Autonomous Mobility Solutions Engineer

Ford Motor Company • Redford Charter Township, MI

11d • $86,600 - $166,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

Ford Motor Company’s Advanced Industrial Technology and Platforms organization is transforming manufacturing by integrating electric vehicles, advanced robotics, additive manufacturing, AI vision, and digital platforms. Within ATP, FORGE develops end-to-end autonomous mobility applications for movement, assist, and manipulation.

The Autonomous Mobility Solutions Engineer develops and validates autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solutions, evaluates original equipment manufacturer (OEM) models against Ford requirements, performs software and hardware conformance testing, and supports deployments through go-live. Working with MP&L, Manufacturing Engineering, plant operations, and robotics suppliers, the engineer ensures solutions meet plant needs and can be replicated across sites. The role requires technical expertise to evaluate suppliers, troubleshoot issues, and deliver proven deployments at scale.

The position is hybrid, with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week, and requires willingness to travel 5–10% to plants in the United States, Canada, and Mexico as needed. The salary range is $86,600–$166,200; final grade and salary depend on skills, experience, job scope, responsibility, and market value. Visa sponsorship is available. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, robotics, industrial automation, manufacturing, or a related field.
• 3–5+ years of experience in logistics automation, technological feasibility mapping, manufacturing systems, or equipment validation and launch.
• Familiarity with ANSI/RIA R15.08, ISO 3691-4, UL 3100, and the VDA 5050 communication standard.
• Familiarity and hands-on experience with industrial networking, MQTT protocols, TCP/IP architectures, and PLC communications.
• Working understanding of autonomous mobility systems—including navigation, localization, fleet management, and traffic orchestration—sufficient to validate behavior and troubleshoot.
• Experience validating or launching automated equipment in a production environment, including test planning and execution.
• Plant-floor troubleshooting ability, including reading logs, isolating faults across system boundaries, and distinguishing defects from test artifacts.
• Ability and willingness to travel 5–10% to plants in the United States, Canada, and Mexico as required.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Experience deploying autonomous mobility or material-handling systems in high-volume manufacturing.
• Competency with ROS/ROS2, Linux environments, and Python/C++.
• Familiarity with plant logistics, including PFEP, MHE, kitting, line-side delivery, and route design.
• Familiarity with ISO 3691-4, ANSI/RIA R15.08, ISO 13849, and VDA 5050.
• Familiarity with Ford GVOSS, GME-707, GPDS, and Ford safety and cybersecurity requirements.
• Exposure to autonomous or driverless programs and shared-floor automated traffic.
• Experience with virtual commissioning, PLC safety, or industrial networking.
• Experience with reporting tools such as Power BI or analysis using Python or SQL.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate technical feasibility of prospective AMR models for physical factory and warehouse applications, including cross-docking, line-side delivery, and heavy pallet movement.
• Assess fit between OEM specifications—including kinematics, turning radius, and navigation style—and operational facility constraints.
• Create engineering trade-off matrices comparing technology stacks, such as SLAM versus QR-code navigation and inductive versus opportunity charging.
• Define technical requirements and statements of work, and hold suppliers accountable to acceptance criteria.
• Ensure selected mobile platforms conform to ANSI/RIA R15.08 Parts 1 and 2, ISO 3691-4, and UL 3100 requirements and certifications.
• Verify software interoperability and audit fleet compliance with VDA 5050 and MassRobotics Interoperability Standards for multi-vendor fleet coexistence.
• Audit cybersecurity benchmarks, including NIST frameworks or ETSI EN 303 645, across fleet software, network telemetry, and edge devices.
• Prepare evidence packages for formal Plant Safety and Cybersecurity approval boards.
• Execute and document validation plans covering normal operations, degraded conditions, and failure scenarios.
• Validate localization maps, routes, parameters, fleet software integration, and safety functions to confirm go-live readiness.
• Support plant-floor commissioning and physical optimization through final production launch.
• Troubleshoot faults involving routing, traffic flow, fleet software, network connectivity, and equipment, and drive issues to root cause.
• Work with MP&L to translate material-flow needs—including line-side delivery, kitting, small-lot routes, and rack movement—into practical deployments.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing Engineering, IT, plant operations, UAW representation, and production teams on floor readiness and layout.
• Manage supplier integration, acceptance testing, and closure of open issues.
• Support integration with plant execution systems, industrial networks, PLCs, and safety devices.
• Use simulation and digital twins to drive replication and accelerate pre-deployment verification.
• Monitor post-launch availability, throughput, and downtime metrics and apply lessons to future sites.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Paid parental leave and new parent ramp-up programs
• Subsidized back-up child care
• Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement and fertility treatments
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• Vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level