Sr. Electronic Design Engineer - Zonal ECU

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies

$110K — $140K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
  • 3+ years of experience in electronic hardware design, preferably in automotive.
  • Strong foundation in electrical engineering fundamentals; electromechanical systems experience is a plus.
  • Knowledge of automotive design standards and manufacturing constraints.
  • Experience with automotive EMC/EMI design best practices.
  • Hands-on experience with lab measurement tools like oscilloscopes and multimeters.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive continuous improvement mindset.

Responsibilities

  • Lead hardware design lifecycle from concept to production.
  • Design and validate low-voltage zonal control modules for automotive applications.
  • Address power electronics challenges such as solid-state circuit breaker and DC-DC converter design.
  • Ensure signal integrity and compatibility across components and communication protocols.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with various teams including mechanical and software engineering.
  • Evaluate and integrate new technologies and components, partnering with suppliers.
  • Conduct troubleshooting and root cause analysis on electronic subsystems and PCBAs.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and wellness benefits package.
  • Annual performance bonus eligibility.
  • Equity eligibility for full-time positions.
  • Support for employee development and growth.
Full Job Description
Role Summary

As a Senior Electronic Design Engineer, you will play a key role in the development of cutting-edge zonal hardware that serves as the backbone for power distribution, fault tolerance, and control functions in our next-generation vehicles. We're looking for a hands-on engineer with a solid foundation in electrical engineering, a passion for innovation, self-motivated and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. Your contributions will directly influence the performance, safety, and efficiency of future software-defined vehicles.

This role is expected to a hybrid position with 3 days in office.

Responsibilities
  • Lead the full hardware design lifecycle - from concept, safety decomposition, and requirements definition to schematic capture, layout, validation, and production.
  • Design, prototype, and validate robust low-voltage zonal control modules for automotive applications.
  • Tackle power electronics challenges, including solid-state circuit breaker design and distributed DC-DC converters for efficient power delivery.
  • Ensure signal integrity and interface compatibility across PCBs, sensors, actuators, and communication buses (CAN, SPI, Ethernet, analog/digital I/O).
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with mechanical, thermal, software, vehicle dynamics, manufacturing, validation, and supply chain teams.
  • Evaluate and integrate new components and technologies (e.g., microcontrollers, high-side drivers, motor drivers), including working with suppliers to co-develop custom solutions.
  • Apply EMC best practices throughout design to ensure compliance and system robustness.
  • Conduct root cause analysis, troubleshooting, and failure investigations on PCBAs and electronic subsystems.
  • Support system integration and validation across build phases - Proto, EVT, DVT, and vehicle-level testing.
  • Ensure compliance with functional safety and regulatory standards (ISO 26262, FUSA, etc.).
  • Lead cross-functional root-cause analysis (RCA) for failures identified in manufacturing, field returns, diagnostics logs, and validation testing.
  • Perform board-level electrical debug across power, sensing, comms, and control circuits.
  • Identify issues stemming from cross-functional aspects of vehicle ECUs design such as schematic, layout, SI/PI, component robustness, and hardware/software interactions.
  • Create detailed FA/RCA reports and drive corrective & preventive actions (CAPA) to HW, SW and system.


Qualifications
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
  • 3+ years of experience in electronic hardware design, preferably in the automotive industry.
  • Strong foundation in EE fundamentals; experience with electromechanical systems is a plus.
  • Experience designing for automotive environments, including an understanding of hardware/software development life cycles.
  • Knowledge of Tier 1 supplier processes, manufacturing constraints, and automotive design standards.
  • Familiarity with automotive EMC/EMI design best practices.
  • Hands-on experience with lab tools such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analyzers, and similar.
  • Experience with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems and component release workflows is a plus.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive mindset toward continuous improvement.
  • Willingness to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.
Total Rewards

Total compensation packages for full-time positions include base salary, eligibility for an annual performance bonus, and eligibility for equity.

In addition, our benefits package has been designed to support the health and wellness of our employees. For more information on RV Tech's comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees, check out our Global Benefits Site.

External candidates can apply for this role through the RV Tech Careers site (https://rivianvw.tech/#careers). If you are a current employee, please apply through our internal job board.

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies

More Manufacturing & Automotive Jobs

  • Controller
    $120K — $130K *
    Belleville Boot Company
    Belleville, IL 62220 (Saint Clair County)
  • Director of Engineering
    $150K — $250K *
    Buyers Products
    Mentor, OH 44060 (Lake County)
  • Plant Manager
    Top Industrial Manufacturing Company
    Chicago, IL 60601 (Cook County)
  • Vice President – Vitamin Team
    Feldkamp Marketing
    Cincinnati, OH 45202 (Hamilton County)
  • Amazon
    Site EHS Manager II
    $70K — $105K *
    Amazon
    Phoenix, AZ 85032 (Maricopa County)

Find similar Sr. Electronic Design Engineer - Zonal ECU jobs: