Ford Racing Vehicle Engineering Lead – Feature & Software Delivery

Ford Motor Company • Allen Park, MI

11d • $65,100 - $166,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

This role leads vehicle-level engineering for module software readiness and program "top hat" content (features, ergonomics, visibility, and accommodations). The position is responsible for translating customer insights into vehicle requirements, cascading those requirements into system-level engineering specs, and ensuring cross-functional alignment across design, software, hardware, and customer insights teams. The role owns validation of the final vehicle experience—from early prototypes through production and variants—while managing program documentation, resolving technical tradeoffs, and delivering all engineering milestones on time and with quality, ultimately serving as a go-to resource for delivering "insanely great" customer experiences.

Requirements

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent degree.
• 1+ year(s) of Vehicle Level Automotive Product Development experience across a range of attributes or feature delivery experience.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to work with a cross-functional team in problem solving regarding complex issues, and to lead/facilitate those teams as needed with efficiency while building relationships.
• Clear and practical understanding of Performance Vehicle customers, their passion / pain points, and their needs and priorities.
• Solid understanding of the primary automotive systems in a vehicle and a wide range of vehicle attributes.
• Experience with software development processes, over the air updates and feature delivery.
• Proven understanding of customer insight tools and processes.
• Ability to work with a cross-functional team in problem solving regarding complex issues, excellent interpersonal skills with an effective teamwork approach.
• Outstanding self-motivation and initiative.
• Personal affirmation as a “early tech adopter.”

Responsibilities

• Lead Vehicle Engineering oversight for module software readiness.
• Lead Vehicle Engineering for program "top hat" content, including: Feature delivery, Ergonomics, Visibility, Accommodations and usage.
• Delight internal and external Ford customers and teammates by establishing a clear value proposition and serving as a go-to resource to help the team deliver.
• Lead management of all program documents and online systems related to features and program top hat delivery.
• Translate customer insights into program content and a balanced set of vehicle-level requirements that deliver "emotional delights" and "insanely great experiences."
• Resolve disconnects with key partners across the analytical design and launch process, including marketing, customer insights, program management, and design & release teams.
• Cascade vehicle-level requirements into objective, system-level requirements usable for engineering and validation, ensuring compatibility across attributes and systems.
• Interface with key functions including the design studio, energy management, hardware systems, features, and software teams.
• Continuously confirm that system-level design tradeoffs and deviations still deliver the intended vehicle-level customer experience and "wow" moments.
• Leverage analytical and prototyping tools to validate the vehicle-level experience through three customer experience reviews.
• Lead cross-functional technical tradeoff discussions to resolve issues at the customer experience level.
• Lead validation of the final vehicle to ensure it delivers the target emotive experiences.
• Sustain a validation mindset from initial production through final production, including all updates and variants.
• Deliver all program milestones and engineering gateways on time and with quality.
• Drive Vehicle Engineering Design Validation Efficiency improvements.

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: Mid Level