• 2018 HENAAC Luminary •

As a Senior Controls System Engineer at General Motors, Josef J. Correia is an Algorithm Design Engineer, software integration engineer, and Cross TRB (Technical Resource Board) Team Leader for the Propulsion Functional Safety team within the GM Global Electrification Controls division.

His innovative work contributing to the development of the safety algorithm behind the revolutionary One-Pedal Driving feature in the Chevy Bolt electric vehicle has already earned Mr. Correia the prestigious Boss Kettering Award – the highest internal award available to GM engineers. The invention marks a paradigm shift in the way people drive cars by combining nearly- full range acceleration and deceleration controls into a single pedal, which allows the driver to bring the vehicle to a complete stop without the need to switch footing on the pedals.

Accomplishing a tremendous amount in just under ten years at General Motors, Mr. Correia has earned three patents and authored a Defensive Publication on Hazard Prevention and Mitigation Method for One-Pedal Driving. He began his career with GM as an Algorithm Developer for the Platform Software Engineering Group and was recently chosen to receive the HACR Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers (YHCA) Award for his outstanding achievements within the corporation.

Mr. Correia helps GM recruit young talent as a Global Propulsion Functional Talent Scout through the GM Hispanic Partner Recruiting Team, and he’s the Candidate Care Team Lead tasked with supporting and building a strong pipeline of candidates throughout the entire recruiting process.

Born in Venezuela, Mr. Correia moved to Florida with his family when he was 16. He earned a Bright Futures Scholarship to study at Florida Atlantic University, where he completed a B.S. in Electrical Engineering with Cum Laude honors. He began his professional career during his sophomore year as a Research Assistant for Motorola Inc. and moved to Egret Technologies in his junior year, leading test automation of Digital Optical Transceivers.

Mr. Correia was the Professional Activities Chair of his SHPE chapter before graduating college and joining General Motors. During his first year at the company, he began his studies for his M.S. in Information Technology – Software Engineering Specialty at Carnegie Mellon University, which he completed with Cum Laude Honors.