Senior Autonomous Vehicle Engineer (Electronics)

We are a closely-knit team aspiring to change the world through disruptive technology. We are innovators. We are tinkerers. We are problem-solvers. And we have a fair amount of magic dust up our sleeves. We have a plan for fleet-level deployment of autonomous vehicles, and we are looking for the best-of-the-best to join us in making this a reality.

Based in the U.S. and Asia, Venti Technologies is the leader in safe-speed autonomous logistics systems, developing the future of goods transportation. Using rigorous mathematics, deep learning, and theoretically-grounded algorithms, Venti has a proprietary collection of autonomy technologies including a suite of powerful logistics algorithms. Venti’s proven value proposition of saving costs, increasing vehicle utilization, and improving safety is recognized by customers and driving growth. Launched in 2018, Venti brings together an unsurpassed team internationally. The company has autonomous systems deployed in Asia for industrial and logistics sites and a growing pipeline. Venti has offices in Cambridge (Massachusetts, USA), Suzhou (China), and Singapore – our Asian headquarters.
About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Electronics Engineer to take technical ownership of internally developed electronic hardware used in our autonomous vehicle systems. The role is focused on electronics design and board-level ownership, including circuits that interface with braking, throttle, steering, transmission, sensors, power distribution, and other vehicle peripherals.

The engineer will own the hardware lifecycle from schematic and PCB design through bring-up, validation, production release, field troubleshooting, sustaining engineering, component obsolescence, and redesign when required.

Electronics Design & Technical Ownership

• Design electronic boards with STM32 as the primary platform for vehicle control, power distribution, sensing, communications, and peripheral interfacing.

• Translate system and interface requirements into circuit-level requirements, schematics, component selection, PCB requirements, diagnostics, and validation criteria.

• Perform MCU bring-up and low-level debugging using tools such as STM32CubeIDE / STM32CubeMX, ST-LINK, J-Link, SWD, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes.

• Develop and debug peripheral interfaces including CAN / CAN FD, UART, SPI, I2C, ADC, PWM, GPIO, timers, interrupts, and watchdogs.

• Design power switching, DC/DC conversion, MOSFET and high-side / low-side drivers, PWM outputs, analog and digital I/O, current / voltage sensing, signal conditioning, and sensor interfaces.

• Design robust interfaces for solenoids, proportional valves, relays, contactors, motors, actuators, sensors, and vehicle ECUs, including functions related to braking, throttle, steering, and transmission.

• Design for 12 V / 24 V vehicle environments, including reverse polarity, voltage dips, overvoltage, short circuit, inductive transients, ESD, surge, EMI / EMC, and abnormal operating conditions.

• Select and derate components based on electrical stress, thermal performance, tolerance, lifetime, reliability, environmental requirements, and supply availability.

• Develop schematics and provide technical direction for PCB layout, grounding, return paths, power / signal integrity, thermal design, creepage / clearance, and manufacturability.

• Lead board-level design reviews, identify circuit failure modes, make engineering trade-offs, and mentor other electrical / electronics engineers.

Validation & Root Cause Analysis

• Plan and execute prototype bring-up, board verification, characterization, margin testing, and qualification activities.

• Validate power sequencing, load response, short-circuit behavior, inductive switching, thermal performance, communication robustness, protection functions, and relevant environmental conditions.

• Develop bench test setups to simulate vehicle sensors, actuators, electrical loads, power conditions, and communication interfaces.

• Lead board-level root-cause investigations for complex, intermittent, or safety-relevant failures using oscilloscopes, multimeters, electronic loads, programmable supplies, logic analyzers, CAN tools, thermal imaging, and other laboratory equipment.

• Define corrective actions, verify design changes, document design margins and limitations, and close issues before production release.

Product Lifecycle & EOL Management

• Maintain and support internally developed electronic boards throughout the supported product lifetime.

• Monitor component EOL, PCNs, long lead times, manufacturer changes, and supply constraints; maintain approved alternates and replacement strategies.

• Qualify component substitutions based on form-fit-function compatibility, electrical behavior, thermal performance, EMC impact, environmental suitability, and firmware / interface compatibility.

• Perform schematic and PCB revisions when drop-in replacements are unavailable, and lead redesign of legacy boards when key components become obsolete.

• Maintain BOM lifecycle status, revision control, engineering-change documentation, and validation evidence so boards remain manufacturable, testable, repairable, and supportable.

Production & Supplier Support

• Work with PCB, PCBA, component, cable, and connector suppliers on technical issues, substitutions, quality problems, and production changes.

• Support DFM, DFT, production test development, manufacturing failure analysis, and engineering change control.

• Review supplier deviations and proposed substitutions, ensuring changes are supported by engineering analysis and appropriate validation evidence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Typically 5+ years of relevant electronic hardware development experience.

• Strong fundamentals in analog and digital electronics, including MOSFETs, op-amps, protection circuits, and communication interfaces.

• Proven experience taking electronic hardware from requirements and schematic design through PCB development, bring-up, verification, and production.

• Strong schematic design and PCB design-review capability using KiCad, Altium Designer, or equivalent.

• Strong hands-on hardware debugging and root-cause analysis skills.

• Able to make evidence-based technical decisions and communicate design rationale clearly.

Preferred Experience

• Automotive, commercial vehicle, autonomous vehicle, robotics, industrial machinery, or other high-reliability embedded electronics.

• Vehicle-control electronics; 12 V / 24 V electrical systems; and driver circuits for solenoids, valves, relays, contactors, motors, or other electromechanical loads.

• CAN / J1939 hardware design; EMC / ESD / surge design and laboratory validation.

• Functional safety hardware development and familiarity with ISO 26262, IEC 61508, IEC 62061, or ISO 13849.

• DFMEA / hardware FMEA, component derating, reliability analysis, DFM / DFT, production test, sustaining engineering, and Python for test automation.