Employee Spotlight: Learn what drives our automated driving engineer, Ky

What's it like to work at a company that's enabling the future of mobility?
Hear from Ky, one of Aptiv's automated driving engineers.

What inspired you to become an engineer?
To some end, I always felt like an engineer. Growing up I spent a lot of my time taking things apart to see how they worked. My parents recall it with mixed pride and frustration since I failed to find any fun in the reassembly process. Additionally, both my father and grandfather were petroleum engineers so the engineering gene already ran in the family. However, it was not until I got to college and worked with some phenomenal professors that I became interested in the area of controls and robotics, which has become my passion ever since.

What is your favorite part about working at Aptiv?
My favorite part about working for Aptiv is the great team and innovation we have here. There are always challenging problems to tackle, which require new ideas and different perspectives. This leads to a team of very qualified and diverse individuals who can bring many different skillsets to the table. Team members are not only expected to have in-depth knowledge of their field but be able to communicate this information effectively to others.

What is the one piece of advice you would tell a future engineer?
I would tell a future engineer to always continue to chase their passion. The field of engineering is quite large and there are many different specialties to choose from. Always be on the lookout for areas that interest you, and push to learn more about them. Sometimes this can take the shape of formal education like graduate school, but it can also come from your own individual pursuit of knowledge. Our team is always looking for candidates with techniques they not only learned in a classroom but can be applied to systems in the real world.

Where do you see mobility in 20 years?
It is hard for me to speculate about mobility in 20 years because this is a time of immense change. Amazing technologies are being developed here at Aptiv as well as at other autonomous vehicle companies and are drastically shifting the landscape of what is possible for the future. If I had to take a guess, I would say that Level 4 autonomous vehicles will become commonplace in ride-sharing, in fleets, and as consumer vehicles. Just as we have seen growth in infrastructure to support electric vehicles, I think autonomous vehicles will start with limited ranges in cities until the technology and infrastructure lead them to grow into full Level 5 systems capable of performing better than a human driver in all scenarios.

Whose voice would you like to hear on an autonomous driving system?
I would like to hear Morgan Freeman’s voice in an autonomous driving system. His voice has a reassuring and calming effect, which can help ease people into the new experience. Passengers grow comfortable in our self-driving vehicles once they experience how smooth the ride is and how well the car behaves in complex situations. However, any initial anxiety caused by this new experience could also be mitigated by hearing a friendly, well-known voice to guide you through the process.