calibration)
• Proficiency with advanced simulation tools
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow
• Experience in an Agile/Scrum environment
• Experience with Application Lifecycle Management (IBM RTC) tools
• Familiarity with ASPICE processes for software development
• Experience with AUTOSAR-compliant software architecture
• Knowledge of proactive/reactive quality tools (DFSS, DFMEA, DVP&R, etc.)
• Knowledge of Electric/Electronic Vehicle Architectures and Networking. 
• Knowledge of On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) standards and architecture. 
• Knowledge of Product Line Engineering principles.
• Knowledge of the SystemDesk and ETAS ISOLAR tools.
• Knowledge of the GIT tool for the versioning and storage of the artifacts. 
• Knowledge of the integration pipeline tools (e.g. TeamCity). 
• Knowledge of Requirement Management tools like Doors Next Generation (DNG). 
• Knowledge of CAN/LIN communication protocols design & measurement tools like CANalyzer. 
• Knowledge of programming languages like C/C++, Python, and autocoding tools like Embedded Coder.