[2] Ledwinka was employed in his first job as carriage trimmer (upholsterer) at the Chicago Coach and Carriage Company where he developed his first patented design for a four-wheel-drive electric vehicle with four-wheel brakes, several of which were built by Westinghouse.
Later he became a chief engineer for the Chattanooga Railroad of Tennessee, where he designed special drives for electric trolley cars.
In the 1930s Ledwinka was involved in the design of Chrysler Airflow body and worked with Ferdinand Porsche on the early VW prototypes.
He retired from Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co. in 1942 and remained as a consulting engineer until his death.
[3] Ledwinka was an author of over 300 technical patents relating to automobile design.