New Product Quality Specialist - Electrical & Firmware

You’ll be working with the Validation team at Exponent Energy

What you will do:

We are looking for a New Product Quality Specialist – Electrical & Firmware to ensure design integrity, functional robustness, and process quality during the development of electric vehicle systems — including battery management systems (BMS), on-board chargers (OBCs), vehicle control units (VCUs), and power electronics. This role bridges hardware, software, and quality engineering to deliver reliable, compliant, and validated electrical systems for production.

Responsibilities

New Product Development Quality

• Lead APQP activities for electrical and firmware components, ensuring adherence to design and process quality deliverables from concept to SOP.
• Review and validate hardware design documents, schematics, and firmware requirements for manufacturability, reliability, and compliance.
• Drive DVP&R creation for electrical and software functions (BMS, OBC, DCDC, MCU, telematics, vehicle controllers).
• Ensure PPAP readiness for electrical assemblies and supplier components.
• Support change control, design validation, and release reviews with cross-functional teams.

Standards and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with relevant standards:
• IATF 16949, ISO 26262 (Functional Safety), ISO 16750 (Environmental validation for E/E),
• AIS 156, AIS 038, AIS 138, and ISO 21782 for EV systems.
• Verify that firmware meets cybersecurity and diagnostic standards (UDS, OBD, ISO 14229, ISO 21434 preferred).

Firmware Quality and Software Validation

• Validate embedded software functionalities, calibration parameters, and diagnostic strategies.
• Participate in software release quality gates and ensure traceability from requirements to test cases.
• Oversee firmware acceptance tests, regression validation, and re-flashing quality controls during build cycles.
• Coordinate HIL, SIL, and bench validation for firmware quality.

Failure Prevention and Root Cause Analysis

• Drive FMEA (DFMEA, PFMEA) for electrical and software subsystems to identify potential risks.
• Use structured problem-solving tools (8D, Fishbone, 5-Whys) to address hardware or firmware failures.
• Manage field quality data for electrical components and track firmware issue resolution with the development team.

Testing and Validation Coordination

• Define and monitor electrical validation tests (insulation resistance, short circuit, leakage, EMC, vibration, temperature, humidity).
• Ensure firmware meets system performance requirements through end-to-end testing.
• Review test reports, ensure closure of deviations, and approve production readiness.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with design, validation, and manufacturing teams to drive quality improvement.
• Provide feedback into DFM, DFA, and DFT (Design for Testability) processes for electrical modules.
• Collaborate with system engineers to define diagnostic coverage, CAN mapping, and fault management strategies.

The ideal candidate requires:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical / Electronics / Mechatronics / Embedded Systems Engineering.
• Master’s degree preferred.

Experience

• 8-10 years of experience in automotive electrical system or embedded software quality, with hands-on involvement in new product development.
• Direct exposure to EV battery, BMS, charger, or vehicle control systems development.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of schematics, circuit design, PCB layout, and component derating.
• Familiarity with embedded firmware, CAN communication, and automotive diagnostics (UDS, OBD-II).
• Knowledge of Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) validation processes.

Quality Tools and Standards

• Proficiency in APQP, PPAP, FMEA, SPC, MSA, and 8D methodologies.
• Understanding of ISO 26262, ISO 21434, and ISO 9001 frameworks.
• Data-driven mindset for analyzing validation and field quality metrics.

What matters

• High ownership of work. 
• Quality of work
• Approach towards problem-solving
• Dissatisfaction towards mediocre work
• Resilient attitude to bounce back after failing
• Ideal experience range of 4 to 8 years of relevant experience

About Us

Exponent simplifies energy for EVs.

Co-founded by Arun Vinayak (Ather Energy's Founding Partner & Former Chief Product Officer) and Sanjay Byalal (Former hardware strategic sourcing and cell strategy lead, Ather and Former Supply Chain Lead, HUL), Exponent focuses on solving two sides of the energy problem by building the e^pump (charging station) and e^pack (battery pack) which together unlock 15-min rapid charging.

The 200+ strong team of passionate builders have a ton of EV experience and are currently looking for more builders to join one of the best EV teams in India to build & scale Exponent.