Brent Snavely

Detroit Free Press

Roush Industries is taking the plunge into the increasingly competitive arena of software and data analytics for autonomous vehicles.

The company — a longtime leader in engineering, testing, prototype and manufacturing for the automotive industry — has opened a 44,000-square-foot technical center in Troy. The center will serve as headquarters for a staff of engineers who build the company's expertise software that will manage data that autonomous vehicles need to navigate.

Eventually, Roush expects to employ about 150 engineers in Troy. About 20 have been hired. To apply for jobs, go to the company's careers page at www.roush.com/join-our-team.

In addition to software and data analytics, which is a new area for Roush, engineers at the center will work on electric vehicle systems and autonomous vehicle systems.

"We are seeing quite a bit of growth in our business related to autonomous vehicles," said Gary Rogers, vice president of advanced engineering for Roush. "Different levels of driver assistance, up to the point of self-driving vehicles. And so we are supporting activities for the integration of those systems plus the testing of such vehicles."

The company, based in Livonia, decided to open the development center in Troy so it could be closer to customers such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in Auburn Hills, as well as to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research and Development Center in Warren.

Related:

Roush's reach stretches far beyond racing and Mustangs

Google driverless cars being built in Livonia

Rogers declined to say which customers are using Roush's expertise to develop autonomous-car systems because that information is highly sensitive with the technology emerging and changing quickly.

In 2015, Roush built about 150 self-driving cars for Google's Self-Driving Car project, which has been renamed Waymo.

"We are supporting several customers who have their own self-driving programs," Rogers said. "And we — through our test services group — we are testing such vehicles and gathering a lot of information on those vehicles as we test them."

Roush Industries, which employs about 3,000, is part of Livonia-based Roush Enterprises.

Founded by Jack Roush, Roush Enterprises encompasses a family of related companies including Roush Fenway Racing; Roush Performance, a developer and manufacturer of performance vehicles and products for the automotive aftermarket, and Roush CleanTech, a developer and manufacturer of alternative-fuel systems for the fleet vehicle market.

Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely.