Embedded Software Engineer, Vehicle Access

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

Workplace: On-site, Monday-Thursday. REMOTE on Friday.

Location: Palo Alto, CA

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to take full functional ownership of the vehicle access authentication path and the customer-facing vehicle functions built on top of it. This is the software that every single customer access event passes through — transaction authorization, lock/unlock, start authorization, and remote functions — spanning Digital Key and Key Card credentials. You will help drive this stack from architecture through vehicle bring-up and post-launch support, working with wireless and embedded technologies including Bluetooth, UWB, NFC, and RF connectivity.

Responsibilities

• Own implementation of one or more components of the vehicle access authentication path, including transaction authorization, lock/unlock, start authorization, and/or remote functions across Digital Key and Key Card.
• Architect and develop embedded software for Vehicle Access systems running on ECUs and real-time embedded platforms.
• Design, implement, and maintain Digital Key functionality based on Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) standards, alongside Key Card authentication flows.
• Develop software supporting vehicle access features utilizing Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), NFC, and RF communication technologies.
• Lead collaboration with systems, hardware, validation, cybersecurity, and mobile application teams to deliver end-to-end vehicle access and vehicle function solutions.
• Write and enhance embedded software in C, leveraging Python for automation, testing, and validation activities.
• Define software architecture, interfaces, and communication frameworks between vehicle systems, key credentials (Digital Key and Key Card), and external devices.
• Support vehicle integration, debugging, and bring-up activities on prototype and production vehicles.
• Diagnose complex software, connectivity, and RF-related issues across vehicle and mobile ecosystems.
• Use AI-assisted development tools (such as VS Code with GitHub Copilot or other approved AI coding assistants) to accelerate coding, code review, debugging, documentation, and test-case generation, while critically validating all AI-suggested code against automotive safety, security, and coding standards (e.g., MISRA).

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 8+ years of professional experience developing embedded software.
• Strong proficiency in Embedded C programming.
• Strong Python scripting and automation experience.
• Hands-on experience with complex embedded software projects, such as Vehicle Access systems, Digital Key, or Key Card technologies.
• Experience working with complex industry standards, e.g., Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) standards.
• Understanding of Bluetooth, UWB, NFC, RF communication, and wireless connectivity architectures.
• Experience developing software for automotive ECUs and embedded real-time systems.
• Demonstrated ability to own a system end-to-end, from architecture through post-launch support, with minimal supervision.
• Practical experience using modern AI-assisted development tools (e.g., VS Code Copilot, Claude Code, or similar) to improve coding efficiency, accelerate debugging, and support test/documentation generation, paired with sound judgment on responsible use of AI-generated output.

Preferred Qualifications

• Automotive experience implementing CCC Digital Key vehicle access technology, and/or Key Card authentication systems.
• Experience developing software for Body Control Modules (BCM) or Vehicle Access ECUs.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity concepts related to vehicle access, transaction authorization, and secure authentication.
• Familiarity with CAN, Automotive Ethernet, diagnostics, and vehicle communication protocols.
• Experience with vehicle integration, validation, and launch activities.
• Understanding of embedded Linux and RTOS-based systems.
• Familiarity with ISO 26262, ASPICE, MISRA, or automotive software development processes.
• Experience establishing or contributing to team guidelines for the safe and efficient use of AI coding assistants in safety-critical or regulated software environments.

Salary Range

• $150,000 - 170,000
• The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

Please beware of job seeker scams and see this important notice on our careers page for more information about our recruiting process.

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.