Mechanical Design Engineer, Electrical Distribution Systems

Ford • Palo Alto, CA

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

As an EDS Integration Engineer for the Advanced EV Team, you will be at the forefront of defining the "nervous system" for our next-generation Model e products. You will be responsible for the end-to-end vehicle-side electrical wire harness design and physical integration, serving as a critical link between architectural theory and vehicle reality. This role is essential to the development of a Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV), where you will optimize the intersection of hardware, software, and mechanical packaging. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the harness architecture is efficient, manufacturable, and robust, while remaining hands-on during lab-car and vehicle "bring-up" phases to troubleshoot and validate your designs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in EDS design and development within the automotive, aerospace, or complex robotics industries.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with professional EDS ECAD tooling (e.g., Mentor Capital, Zuken E3, or Vector Preevision).
• Proven experience in a mass-production environment, taking a product from initial concept through Job 1/launch.
• Deep understanding of Electrical Engineering fundamentals (Ohm’s Law, voltage drop, thermal management, and circuit protection).

Nice To Haves

• Advanced EV Expertise: Experience with High Voltage (HV) DC power distribution and the challenges of integrating diverse voltage architectures.
• Data Integrity: Familiarity with high-speed data requirements, including shielding, twisting, and connector selection for Automotive Ethernet or LVDS.
• Prototyping Skills: Experience with vehicle instrumentation (data loggers, current clamps, oscilloscopes) in a controlled lab or test-track environment.
• Agile Mindset: Familiarity with Confluence and Jira for task management in a fast-paced, iterative development cycle.
• Complexity Management: Demonstrated ability to manage high-variant harness architectures and "feature-to-pin" mapping.
• Analytical Rigor: Experience performing DFM (Design for Manufacturing) and DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) to ensure long-term reliability.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills with an eagerness to work cross-functionally in a dynamic, high-performing team environment

Responsibilities

• Zonal Architecture Leadership: Drive the electrical wiring system design from concept to production, focusing on the transition toward Zonal power and data distribution to minimize mass and maximize vehicle efficiency.
• Multi-Voltage & Power Distribution: Architect and integrate diverse voltage platforms, leading wire sizing, fuse coordination, and terminal selection based on steady-state and transient power profiles to ensure robust power delivery.
• High-Speed Data Management: Design for signal integrity across the vehicle’s data backbone, managing shielded circuits for ADAS sensors, Automotive Ethernet, and other high-bandwidth communication protocols.
• System Optimization & Partitioning: Partner with Subsystem engineers to establish harness partitioning and complexity strategies to minimize wire count, optimize cost, and reduce weight—critical metrics for EV range.
• Functional Safety & Topology: Influence the design of grounding and network topologies while collaborating on Functional Safety (ISO 26262) assessments to ensure the EDS architecture supports safety-critical features.
• ECAD Schematic Development: Develop logical and physical electrical schematics using professional ECAD tools (e.g., Capital, Zuken), owning the technical resolution of integration issues as they arise.
• Hands-on Integration & Bring-up: Support Labcar and prototype vehicle builds as the primary lead for electrical bring-up, circuit troubleshooting, and validating system-level changes in a real-world environment.
• Manufacturing & Innovation: Review 2D drawings and 3D routing to ensure supplier readiness while investigating new harness technologies (e.g., busbars or automated manufacturing) to push the boundaries of EV design.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level