Camera Software Engineering Manager

Job ID: 71068
Location: Palo Alto, California
Category: PD Operations and Quality

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At Ford, you’ll work on ideas that matter, alongside passionate people who want to make a global impact. Together, we’re shaping the next era of transportation—grounded in purpose, driven by progress. Make your move.

Job Type: Full time
Work Type: Hybrid

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We are seeking a Camera Software Engineering Manager to own the end-to-end delivery of in-vehicle camera features, driving alignment between the IVI software and the embedded camera firmware. This person is accountable for the full feature lifecycle, from requirements and architecture through implementation, integration, validation, manufacturing readiness, and OTA release, across both the IVI software and embedded firmware sides of the stack.

This is a cross-functional leadership role. You will manage engineers and coordinate across Android, firmware, hardware/SoC partners, security, V&V, quality, and manufacturing teams to ship reliable camera capabilities such as live video streaming to the IVI display, image capture, machine-learning-powered features, and object-detection use cases

What you'll do...

Feature Ownership & Delivery

Work with Product and Program Management organizations to define and refine product requirements, coordinate releases, and establish feature delivery milestones
Own camera feature delivery end-to-end across the IVI software and the embedded camera firmware, from concept to production release.
Translate product requirements into a coherent technical roadmap spanning both the IVI application layer and the embedded C/C++ firmware layer.
Define, track, and communicate milestones, dependencies, and risks; unblock teams and drive decisions to keep releases on schedule.

Cross-Platform Technical Leadership

Lead the interface contract between IVI and camera firmware, including distributed state-synchronization protocols and UDS-based diagnostics and firmware update flows.
Guide the architecture for the video streaming pipeline: live streaming to the IVI screen, H.264/H.265 encoding, ISP configuration, resolution/frame-rate tuning, and latency optimization.
Guide the integration of machine-learning and computer-vision capabilities, including object detection, classification, tracking, and other camera-based perception use cases.
Work with the platform team to improve and ensure robust communications across vehicle network interfaces, including automotive Ethernet.

Quality, Verification & Validation

Partner with the V&V team, quality, and systems teams to define test strategies, integration plans, and acceptance criteria for camera features.
Coordinate software integration, bench testing, vehicle-level validation, defect triage, and root-cause analysis across IVI and embedded firmware.
Champion quality across CI pipelines, test frameworks, and code-quality gates, including static analysis and coverage thresholds.

Security & Manufacturing Readiness

Partner with security teams on secure boot, TLS, certificate-based authentication, and secure provisioning / key injection.
Drive manufacturing readiness, including OTA firmware distribution, version management, artifact release pipelines, and production flashing workflows.

Stakeholder Communication

Serve as the single point of accountability for camera software status to product, program, and executive stakeholders.
Provide regular, structured updates to Program and Engineering leadership, communicating progress, risks, dependencies, quality metrics, validation status, and release readiness to senior leadership and other key stakeholders.

You'll have...

7–10 years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years leading or managing engineering teams that delivered shipped products.
Familiarity with camera/video software, including capture pipelines, ISP, streaming, H.264/H.265 codecs, and latency-sensitive real-time systems
Understanding machine-learning inference and computer-vision workflows for camera applications, including model integration, performance optimization, and deployment on resource-constrained platforms. Demonstrated experience owning features end-to-end across an application layer and an embedded/firmware layer.
Solid understanding of Linux operating system fundamentals, system-level programming, and driver integration.
Deep expertise on at least one side of the stack, with working fluency on the other:
IVI: Kotlin/Java, AAOS (IVI Automotive OS), Jetpack Compose, JNI.
Embedded / OS: C/C++, Linux, RTOS (Zephyr preferred), bootloaders, and device drivers.
Experience with device-to-device / vehicle communication protocols (e.g., UDS, state-sync frameworks, automotive Ethernet).
Proven track record with CI/CD, automated testing, and code-quality gates.
Experience working with V&V, QA, systems engineering, and other cross-functional teams to deliver production software.
Excellent cross-functional communication and program management skills.

Even better, you may have...

Experience in automotive / in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) software.
Hands-on background with ARM Cortex-M based SoCs and vision/camera microcontrollers
Experience shipping OTA firmware updates and managing multi-target build matrices across hardware variants.
Familiarity with distributed state synchronization and VHAL integration.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a leadership level 6 and ranges from $150,200-$283,500.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
Internal applicants: moving into this role may result in an adjustment to your current compensation based on the posted pay range for this role, taking into consideration your qualifications and other relevant factors.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL6

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid

#LI-MZ1 #UEV

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Change the world with your ideas.

Speak up. We’re listening. At Ford, we believe the right ideas, and the people behind them, can move an entire industry. Here, you'll work with teams who value your voice, push bold ideas forward, and leave a mark that lasts.

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Support designed to go the distance.

From day one, Ford invests in you with medical benefits built to help you plan for what’s next. You’ll also get support for you and your family that meets you at every step, so you can move forward with confidence.

Health and Wellness

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, mental health, and unique wellness perks keep you and your family supported every step of the way.
Financial and Retirement Programs

Build a strong financial future with robust retirement contributions, savings programs, and free personalized financial planning tools.
Flexible Vacation and Holidays

Enjoy your time away from work with generous vacation, holidays, and flexible family leave designed to help you balance life and work with ease.
Vehicle Discount Program

The best thing about building great products is driving them! The second-best thing: sharing your discount with family and friends so they can drive them, too.
Family Growth and Support

Grow your family confidently with fertility, surrogacy, and adoption assistance, paid parental leave, and a supportive new-parent ramp-up program.
Additional Programs

Enjoy unexpected extras like pet insurance, legal services, identity protection, and access to convenient health and wellness services.

Ford gives me the space to innovate, to lead, and to serve — all while staying true to who I am as an engineer, educator, and parent. It’s not just a career; it’s a community that drives change.

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Camera Software Engineering Manager

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Change the world with your ideas.

Support designed to go the distance.

Health and Wellness

Financial and Retirement Programs

Flexible Vacation and Holidays

Vehicle Discount Program

Family Growth and Support

Additional Programs

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