Job Description: Automotive Digital Key & Vehicle Access SW Engineer

Location: Mountain View, CA – Onsite

On Contract

Position Overview:

We are looking for an experienced Automotive Embedded Software Engineer / Technical Lead with strong expertise in Digital Key, BLE, NFC, UWB, vehicle access controllers, Classic AUTOSAR, and FreeRTOS.

The role will be responsible for the design, development, integration, and validation of secure and safety-compliant Automotive Digital Key and Vehicle Access solutions, including BLE/NFC ECUs, Digital Key middleware, communication adapters, and ASIL-compliant vehicle access controllers.

The ideal candidate should have hands-on experience with Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) Digital Key specifications, automotive embedded systems, wireless connectivity, AUTOSAR, functional safety, and ECU-level software development.

Key Responsibilities

Design and develop Automotive Digital Key and Vehicle Access software for next-generation connected vehicles.
Develop and integrate BLE and NFC ECU software supporting vehicle locking, unlocking, passive entry, and vehicle start/access functions.
Work with CCC Digital Key specifications and contribute to implementation, integration, and certification activities.
Develop and integrate BLE/NFC middleware adapters between connectivity stacks, application software, and vehicle access controllers.
Develop embedded software components running on FreeRTOS and Classic AUTOSAR platforms.
Design software architecture for secure and safety-critical vehicle access controllers.
Implement communication interfaces between Digital Key middleware and vehicle ECUs using automotive communication protocols.
Integrate BLE, NFC, and UWB technology stacks with vehicle access applications and ECU software.
Develop software for secure device discovery, authentication, key exchange, ranging, and vehicle access workflows.
Ensure implementation meets applicable ASIL requirements and functional-safety processes.
Participate in requirements analysis, architecture/design reviews, coding, integration, debugging, and verification activities.
Perform ECU-level troubleshooting using logs, traces, debuggers, protocol analyzers, and automotive diagnostic tools.
Collaborate with system, cybersecurity, functional-safety, hardware, validation, and vehicle integration teams.
Support CCC certification and interoperability testing, including issue analysis and resolution.
Contribute to software design documentation, interface specifications, technical reviews, and development guidelines.
Support HIL/SIL testing, vehicle-level integration, and production readiness activities.

Required Technical Skills

Digital Key & Vehicle Access

Strong hands-on experience with Automotive Digital Key systems.
Good understanding of CCC Digital Key architecture and specifications.
Experience with vehicle access functions such as:
- Passive Entry / Passive Start
- Remote Lock / Unlock
- Digital Key provisioning
- Device authentication
- Secure vehicle access
- Key sharing and lifecycle management
Experience working with BLE, NFC and/or UWB technologies in automotive applications.

BLE / NFC / UWB

Strong understanding of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) architecture, profiles, GATT/GAP, pairing/bonding, security, and connection management.
Experience integrating BLE stacks with embedded automotive applications.
Knowledge of NFC communication and secure vehicle access use cases.
Exposure to UWB ranging and localization concepts for Digital Key applications.
Experience developing BLE/UWB middleware adapters and abstraction/interface layers.

Embedded Software

Strong programming skills in C/C++.
Hands-on experience with FreeRTOS and embedded real-time software development.
Strong understanding of RTOS concepts including tasks, queues, semaphores, interrupts, timers, synchronization, and memory management.
Experience with embedded debugging, performance optimization, and fault analysis.
Good understanding of MCU peripherals, communication interfaces, and low-level embedded software.

AUTOSAR

Strong experience with Classic AUTOSAR.
Knowledge of AUTOSAR layers including:
- Application Software
- RTE
- BSW
- MCAL
- Communication stack
- Diagnostics
Experience with configuration, integration, and debugging of AUTOSAR software components.
Understanding of automotive communication protocols such as CAN/CAN-FD, LIN, and Ethernet.

Functional Safety & Security

Experience developing ASIL-compliant automotive ECUs, preferably ASIL-B/ASIL-C/ASIL-D systems.
Understanding of ISO 26262 functional-safety concepts and development processes.
Experience with safety mechanisms, diagnostics, fault handling, watchdogs, safe-state concepts, and safety monitoring.
Understanding of automotive cybersecurity concepts and secure communication is highly desirable.
Experience with secure boot, cryptographic services, key management, or hardware security modules is an advantage.

CCC Certification

Experience with CCC Digital Key certification and compliance activities is highly desirable. The candidate should be familiar with:

CCC Digital Key certification requirements.
CCC interoperability and compliance testing.
Digital Key protocol validation.
BLE/NFC/UWB interoperability.
Analysis of certification failures and protocol traces.
Debugging issues across mobile devices, Digital Key middleware, ECUs, and vehicle systems.
Supporting certification laboratories and resolving certification defects.

Development & Engineering Tools

Experience with several of the following is desirable:

Vector CANoe / CANalyzer
Lauterbach / TRACE32
JTAG/SWD debuggers
Wireshark and BLE protocol analyzers
Automotive diagnostic tools
Git / Gerrit
Jenkins / CI-CD
Static-analysis and coding-quality tools
HIL/SIL testing environments
Requirements and configuration-management tools

Education & Experience

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Computer Science, Embedded Systems, or a related discipline.
Typically 5–12+ years of experience in automotive embedded software development, depending on seniority.
Proven experience in automotive ECU development and integration.
Strong experience in one or more of Digital Key, BLE, NFC, UWB, vehicle access systems, Classic AUTOSAR, or FreeRTOS.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with CCC Digital Key certification projects.
Experience with production vehicle access controllers or Body/Access ECUs.
Experience integrating mobile-device Digital Key solutions with vehicle ECUs.
Knowledge of UWB FiRa ecosystem and ranging technologies.
Experience with automotive cybersecurity standards such as ISO/SAE 21434.
Knowledge of AUTOSAR security and cryptographic services.
Experience working in safety-critical embedded software development.
Experience with OEM/Tier-1 automotive development processes.
Strong troubleshooting and cross-functional debugging skills.

Key Competencies

Strong embedded software architecture and design skills.
Excellent debugging and problem-solving capability.
Ability to work across application, middleware, RTOS, AUTOSAR BSW, connectivity stacks, and ECU hardware.
Good understanding of automotive software development lifecycle.
Ability to analyze complex issues across multiple ECUs and communication layers.
Strong communication and collaboration skills.
Ability to work independently while coordinating with system, hardware, cybersecurity, functional-safety, and validation teams.

Automotive Digital Key & Vehicle Access SW Engineer

Key skills

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