Director, Digital Technology Sourcing

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

1d

About The Position

The Director, Tier 2 Components Supply Chain leads the worldwide sourcing, commercial, and supply strategy for Ford’s entire Tier2 component ecosystem of electronics, electromechanical, and mechanical component portfolio – the semiconductor, passive, electromechanical, PCBs and interconnects, power components, machined, stamped, molded parts, casting, fasteners other mechanical component building blocks that underpin every electronic control unit, module, and system across Ford’s vehicle lineup. This role manages deep, upstream supply chain relationships that sit beneath Ford’s Tier1 electronics Module and suppliers, giving Ford direct visibility, leverage, and resilience across the electronic value chain. This is a director-level leadership role accountable for a multi-billion-dollar commodity portfolio and an organization of approximately 20 professionals, operating in North America. The Director sets category strategy, owns commercial and supply outcomes for all current and future programs in scope, and serves as Supply Chain’s senior partner to Product Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Finance leadership. The role demands strategic thinking, exceptional business acumen, elite negotiation capability, and the resilience to lead through a rapidly evolving technology and geopolitical landscape. The successful candidate will be a catalyst for supply chain transformation — championing innovation, building and diversifying the supply base, developing the next generation of leaders, and acting as a role model for Ford’s leadership behaviors and operating system.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, or a related field.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in purchasing, supply chain, or commodity management, including 5+ years leading teams, with demonstrated success leading global, geographically distributed organizations.
• Significant Tier2 supplier experience, including managing the suppliers behind direct/contract manufacturers and understanding sub-tier capacity, lead times, constraints and risk.
• Supply continuity and risk management experience – multi-sourcing, capacity reservations, allocation management, geographic concentration, obsolescence, EOL/PN management and contingency planning.
• Proven track record leading high-value, high-complexity negotiations and delivering significant year-over-year cost performance.
• Deep understanding of automotive electronics supply chains — electronic modules, sensors, and/or electronic components — including cost structure, manufacturing processes, and sub-tier dynamics.
• Experience owning sourcing execution across a full vehicle program lifecycle, from target setting through launch and running production.
• Strong cross-functional influence at the executive level, with a record of partnering effectively with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and Finance.
• Fluency with cost analytics, should-cost modeling, strategic sourcing systems, and enterprise planning tools.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree (MBA or MS in Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field).
• Build-to-print/ make-to-spec experience with products designed internally by engineering.
• Contract manufacturer/ EMS/ OEM experience, particularly understanding how Tier 2 suppliers feed into the company’s manufacturing ecosystem.
• Experience developing sub-tier or Tier-2 supply chains and managing component allocation during constraint.
• International work experience, and comfort operating across Asian, European, and North American supply bases.
• Experience building supply resilience programs — inventory strategies, long-term supply agreements, dual sourcing, or critical material risk mitigation.
• Demonstrated use of AI and advanced analytics to improve sourcing, negotiation, or risk decisions.
• A track record of developing leaders and building strong succession benches.

Responsibilities

• Own the global category strategy for end-to-end Tier2 electronic and mechanical component portfolio — developing multi-year category strategies that define supply base structure, technology roadmaps, competitive positioning, manufacturing footprint, and resilience posture, and driving them through approval to execution.
• Deliver annual commercial and design cost efficiency commitments across the portfolio, personally leading the highest-stakes negotiations and holding the organization accountable through a disciplined operating rhythm.
• Lead sourcing execution for a significant slate of major future vehicle programs — ensuring cost targets are set and jointly signed off with Engineering counterparts ahead of sourcing, negotiation timelines run ahead of program milestones, and sourcing decisions land on time, on target, and with fully qualified, quality-capable suppliers.
• Direct the sourcing and long-term supply strategy for each component category technologies, including next-generation technology, partnering with Engineering from concept through production commitment.
• Shape and diversify the global supply base — qualifying and onboarding new partners, creating genuine competition in concentrated commodity areas, and building dual-source and regional capability to reduce single-point and geographic exposure.
• Own supply resilience for the portfolio: inventory and safety stock strategies for constrained components, long-term volume and capacity agreements, sub-tier visibility, critical raw material exposure mitigation, and elimination of open-market and spot purchases.
• Partner closely with the semiconductor sourcing organization to secure silicon supply, capacity, and commercial terms for the portfolio’s electronic content, ensuring sub-tier requirements are represented in category and program decisions.
• Drive supplier quality and warranty performance improvement in partnership with Supplier Quality and Quality Engineering: defects-per-million reduction, early-life warranty improvement, launch performance, elimination of supplier-caused vehicles held from shipment, and timely, well-supported recovery of supplier-caused warranty, field service action (recall and campaign), and manufacturing costs.
• Ensure uninterrupted supply to global production and service operations, leading escalation response and permanent corrective action for distressed and critical suppliers.
• Serve as the senior relationship owner for the portfolio’s strategic suppliers — leading executive business reviews, driving quality, cost, delivery and resilience improvement plans, unlocking co-innovation, and measurably improving supplier relationships and sentiment.
• Ensure compliance with local content, regional value content, trade, tariff, and regulatory requirements, and champion responsible and sustainable sourcing practices across the supply chain.
• Build the best team: cascade clear objectives, deliver high-quality candid performance feedback, own organization and talent reviews and succession planning, upskill the organization on cost and negotiation capability, and drive adoption of AI and digital tools to improve decision quality and speed.
• Act as a change leader for the broader Supply Chain function — simplifying processes, eliminating waste, and moving faster.

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: Director