OPTIMAL SYSTEMS Group · 5 hours ago
Vehicle Test Engineer
Allen Park, MI
Contract
Hybrid
Mid Level
3+ years expOptimal Inc. is seeking a Vehicle Test Engineer to manage and operate a fleet of test vehicles supporting vehicle software development and validation. The role focuses on vehicle operations, maintenance, software updates, and collaboration with various teams to diagnose issues and improve software delivery efficiency.
Information TechnologyManufacturingSoftware
Responsibilities
Manage and operate assigned test vehicles, ensuring readiness for software validation, and release activities
Coordinate vehicle usage, availability, sign-out/sign-in, and configuration control to support multiple engineering teams
Oversee preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance of test vehicles, including hardware, ECUs, Safety, power systems, and network components
Execute and manage vehicle software baselining activities, including flashing, configuration management, and version control across multiple ECUs
Perform OTA, service, manufacturing, and manual software updates on test vehicles
Verify software integrity, configuration correctness, and system behavior following updates
Support software release readiness by validating baseline stability and vehicle operability
Develop and maintain scripts and tools (e.g., Python, shell, or similar) to automate vehicle auditing, health checks, log collection, dashboards, and reporting
Work closely with product, software, validation, and operations teams to align vehicle readiness with program milestones and sprint objectives
Provide accurate effort estimates for vehicle operations, software updates, and tooling tasks during sprint planning
Contribute to technical documentation, operational procedures, and best practices for vehicle software operations
Identify and drive continuous improvement initiatives related to vehicle management, software update reliability, and operational efficiency
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field
3-5 years of experience in software engineering, automotive product development, vehicle software operations, test systems, or complex embedded/software environments
Demonstrated experience managing test vehicles and executing vehicle software updates
Hands-on experience with scripting, automation, and diagnostic tools
Proven ability to perform advanced root cause analysis and debug complex system issues
Manage and operate assigned test vehicles, ensuring readiness for software validation, and release activities
Coordinate vehicle usage, availability, sign-out/sign-in, and configuration control to support multiple engineering teams
Oversee preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance of test vehicles, including hardware, ECUs, Safety, power systems, and network components
Execute and manage vehicle software baselining activities, including flashing, configuration management, and version control across multiple ECUs
Perform OTA, service, manufacturing, and manual software updates on test vehicles
Verify software integrity, configuration correctness, and system behavior following updates
Support software release readiness by validating baseline stability and vehicle operability
Develop and maintain scripts and tools (e.g., Python, shell, or similar) to automate vehicle auditing, health checks, log collection, dashboards, and reporting
Work closely with product, software, validation, and operations teams to align vehicle readiness with program milestones and sprint objectives
Provide accurate effort estimates for vehicle operations, software updates, and tooling tasks during sprint planning
Contribute to technical documentation, operational procedures, and best practices for vehicle software operations
Identify and drive continuous improvement initiatives related to vehicle management, software update reliability, and operational efficiency
Scripting, Software Testing, Test Automation, Test Execution, Root Cause Analysis, Fleet Management
Scripting / Software Testing The candidate is expected to develop and maintain scripts (preferably using Python, and/or C++ or similar languages as a plus) to support vehicle operations and efficiency
Test Automation The candidate should leverage automation to improve operational efficiency by creating scripts to automatically read vehicle diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) using logs, CAN data, or diagnostic APIs, categorizing and flagging known error codes with recommended remediation steps
Test Execution The candidate is not responsible for executing test cases, but should support efficient test execution by ensuring vehicles are properly prepared and available for testing teams, verifying vehicles are on the correct software baseline, coordinating vehicle availability to minimize test delays, supporting test teams by quickly identifying and resolving vehicle-related blockers
Root Cause Analysis The candidate is expected to perform root cause analysis related to vehicle and fleet issues, including, investigating recurring vehicle faults, connectivity issues, or test failures, analyzing diagnostic data, logs, and usage history to identify root causes, differentiating between software, hardware, and operational issues, documenting findings and resolutions to support continuous improvement
Fleet Management Fleet management is a core responsibility of the role. Expectations include, managing vehicle sign-out and sign-in processes, ensuring vehicles are maintained in test-ready condition, tracking vehicle status, location, usage, and health, coordinating maintenance, updates, and repairs, supporting audits and ensuring compliance with fleet policies
Company
OPTIMAL SYSTEMS Group
Digitalization made possible. Software solutions for the management of information.
501-1000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageCompany data provided by crunchbase