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Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Onsite
TEAM
Arene Applied Engineering is a diverse team of engineers dedicated to helping Toyota build software defined vehicles utilizing the Arene platform and tools. Our work begins with a deep understanding of our Toyota customers—their objectives, challenges, workflows, and technical environments. We partner closely with them to identify pain points, evaluate opportunities, and translate their needs into clear product direction and engineering requirements.
In addition to shaping product direction, we develop targeted solutions that help customers make effective use of the existing Arene platform and tools. We work across teams to ensure that our solutions are reliable, maintainable, secure, fully integrated, and ready to operate in production environments. We take ownership from initial discovery through deployment and ongoing improvement. Our goal is not only to solve individual problems, but to create solutions that scale across Toyota and strengthen the overall Arene ecosystem.
We are a collaborative, hands-on, and customer-focused team that values technical rigor, practical problem-solving, clear communication, and end-to-end ownership.
Woven by Toyota is Toyota’s software and mobility subsidiary. Arene is its flagship software development platform and vehicle software foundation for software-defined vehicles (SDVs). It combines an SDK, tools, and data capabilities to standardize development, enable software reuse across hardware and vehicle generations, and support continuous improvement (including OTA).
Arene has already shipped in production (first on the new Toyota RAV4 for Toyota Safety Sense / ADAS and cockpit features; expanding toward ~50 models and 10 million vehicles annually by 2030). It emphasizes decoupling software from specific hardware via abstractions and APIs, while still requiring rigorous real-vehicle and hardware-in-the-loop integration. Work spans ADAS/safety systems, cockpit, middleware, and (increasingly) more centralized vehicle architectures.
This role is for a hands-on engineer who writes production C++ and owns the hard part of making software actually work with real vehicle hardware, ECUs, sensors, and networks. The strongest fit is typically someone who has worked in software integration or embedded systems roles at a self-driving, autonomous, or advanced ADAS company, where they shipped code that ran on the vehicle under real-time, safety, and resource constraints.
Design, implement, and deliver production-quality C++ software components, middleware, abstraction layers, drivers, and services that integrate with real vehicle hardware (ECUs, sensors, networks, compute platforms).
Own software-hardware integration work: bring software up on hardware, debug issues across the stack (timing, communication, resource constraints, sensor interfaces, etc.), and drive it to production quality.
Develop and refine hardware-agnostic abstractions and APIs so software can be portable and reusable across different ECUs, sensors, vehicle platforms, and generations while still meeting real-time and safety requirements.
Contribute to Arene SDK / vehicle platform elements used for ADAS, cockpit, or related domains; collaborate with internal teams and partners on integration, testing, and deployment.
Work across the full loop: code, unit/integration tests, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) or bench setups, vehicle testing, and feedback into the platform. Support or build tooling that reduces manual integration friction.
Debug complex, multi-domain issues involving software, hardware interfaces (CAN, Ethernet, etc.), timing, and system behavior. Produce clear technical documentation and design artifacts as needed.
Collaborate with global teams (including Japan-based partners) and help raise the quality bar through code reviews, practical engineering practices, and continuous improvement.
4+ years of experience with strong modern C++ (C++14/17 preferred; ability to work in constrained, safety-minded environments). Comfortable writing production code that ships on real systems—not just prototypes.
Bachelor or Masters degree in computer science, embedded engineering, or similar domain.
Hands-on experience integrating software with hardware in embedded, automotive, robotics, or self-driving contexts. You have personally brought code up on physical systems, debugged interface/timing/resource issues, and gotten it working reliably.
Experience in a software integration, embedded systems, or vehicle software role (or equivalent) at a self-driving, autonomous, or advanced ADAS company is a strong positive. Familiarity with the realities of vehicle compute, sensors, real-time constraints, and shipping software that must work in the field.
Solid understanding of embedded/resource-constrained environments, real-time considerations, and low-level hardware interaction (or the ability to ramp quickly).
Experience with vehicle or robotics communication protocols (CAN, Ethernet, or similar) and/or middleware/IPC patterns.
Proven ability to own features end-to-end: design, implement, test, debug, and deliver. Strong debugging and systems troubleshooting skills.
Comfortable working in collaborative, cross-functional, and often multi-site environments. Clear technical communication.
Automotive experience (ADAS, cockpit, body, or related domains) or exposure to standards such as ISO 26262, AUTOSAR, or MISRA-style practices.
Experience with Linux-based vehicle systems, QNX, or similar RTOS; Bazel or similar build systems; CI/CD for embedded workflows.
Familiarity with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), simulation-to-hardware continuity, or virtualized testing environments.
Prior work on software platforms, SDKs, or abstraction layers intended for reuse across hardware.
Knowledge of sensors common in ADAS/autonomy (cameras, radar, lidar, etc.) or vehicle electrical architectures.
Interest in (or light exposure to) functional safety, security, or performance optimization under constraints.
A successful person in this role is practical and hands-on. They have shipped software in a self-driving or similar high-stakes environment, so they understand the difference between code that works in a lab and code that works on a real vehicle with real hardware constraints, timing, and safety expectations. They write solid C++, dig into integration problems without waiting for others, and help Arene become more reliable and portable as it scales across Toyota’s vehicle lineup.
This is not a pure research or pure cloud role—it sits at the software-hardware boundary on production vehicle programs. Leveling is targeted at L5 or below to keep the focus on individual contribution and hands-on delivery rather than pure staff-level architecture or management.
