As the world makes bold strides towards a future of automotive electrification, the rise of AUTOSAR is forcing the automotive industry to invest vast amounts of money in research and development to best prepare for the automation revolution.
With many ongoing developments and new projects being launched, it becomes increasingly challenging for manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers to find skilled professionals with experience in areas such as AUTOSAR.
The increased competition for the best talent is leading to a slowdown in production, which is frustrating for companies with ambitious growth plans. Additionally, many software developers with the transferable skills to work within AUTOSAR are struggling to sell themselves to the right companies.
Thankfully, we understand the AUTOSAR market and have years of experience supporting clients and candidates to find people and positions within this space. Read on to discover more about AUTOSAR and how the evolving industry offers embedded software developers and engineers a wealth of opportunities.
What is AUTOSAR?
AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) was founded in 2003 and is a development partnership of vehicle manufacturers, service providers, suppliers and other software-related companies.
The goal of AUTOSAR is to develop and implement the standardisation of an open system architecture to support original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers to improve the quality of automotive electronic control units (ECUs) - used to develop autonomous cars and other motor vehicles.
With future scalability through sustainable resources, platform variants, software transferability, safety measures and the overall maintenance of the product lifecycle constantly evolving, this technology is moving fast.
What are the AUTOSAR recruitment challenges?
The rate of this evolving technology is creating a demand for talented professionals with AUTOSAR experience. However, with this demand comes expected challenges. From our extensive experience in AUTOSAR, we have identified two of the market's biggest recruitment challenges.
AUTOSAR clients want experienced professionals
While it's true that there are lots of companies calling out for transferable embedded software developer skills for AUTOSAR roles, positions and talent within this space are not always easy to attain.
Typically, to increase the speed of production and meet the demands of the industry, our clients want experienced software developers with three to five years of AUTOSAR experience who can join their teams to advance projects and help train teammates.
The demand for experienced talent creates a competitive market, with companies fighting to attract candidates with niche skills and experience. Similarly, for candidates who have transferable skills but need more experience, it's hard for them to get their foot in the door.
An alternative for many businesses is to invest time and money in training people. However, many companies are reluctant to do this and would prefer to bring in experienced new hires who can help them push on with development and keep up with the competition. As the talent competition continues to rise, many companies may have to turn to other hiring solutions and invest more in training.
Potential candidates struggle to ‘talk the walk.’
Possessing all the right tools for the task doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be able to wow a would-be hiring manager with your CV or retain their interest throughout a multi-stage interview process. We talk to automotive clients and candidates every day, and we are still hearing the same story: some people have all the right capabilities, but they're not always very good at selling themselves.
This theme has been repeating itself over our many years of providing AUTOSAR recruitment services. That's why we're working hard with our clients and candidates to do something about it. We'll teach you to 'talk your walk' by presenting a particular set of skills and enhancing the way you deliver them.
Once embedded software architects land their first AUTOSAR position, they tend to work in the role for the rest of their careers. Yet the communication problem we've described creates an unnecessary yet easy-to-resolve barrier to progression.
Simply put - you can have the best CV in the world and all the right skills your dream company is looking for. But if you don't communicate your strengths and project experience effectively, you'll miss out on the best AUTOSAR jobs.
Why work in AUTOSAR?
Candidates have different ambitions and goals that drive them, from financial gain to career progression. However, when it comes to the reason why people want to work in AUTOSAR, there are two significant reasons we encounter.
A wealth of AUTOSAR job opportunities
When it comes to embedded software development, there is massive scope for opportunities to work in AUTOSAR due to the demand for talent, with roles such as AUTOSAR Software Developer and AUTOSAR Engineer - both leading to great careers within the industry.
The global partnership of automotive manufacturers, suppliers and services that developed AUTOSAR as a universal software means there are always chances to use your skills across multiple brands. Once you've developed those skills and experience, you may as well use them.
The chance to make a positive difference
For others, working in AUTOSAR means being part of a sweeping global change that can make a difference to the roads and the planet.
Globally, some 1.35 million people are killed in road traffic collisions each year, and the industry creates a great deal of pollution. As well as playing a pivotal role in the electrification revolution - and the exponentially moving connected vehicles market - AUTOSAR is the essential driver for the roll-out of autonomous vehicles, which will help to save lives and protect the planet.
Imagine a world without road traffic collisions, in which your vehicle communicates with other road users and the streetscape to keep your family safe. To minimise congestion while cutting down your carbon footprint. This is the future, and soon the electrification revolution and future innovation will likely replace combustion engines and human drivers altogether.
Autonomous technologies are now commonly accepted in the guise of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – think speed-limit warnings, traffic alerts, adaptive cruise control, and emergency braking. All of this will gradually change customer behaviours and readiness for driverless vehicles.
Many embedded software developers and engineers want to work on intelligent ECUs that can process the reams of data needed to power an autonomous vehicle safely and effectively and enable it to communicate with the surrounding environment.
Additionally, there is the inescapable pull of positive change and progress. While these roles are well paid, it's not so much about the money. People are far more concerned about making sure they move with the times and their skillset does not stagnate.
More and more people now only want to work in a job where they can feel good about their impact on people and the planet. And one of the reasons they choose to work in AUTOSAR is to help lead the automotive industry towards a greener, more sustainable future
The Software developer experience to progress in AUTOSAR
As mentioned, our clients typically ask for a minimum of three to five years of AUTOSAR experience. It's rare for people to get roles in AUTOSAR if they don't have this. If you have it, there's a culture of "once you're in; you're in," but it's challenging to land that first job without a firm foothold.
A typical route into the industry looks like this:
- An embedded software engineer gets a job for an OEM in the automotive sector
- They gain exposure to and are trained in AUTOSAR software architecture.
- It's a specialist field, and once you have the right experience, a world of opportunity opens up.
When working with our hiring managers, it does help to have experience in the full lifecycle of embedded software development of automotive electric vehicle systems. Most of our AUTOSAR engineering and software developer jobs require you to be fluent in 'AUTOSAR Classic' knowledge, while others require you to have demonstrable skills in 'CAN,' including the configuration of AUTOSAR essential software.
Your knowledge of C programming language and programming embedded systems in C and C++ will stand you in good stead. Particularly if you can demonstrate a deep understanding of relevant safety standards or if you have played a key role in designing and developing integrated components of AUTOSAR standardisation requirements.
How can Amoria Bond help you get an AUTOSAR job?
Progression is at the heart of everything we do, so we will present you with the best AUTOSAR jobs to progress your career – beyond what you may have thought you could achieve.
Here are some of the best reasons to work with us when searching for AUTOSAR talent or AUTOSAR jobs.
Our AUTOSAR recruitment team are experts in their field
We have been providing specialist recruitment services for the last 15 years. Our teams are vertical market specialists, which means they are market experts in their area and develop a solid understanding of embedded software and AUTOSAR itself.
Our teams form strategic partnerships with HR, talent functions and heads of engineering departments and therefore are up to speed with the latest company demands and market trends. This helps us build stronger value propositions to attract staff and supplement their own efforts to help them find, attract, and hire the talent they need.
Our CV and interview process advice can secure you the role
Your CV is a vital first step in communicating your suitability for a role. You can have all of the most dazzling embedded software developer skills and an earth-shatteringly fascinating career so far. But if the words you choose to sell yourself aren't right, you're not even going to get a foot in the door.
Fortunately, we can help you fine-tune your response. We know what the industry and our clients are searching for. And we know how to present your pitch to best show off your strengths.
Through working with clients and preparing countless CVs and interviews, we have found that AUTOSAR hiring managers want to know the following:
- That you have developed your AUTOSAR skills in a role.
- That you have helped to develop other people.
- That your contribution has had a commercial impact.
Amoria Bond consultants are experts at managing multi-stage interview processes. We can prepare you for each stage and keep you positive, updated and motivated. We know why people do well and why they don't. And we have years of experience helping highly skilled candidates find work, even those who keep getting rejected or could be better at presenting their true talents and capability.
We can help you with a national and international movement
Amoria Bond has placed over 6,000 people into positions across 40 countries. Despite the pandemic restrictions, we have still been placing candidates into permanent jobs all over the world. As such, we have vast experience in helping families with international relocation.
So, if you need help with your visa applications, our people know the processes inside out. Want to know which is the best side of town to live in or where the best schools are? We can help. Our consultants focus on removing any barriers to entry you may face and specialise in making the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
We can negotiate a higher salary
Some people find it hard to negotiate and will often take a salary at the lower end of what is possible to secure the job. Amoria Bond's recruitment consultants know how much your skills are worth and how much your future employer is willing to pay for them.
Our people are masters of negotiation and can handle all the slightly more awkward stuff, so you can concentrate on selling your skills, experience and capability.
We can take your skills to new places
If you're looking to develop and learn some new skills, we can help. We hear about the projects everyone wants to work on before anyone else can. We've got you if you're looking for lateral moves to develop your capabilities on a brand-new project.
A better culture fit
Our consultants have worked with automotive clients for many years and have learned everything about their company culture and the work environment. We get to understand a team dynamic, the characters on a team and the type of people that gel with them.
So if you are unhappy in your workplace or don't feel fit in, we can work with you to find a company that shares your values and personality traits.
How can I get my next AUTOSAR job?
Our global automotive electronics and software team have long-established relationships with major global automotive OEMs and first-tier suppliers. In addition, we have placed over 30 permanent embedded software engineers into fantastic AUTOSAR positions worldwide.
If you have experience in embedded software development within AUTOSAR, this is your chance to find the next big opportunity and progress in your career. Or, if your business is looking for the best AUOTSAR talent in the market, we can help enhance your business today. Get in touch with Andrew or his team to find out about the latest vacancies, or submit your CV on our website.
