Job Description & Details
This is a hands-on electrical engineering contract role focused on troubleshooting and validating autonomous vehicle systems during the AM shift. If you like getting deep into the hardware, analyzing cryptic log files, and diagnosing elusive electrical gremlins on complex prototypes, this gig will keep you on your toes.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
Your day will rarely look the same, but expect a heavy dose of bench testing, vehicle bring-up support, and cross-functional firefighting. You will be debugging wiring harnesses, using oscilloscopes and CAN diagnostics to trace erratic signals, and collaborating with software teams when a mysterious module failure turns out to be a software handshake issue rather than a burnt-out trace. When things break—and on autonomous vehicle programs, they definitely will—you're the one expected to run root-cause analysis and document the fix.
The Core Tech Stack
You need to be intimately familiar with hardware diagnostic gear like multimeters and oscilloscopes, alongside vehicle-specific protocols like CAN bus. Beyond the hardware, having a solid grasp of Linux command lines and the ability to parse raw log files is non-negotiable since you'll be bridging the gap between physical electrical faults and software system responses. Automotive experience with wiring harnesses and module troubleshooting will immediately set you apart from other applicants.
Interview Expectations
Expect the hiring team to hand you a scenario where an autonomous prototype is throwing intermittent CAN communication errors on a cold start, and they'll want to hear your methodical approach to isolating whether it's a termination resistor issue, a physical harness chaffing problem, or a firmware bug. They are secretly testing your patience and structured root-cause methodology, so walk them through your troubleshooting tree step-by-step rather than just guessing components.
Application Advice
Your resume needs to heavily feature hard diagnostic terms like oscilloscope, CAN diagnostics, wiring harnesses, and root-cause analysis to make it past the automated screening. Don't just list titles; explicitly mention your hands-on experience with vehicle bring-up, prototype development, or manufacturing environments if you've got them. Weave those keywords naturally into your past project descriptions to show you actually know how to turn a wrench and read a schematic.