R&D Electrical Hardware & Systems Engineer

Position: R&D Electrical Hardware & Systems Engineer

At Nexteer, our strength lies in the diversity of our team—each member contributing unique backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations. We believe this diversity fuels our innovation, broadens our perspectives, and propels our collective growth.

For over a century, we’ve been innovators in the automotive industry.  Our vision is clear - we are a global leading motion control technology company accelerating mobility to be safe, green and exciting. Our unwavering commitment to Quality, Collaboration, Integrity, and Accountability guides us as we solve motion control challenges for our global customers. If you’re ready to join a dynamic team that drives change and makes a difference, Nexteer welcomes you! 

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated, innovative, hands-on engineer to join our Research & Development team developing next-generation electromechanical brake (EMB) and brake-by-wire systems for automotive applications.

This role owns the electrical hardware and electrical systems engineering of EMB technologies, from system requirements through prototype validation. The engineer will flow vehicle- and system-level requirements down to electrical hardware, define hardware/software interfaces for sensors and actuators, and develop power electronics, motor drive, sensing, and embedded control hardware for safety-critical braking.

The ideal candidate combines strong theoretical understanding with practical hardware development experience and is passionate about technologies such as wide-bandgap semiconductors, high-power-density motor drives, and fault-tolerant, redundant electrical architectures.

Key Responsibilities

As an R&D Electrical Hardware & Systems Engineer, you will be responsible to:

• Research, develop, and validate electrical hardware for electromechanical brake actuators and brake-by-wire systems.
• Analyze system requirements and flow them down to electrical architecture, hardware, and component-level requirements, maintaining traceability.
• Define and document hardware/software interfaces for sensors (motor position, clamp force, current, temperature, pedal) and actuators, working with software and controls teams.
• Design, analyze, and optimize analog, digital, mixed-signal, sensing, motor drive, and power electronic circuits, including redundant and fail-operational/fail-safe designs.
• Develop schematics and support PCB layout for electronic control units and power stages.
• Evaluate emerging technologies including wide-bandgap semiconductors, advanced motor drive topologies, and power architectures for 12V/48V systems.
• Build, test, troubleshoot, and validate prototypes in lab, and vehicle environments.
• Lead or participate in design reviews, DFMEA, and functional safety analyses.
• Collaborate with systems, controls, software, mechanical, safety, manufacturing, and validation teams, and document designs, analyses, and test results.
• Interface with suppliers, industry partners, and research organizations on emerging technologies.

Required Qualifications

• Strong understanding of electrical circuit design, analysis, simulation, and troubleshooting across analog, digital, mixed-signal, and power electronic circuits.
• Knowledge of power electronics, switching converters, power semiconductor devices, and motor control electronics.
• Experience with electrical systems engineering, including requirements analysis, flow-down to hardware, and interface definition.
• Understanding of sensor interfacing and signal conditioning, and of hardware/software interaction with microcontrollers (ADC, PWM, SPI, SENT, CAN).
• Experience with design and simulation tools such as OrCAD, PSpice, PLECS, MATLAB/Simulink, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with PCB design using Mentor Graphics Xpedition or equivalent, including signal integrity, power distribution, thermal management, and EMI/EMC.
• Hands-on experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, logic analyzers) and strong debugging and root-cause analysis skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work independently and in cross-functional teams.

• Proficiency with Microsoft office tools (Excel, Word, Powerpoint).
• Must be able to look at computer screen/monitor for extended periods of time

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with electromechanical brake, brake-by-wire, steer-by-wire, or other safety-critical automotive actuator systems.
• Working knowledge of ISO 26262 functional safety, including hardware metrics, safety mechanisms, and redundant architectures.
• Experience with wide-bandgap (GaN/SiC) devices and high power-density motor drive design.
• Experience with requirements management tools (e.g., DOORS, Polarion) and model-based systems engineering (e.g., SysML).
• Working knowledge of CAN FD, CAN XL, Automotive Ethernet (10BASE-T1S/100BASE-T1), and embedded control systems.
• Ability to read embedded software written in C; experience with LabVIEW and HIL test systems.
• Familiarity with automotive development processes (ASPICE, DVP&R), DFMEA, and design verification methodologies.

Education Requirements

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering with 3+ years of relevant experience in power electronics, automotive electronics, or electrical systems engineering.
• PhD preferred.

Nexteer is an Equal Opportunity Employer Disabled/Minorities/Veterans/Women

Nexteer is an E-Verify employer. E-Verify is an internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows participating employees to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees in the United States.

Accessibility for Applicants with Disabilities: If you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please email careers@nexteer.com. Please provide your contact information and details about the posted position of interest. Only inquiries regarding assistance for those who need an accommodation with the online application process due to a disability will be returned.

About Nexteer

Nexteer Automotive is a global leader in advanced steering and motion control systems, enabling intuitive, safe, and comfortable mobility for drivers around the world. Our innovative product portfolio includes Electric Power Steering (EPS), Steer-by-Wire™, Driveline, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technologies that support electrification, software-defined vehicles, and autonomous driving.

With approximately 13,000 employees and operations in more than 20 manufacturing plants and multiple technical centers globally, Nexteer partners with nearly every major global and regional automotive manufacturer.

Employment Agencies 

Employment agencies are an important component of our talent acquisition strategy, and we value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. We will not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies for any employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Nexteer Automotive or directly to hiring managers in any form without a signed Nexteer Automotive Agency Agreement on file, and search engagement for that position, will be deemed unsolicited in nature, and no fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired as a result of the referral or through other means. Additionally, any resume submitted without a contract in place will be considered Nexteer Automotive property and no fees will be paid to the agency if the candidate is hired. 

Please note, agency agreements will only be valid if in writing and signed by a member of Nexteer’s Human Resources team.  No other Nexteer employee is authorized to bind Nexteer to any agreement regarding the placement of candidates by an agency.