Front-End Lead Software Engineer

Ford • Dearborn, MI

14h • $99,600 - $166,600 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Front-End (UI) Lead Engineer is a hands-on technical leadership role responsible for designing, developing, and delivering scalable, high-performance front-end applications and microfrontend architectures. This individual will lead and mentor a team of UI developers while driving best practices in modern software engineering, application architecture, API design, and responsive UI development. Working closely with product managers, designers, and front-end and back-end architects, the Lead Engineer will translate business and technical requirements into robust, user-centric solutions that align with Ford’s product vision and integrate seamlessly with existing applications, microservices, and cloud-based services. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in JavaScript, React, and Next.js, a strong understanding of UI design principles and architectural patterns, and experience with modern development practices, including BDD, CI/CD, and shift-left testing. Familiarity with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is highly desirable, along with a passion for mentoring engineers, solving complex technical challenges, and staying current with emerging technologies and industry trends.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Minimum of 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with a strong focus on front-end development.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote environment with globally distributed teams.
• Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to partner with Product Managers, Architects, and cross-functional engineering teams to deliver products on schedule.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading front-end engineering initiatives and mentoring developers on best practices, code quality, and modern architectural patterns.
• Hands-on experience designing and implementing micro frontend architectures within large-scale eCommerce platforms.
• Experience with cloud-native application development and deploying scalable solutions on platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing strategies, and DevOps practices that support continuous delivery.
• Experience with headless commerce platforms, composable architectures, and API-first development.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards, including WCAG, and experience building inclusive, user-friendly digital experiences.
• Experience with observability, performance monitoring, and troubleshooting complex front-end applications in production environments.
• Experience driving technical innovation through proof of concepts, evaluating emerging technologies, and translating findings into practical solutions.
• Familiarity with AI-powered development tools and techniques to improve engineering productivity and software quality.
• Experience working in a Product Driven Organization (PDO) or similar product-centric engineering model.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of one or more micro frontend modules within Ford’s eCommerce products, ensuring scalable, high-quality, and maintainable solutions.
• Evaluate existing application architecture and recommend innovative solutions to support Ford’s evolving technology landscape.
• Design, develop, and optimize reusable front-end components and interfaces, maintaining a minimum of 80% code coverage.
• Apply eCommerce platform engineering expertise to enhance Ford’s capabilities and build scalable solutions that support growing business demands.
• Develop proof of concepts (POCs) using emerging technologies and contribute to the design and deployment of robust, cloud-based solutions.
• Drive continuous improvement within Ford’s Product Driven Organization (PDO) model by reducing dependencies, increasing team autonomy, and improving delivery efficiency.
• Leverage MACH architecture principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) to build flexible, scalable front-end applications.

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: Senior