Chief of Staff & Operations - Hardware Engineering

Ford Motor Company•Dearborn, MI

About The Position

The Chief of Staff & Business Operations Manager for Vehicle Hardware Engineering (VHE) is a leadership position reporting directly to the Vice President of Vehicle Hardware Engineering. The role leads and develops the VHE Business Operations & Strategic Engineering Management Team, which supports strategy, process governance, business performance, and cultural execution across global hardware engineering. As a strategic partner, trusted proxy, and operational integrator for the VP, the Chief of Staff connects Executive Leadership Team objectives with engineering execution. The position supports VHE’s transition toward becoming an enterprise Strategic Asset focused on product quality, reliability, and cost efficiency. Its scope spans executive support, business operations and governance, continuous improvement, and organizational strategy and culture. Ford offers a range of medical, dental, vision, prescription drug, family care, parental, family-building, employee vehicle, tuition, community service, holiday, and paid-time-off benefits. Salary grade and base salary depend on the candidate’s skills and experience, job scope, responsibility, and competitive market value. Visa sponsorship is not available; candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration (MBA), or a related technical management field.
At least 2 years of direct experience managing high-performing operational, process, or program management teams within complex global manufacturing or automotive organizations.
At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in automotive hardware engineering, D&R processes, GPDS vehicle gateways, FEDE BoM management, and B10 reliability standards.
Demonstrated expertise in 8D root-cause problem solving, Failure Mode Avoidance (FMA), DFMEA, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFM/DFA), and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).
Proven track record in multi-year strategic planning, engineering productivity modeling, ED&T should-cost analysis, prototype multiplier management, and footprint optimization.
Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex technical challenges, present to Executive Leadership Teams, and drive cross-functional consensus.
Deep commitment to first-principles thinking, intellectual humility, operational curiosity, and building safe, structural escalation mechanisms for technical risks.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States; employment eligibility will be verified at hire.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Systems, or Automotive Engineering is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead, direct, and develop the VHE Business Operations team across its core functional pillars.
Manage team members representing VHE in enterprise forums, advocating for hardware engineering standards and strategic priorities.
Orchestrate executive communications, including whitepapers, ELT presentation decks, board materials, and organization-wide updates on behalf of the VP.
Establish governance and feedback loops among VP, Director, and Chief Engineer levels to accelerate decisions, remove silos, and maintain transparency.
Lead rapid-response cross-functional teams addressing urgent operational, technical, or strategic challenges.
Direct multi-year planning and translate ELT objectives into actionable functional roadmaps.
Oversee the design and implementation of automated, real-time KPI/OKR dashboards for program execution visibility.
Serve as and manage the team acting as the primary Single Point of Contact for the Office of General Counsel, regulatory compliance bodies, and internal control test audits.
Direct initiatives to achieve efficiencies from 2026–2030 and sustain 3% year-over-year engineering productivity gains across labor and non-labor spending.
Lead cross-functional problem-solving to eliminate engineering friction, increase time to engineer, and optimize workflows.
Institutionalize HRO practices and rapid iteration, foster psychological safety, and help surface weak signals early so risks can be managed.