Staff Engineer, HIL Design, Hardware Integration & Test

About this role

We are CARIAD, an automotive software development team with the Volkswagen Group. Our mission is to make the automotive experience safer, more sustainable, more comfortable, more digital, and more fun. To achieve that we are building the leading tech stack for the automotive industry and creating a unified software platform for over 10 million new vehicles per year. We’re looking for talented, digital minds like you to help us create code that moves the world. Together with you, we’ll build outstanding digital experiences and products for all Volkswagen Group brands that will transform mobility. Join us as we shape the future of the car and everyone around it.

​Role Summary:

The Staff Engineer, HIL Design, Hardware Integration & Test owns the hardware-oriented architecture, build, bring-up, and sustained readiness of HIL benches, integration benches, harnesses, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and AI-enabled lab automation used to validate CARIAD, Inc. hardware platforms. This is a hands-on staff-level individual contributor role requiring deep HIL design experience, embedded hardware bring-up, wire harness drawing ownership, Python automation, and AI-based automation using MCP servers or comparable tool interfaces. The role converts requirements, schematics, ICDs, harness drawings, supplier documentation, and failure modes into scalable HIL architectures, controlled bench configurations, test procedures, automated execution, and repeatable validation evidence. The engineer leads complex board, ECU, and system bring-up; resolves cross-domain hardware/software issues; drives design-for-integration and design-for-test practices; and owns the hardware-side roadmap for AI-enabled lab capability.

Role Responsibilities:

HIL Architecture, Hardware Integration & Bring-Up

• Own HIL and integration bench architecture for embedded automotive hardware platforms, including I/O strategy, signal conditioning, load/sensor simulation, fault insertion, power distribution, instrumentation, safety interlocks, bench health monitoring, and readiness criteria.

• Lead hands-on board, ECU, and system bring-up across prototype revisions, including power, reset, boot, flashing, communications, display, audio, RF/radio paths, diagnostics, issue isolation, and root-cause closure.

Wire Harness, ICD & Test Infrastructure Technical Ownership

• Own wire harness drawings, pinouts, connector definitions, cable assemblies, lab wiring documentation, ICDs, and bench interface definitions required for integration, HIL execution, and validation readiness.

• Translate requirements, schematics, supplier documentation, ICDs, and failure modes into controlled bench configurations, fixture needs, test procedures, automation requirements, evidence expectations, and configuration baselines.

Validation Automation, AI Tools and MCP Server Roadmap

• Develop and own Python-based automation for instrument control, sequencing, data capture, log parsing, regression execution, evidence collection, and reusable test libraries.

• Lead the hardware-side roadmap for AI-enabled lab automation, including MCP servers, equipment control, setup verification, test orchestration, artifact retrieval, failure triage, evidence packaging, governance, and measurable execution improvements.

Cross-Functional Technical Leadership, Supplier Coordination & Validation Readiness

• Serve as staff-level technical escalation for complex integration and validation issues, driving structured triage across hardware, software, systems, validation, manufacturing, suppliers, IT, and lab operations.

• Communicate status, risks, blockers, decisions, recovery plans, validation evidence, and closure rationale clearly, while mentoring engineers on disciplined debug, design-for-test, lab practices, templates, and repeatable processes.

General Skills:

• Staff-level technical leadership in HIL architecture, hardware integration, validation infrastructure, lab automation, and prototype lab execution.

• System-level command of interactions among hardware, software, mechanics, power, networks, diagnostics, manufacturing, validation, and supplier deliverables.

• Disciplined engineering approach to requirements decomposition, interface analysis, trade-off evaluation, risk identification, verification planning, and evidence-based closure.

• Structured problem solving and rigorous hardware debug for ambiguous, cross-domain failures.

• Clear written, verbal, and executive-ready communication with data-backed recommendations and actionable next steps.

• Ability to convert ambiguous lab problems into scalable processes, owners, evidence, closure criteria and durable corrective actions.

• Hands-on ownership in a prototype lab environment with strong follow-through on risks, blockers, safety, and corrective actions.

Required Specialized Skills:

• HIL design, including architecture, signal/I/O mapping, fault insertion, load/sensor simulation, power distribution, safety interlocks, instrumentation, bench health monitoring, configuration management, and repeatable execution methods.

• Embedded hardware integration and bring-up experience across power, reset, clock, boot, flashing, peripherals, firmware, BSP, drivers, test infrastructure, and HW/SW issue isolation.

• Wire harness background and wire harness drawing ownership, including connector/pinout definition, signal routing, shielding/grounding, continuity checks, cable assembly documentation, and lab wiring control.

• Hands-on integration and debug of display interfaces, analog audio, digital audio, RF/radio communication paths, CAN/CAN FD, LIN, Ethernet/1000BASE-T1, serial, USB, UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO, analog/digital I/O, power/wake lines, and diagnostics.

• Strong lab instrumentation capability, including oscilloscopes, meters, power supplies, electronic loads, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, RF tools, Ethernet tools, CAN tools, and controlled reproduction setups.

• Python for automation, instrument…