Design Technologist & Prototyper

Ford • Palo Alto, CA

9d • $100,400 - $232,700 • Onsite

About The Position

The Experience Strategy & Design team brings together product designers, design technologists, and prototypers to explore what is possible across Ford's digital and physical vehicle ecosystem. The team works in small, fast-moving groups to define next-generation in-vehicle experiences and create the physical and interactive prototypes needed to evaluate them early. Rather than focusing only on individual features, the team connects concepts, customer needs, technical capabilities, hardware, and software into cohesive vehicle experiences. These prototypes are used for design reviews, leadership demonstrations, research clinics, and vehicle-based evaluations so ideas can be tested, improved, and prepared for delivery. We are looking for a hands-on Design Technologist & Prototyper who loves building, experimenting, and bringing ideas into the physical world. You will work alongside designers, researchers, and engineers to transform early concepts into tangible prototypes that can be installed, demonstrated, tested, and improved. Physical building is the core of this job. You should be excited to spend much of your day in a shop or Makerspace cutting, fitting, assembling, modifying, troubleshooting, and helping teammates complete builds. Basic computer and CAD skills are helpful, but advanced digital design or Figma expertise is not required. CAD and other digital tools can be learned on the job. We welcome candidates from many backgrounds, including high school or vocational programs, shop classes, Makerspaces, garages, fabrication environments, automotive enthusiast communities, technical trades, personal projects, and entry-level roles. We are more interested in what you have built, how you learned, and your willingness to contribute than in a specific number of years of experience. This role is onsite in Palo Alto, CA.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED.
• Experience building, fabricating, modifying, repairing, or prototyping something you can show and discuss. Personal projects, school or shop classes, employment, hobbyist projects, vehicle projects, and team builds all count.
• Hands-on experience using basic tools and at least one fabrication or prototyping process, such as 3D printing, cutting, drilling, sanding, assembly, or simple electronics.
• Ability to perform physical work, spend much of the day on your feet, and lift up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to collaborate with designers and engineers and clearly explain what you built, the decisions you made, challenges encountered, and anything blocking progress.
• Comfort working with ambiguity, evolving concepts, and rapidly shifting priorities.
• Pride in workmanship and willingness to redo or improve work to achieve a high-quality result.
• Curiosity, initiative, and motivation to learn new tools, machines, materials, and processes.
• Current valid driver's license.
• No rigid years-of-experience requirement: High-potential candidates with strong making skills, initiative, and learning agility are encouraged to apply, even when their experience comes from personal or nontraditional projects.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a shop, garage, fabrication lab, or Makerspace environment.
• Automotive modification, restoration, repair, assembly, customization, or personal vehicle project experience.
• Fabrication experience using wood, plastic, metal, or similar materials.
• Exposure to laser cutting, manual machining, welding, finishing, simple electronics, or CAD tools such as Fusion 360.
• Vehicle disassembly, assembly, modification, or component installation experience.
• Automotive HMI, IVI, embedded systems, or related experience.
• Understanding of interaction design, UI architecture, or systems thinking.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, iterative, cross-functional environment.
• Experience supporting research studies, customer clinics, demonstrations, or prototype evaluations.
• Willingness to travel occasionally to experience hardware or prototypes in person.

Responsibilities

• Build physical prototypes from rough concepts through cleaner, testable versions using a variety of tools, materials, and fabrication methods.
• Cut, fit, assemble, modify, and install prototype parts on workbenches and in vehicles.
• Help teammates complete builds from start to finish, including the detailed, routine, and physical work required to deliver a successful prototype.
• Use and learn shop equipment, including 3D printers and other fabrication tools and machines.
• Translate early concepts into tangible prototypes for design reviews, leadership demonstrations, research clinics, and vehicle-based evaluations.
• Rapidly change, repair, or rebuild prototypes when feedback changes the original direction.
• Support vehicle disassembly, installation, reassembly, and hands-on prototype testing as needed.
• Keep the Makerspace operating smoothly by organizing tools, maintaining machines, stocking materials, and keeping the workspace clean and safe.
• Document build steps, decisions, challenges, and lessons learned so the work can be repeated and improved by others.
• Continue learning new tools, machines, materials, fabrication methods, and basic digital or CAD processes.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED