Ford Motor Company · 17 hours ago
Senior Staff WiFi Connectivity Engineer
Palo Alto, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$163K/yr - $309K/yr
10+ years expFord Motor Company is a global leader in the automotive industry, dedicated to building a better world. They are seeking a Senior Staff WiFi Connectivity Engineer to serve as the primary technical authority for wireless technologies within their Software Defined Vehicle architecture, focusing on optimizing WiFi performance and ensuring certification for high-bandwidth wireless projection services.
AutomotiveAutonomous VehiclesManufacturingTransportation
Responsibilities
Wireless Projection Optimization: Take full ownership of WiFi performance for Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. Optimize the stack for low-latency, high-throughput video streaming and jitter-free audio, ensuring a seamless user experience
Projection Certification: Lead the connectivity-side validation for Apple and Google certification. Ensure the WiFi subsystem meets all KPIs regarding connection setup time, throughput stability, and multi-protocol handling required for official projection approval
Complex Concurrency Management: Architect and implement solutions for complex WiFi use cases, including Multi-Role/Multi-Channel (MCC/SCC) concurrency
Technical Roadmap & Ownership: Define the long-term roadmap for WiFi at Ford. Take accountability for the end-to-end software lifecycle, from silicon selection to production-ready drivers
Architectural Leadership: Design and implement WiFi drivers and firmware integrations optimized for hypervisor-based architectures (Xen/KVM), ensuring robust resource sharing between Linux Dom0 and Android Guest VMs
Global Certification & WFA: Drive the strategy for WiFi Alliance (WFA) certification and regulatory compliance (FCC/CE). Establish internal standards for Interoperability (IOP) testing across global mobile device ecosystems
Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the central lead between Hardware, Antenna/RF, Cyber Security, and the Projection/Infotainment teams to ensure a cohesive wireless ecosystem
Supplier Influence: Manage technical relationships with Tier 1 chipset vendors. Influence vendor roadmaps to prioritize features like advanced co-existence and high-stability projection
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
10+ years in WiFi driver development and wireless systems, with a track record of shipping connectivity solutions for high-volume consumer or automotive products
Demonstrated experience optimizing WiFi for Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, including deep knowledge of Wi-Fi Direct (P2P) and SoftAP protocols
Mastery of C and C++ for Linux application / kernel-level development, specifically within the network stack (cfg80211, mac80211)
Expert-level ability to debug and fix latency, packet loss, and throughput issues using network sniffers and logic analyzers
Proven experience architecting connectivity solutions in virtualized environments where hardware resources are partitioned or shared between OSs
Hands-on experience with Apple/Google connectivity certification requirements and WFA Sigma testing
Expert knowledge of 802.11 standards (including Wi-Fi 6/6E/7) and the ability to solve 'impossible' bugs spanning hardware, firmware, and OS
BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
Preferred
Deep understanding of 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz co-existence and interference mitigation strategies (e.g., WiFi/Bluetooth/LTE co-ex)
Experience implementing WPA3, secure boot, and encrypted firmware loading
Active contributor to the Linux Kernel or other relevant networking projects
Benefits
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.
Company
Ford Motor Company
We don't just make history -- we make the future.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Ford Motor Company has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (980)
2024 (810)
2023 (662)
2022 (970)
2021 (630)
2020 (364)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$16.23BKey Investors
US Department of EnergySoros Fund Management
2025-07-29Post Ipo Debt· $3B
2023-08-17Post Ipo Debt· $4B
2023-06-22Debt Financing· $9.2B
Leadership Team
James Farley
Chief Executive Officer
Efrat Barit
COO
Recent News
2026-01-25
2026-01-24
Company data provided by crunchbase