Senior Electrical Hardware Engineer – Central Compute Unit at General Motors LLC — Sunnyvale, CA

Job Description

Role Summary

General Motors is expanding its in-house electronics capabilities to support next-generation Central Compute, ADAS, and software-defined vehicle platforms. The Senior Electrical Hardware Engineer will contribute across electrical architecture, circuit design, hardware integration, and validation to deliver robust, production-ready ECUs.

This role requires strong electrical engineering fundamentals combined with system-level thinking. The engineer will work across schematic development, component selection, layout guidance, electrical analysis, bring-up, and hardware/software interface definition.

Key Responsibilities

Hardware Architecture & Design

• Contribute to hardware architecture including power topology, high-speed interfaces, clocking, resets, and system partitioning.
• Develop and review schematics for complex mixed-signal and high-speed digital designs.
• Perform component selection with consideration for electrical performance, automotive qualification, reliability, thermal, and power constraints.
• Provide PCB layout guidance for signal integrity, power integrity, grounding, and EMI mitigation.
• Participate in design reviews and technical trade studies.

Electrical Analysis & Robustness

• Perform and review electrical analysis including:
• WCCA (Worst Case Circuit Analysis)
• Power distribution and sequencing validation
• Interface margin and performance evaluation
• Contribute to DFMEA activities, addressing both design and interaction-related risks.
• Support Functional Safety (FuSA) hardware considerations as applicable.

Hardware Bring-Up & Debug

• Lead and support bench-level bring-up including power-on sequencing, clock validation, reset behavior, and interface activation.
• Debug hardware using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol tools.
• Analyze failures and drive root cause resolution across hardware and system boundaries.
• Provide feedback to improve design robustness and integration margin.

Hardware–Software Interface & System Integration

• Develop and maintain Hardware Software Interface Specifications (HSIS).
• Collaborate with internal and external software teams during boot and low-level driver bring-up.
• Ensure hardware interfaces are clearly defined, testable, and aligned with software usage.
• Support system-level validation and readiness activities.

Verification & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Contribute to hardware verification test plans and bench validation activities.
• Work closely with systems, software, validation, and manufacturing teams to ensure alignment.
• Support EV/DV/PV validation phases and issue resolution.
• Communicate technical status, risks, and mitigation plans clearly to stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in automotive or high-complexity electronics development.
• Strong fundamentals in analog and digital circuit design.
• Experience with schematic development and PCB layout guidance.
• Hands-on bench debugging experience.
• Experience contributing to WCCA and DFMEA.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Central Compute, ADAS, infotainment, or high-performance ECUs.
• Knowledge of high-speed interfaces (Ethernet, PCIe, DDR, SerDes).
• Familiarity with automotive standards including ISO 26262 and EMC requirements.
• Experience developing HSIS documentation.
• Experience collaborating closely with software teams on HW/SW integration.
• Experience supporting EV/DV/PV validation.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to contribute to next-generation vehicle compute platforms.
• Exposure across architecture, design, integration, and validation.
• Collaboration with senior technical leaders across hardware, systems, and software.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and long-term technical growth.

• The salary range for this role is ($125,200 to $192,700). The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
• Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

Benefits

• Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.

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