Electrical Vehicle Prototype Development Engineer

Position Overview

As a Prototype Development Engineer, you will support the development, configuration, commissioning, maintenance, and test readiness of advanced Labcars, HIL benches, and related prototype electrical test assets. You will combine hands-on hardware and software integration with disciplined configuration management, physical-to-BOM correlation, technical troubleshooting, and cross-functional build coordination to keep each asset aligned with the intended engineering configuration and ready for scheduled testing.

What You’ll Do

• Asset Bring-Up and Commissioning: Support the development, initial bring-up, commissioning, and re-commissioning of Labcars and other prototype electrical test assets following major hardware or software changes.
• Technical Execution:Oversee component installation, complex wiring, harness and module replacement, instrumentation setup, module software flashing, and network debugging across CAN, CAN FD, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet.
• Labcar Configuration Management: Maintain an accurate understanding of each assigned asset’s hardware architecture, electrical content, software configuration, build phase, current state, known limitations, and integration maturity.
• BOM and Physical-Asset Correlation: Compare engineering BOMs, Labcar-specific BOMs, configuration records, drawings, and the hardware physically installed on each asset. Distinguish among planned, documented, and physically verified configurations.
• Build-Phase Change Analysis: Identify newly introduced, revised, superseded, removed, or configuration-specific parts and requirements between engineering releases and build phases; determine the effect on assigned assets and define the required update work.
• System Diagnostics and Issue Resolution: Troubleshoot and triage electrical, network, hardware, software-configuration, and integration issues. Collect diagnostic evidence, isolate affected systems, resolve technical roadblocks, and coordinate specialized engineering support when required.
• Testing and Regression Validation: Develop or execute formal commissioning, smoke-test, regression, and readiness procedures with clear go/no-go criteria to confirm system stability across hardware and software iterations.
• Scheduling and Test Readiness: Coordinate installation, flashing, troubleshooting, maintenance, and validation activities around shared-asset schedules. Confirm required hardware, software, prerequisite work, and known issues before releasing an asset for testing.
• Documentation and Status: Maintain traceable records of installed hardware, BOM revisions, software and flash status, configuration changes, diagnostic findings, open discrepancies, completed work, validation results, and current test-readiness status.
• Continuous Improvement and Automation: Improve repeatability through standardized checklists, configuration controls, data validation, scripting, and automation of reconciliation or readiness reporting where practical.

Minimum Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Computer, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience: 3+ years of hands-on experience in hardware-software integration, prototype vehicles, Labcars, HIL benches, board or system bring-up, manufacturing test, or comparable vehicle-systems engineering environments.
• Electrical Documentation: Proficiency reading electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, connector views, network topologies, harness documentation, PCB assemblies, and mechanical layouts.
• Vehicle Networks: 3+ years of experience with vehicle communication protocols, including CAN, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet, and familiarity with CAN FD.
• Diagnostic Tooling: 3+ years of experience using CANalyzer, CANoe, Wireshark, Vehicle Spy/VSPY3, Intrepid, Vector, or similar embedded networking and diagnostic tools.
• Flashing and Diagnostics: Experience supporting module programming, diagnostic activities, communication checks, controlled power-up, and post-flash verification.
• Test Methods: Experience writing and executing formal test plans, commissioning procedures, regression checks, or readiness checklists with clear go/no-go criteria.
• Embedded Systems: Strong understanding of embedded control modules, power distribution, grounding, I/O, network communication, and subsystem dependencies.
• Coordination and Documentation: Ability to manage competing shared-asset requirements, direct or coordinate technical work, track parts and open issues, maintain change history, and communicate readiness risks clearly.
• Physical Requirements: Ability to work hands-on around prototype vehicles and test assets, inspect components in confined locations, and safely handle typical vehicle electrical hardware.

Preferred Qualifications

• • Advanced Vehicle Architecture: Knowledge of modern electrical/electronic vehicle architectures, distributed control systems, zonal architectures, power distribution, and networked embedded systems.
  • Prototype Asset Ownership: Experience owning or coordinating the configuration, availability, and technical readiness of Labcars, HIL benches, prototype vehicles, mule vehicles, breadboards, or similar assets.
  • Change and Pedigree Awareness: Familiarity with engineering release data, build pedigrees, part revision levels, supersession, applicability, and change-control processes.
  • Test Equipment: Experience with power supplies, electronic loads, DAQ systems, oscilloscopes, meters, signal conditioning, instrumentation, and safety interlocks.
  • Data and Tracking Tools: Experience using Excel, Jira, SharePoint, or comparable systems to maintain structured asset, BOM, issue, parts, or readiness data.
  • Automation: Experience with Python, Power Automate, scripting, APIs, or other automation tools used for configuration reconciliation, data validation, diagnostics, or reporting.
  • Technical Leadership: Experience directing technicians, coordinating multi-discipline build work, leading design or readiness reviews, and communicating technical status to stakeholders.
  • Working Style: A systems-thinking mindset, attention to physical and documentation details, strong written and verbal communication, and the ability to operate effectively as priorities and configurations change.

Salary Range: $115k - $130k 

The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience