Industrial Engineer, Material Flow and Logistics Operations

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

13d • $72,480 - $162,120 • Hybrid

About The Position

This position applies lean principles, Gemba, value-stream mapping, industrial engineering methods, simulation, data analytics, and process standardization to identify and implement sustainable operational improvements. The successful candidate will help build a lean, efficient, and optimized supply chain from suppliers through the point of fit.

The role focuses on manufacturing and material-flow operations, end-to-end supply-chain optimization, launch and forward-model support, and data-enabled improvement. It combines office-based analysis with hands-on observation at manufacturing plants, supplier facilities, warehouses, off-dock facilities, and other third-party operations. Travel may be required based on launch, supplier, and operational-improvement priorities.

The position partners with MP&L, Manufacturing, Plant Industrial Engineering, Purchasing, Supplier Technical Assistance, Finance, Launch, FPS, IT, and supplier teams to assess operations, align on improvement plans, and communicate recommendations. Ford describes several salary grades for the position: grade 6 ($72,480–$121,440), grade 7 ($84,480–$141,360), and grade 8 ($96,720–$162,120). Visa sponsorship is not available; candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering or Manufacturing Engineering.
• At least 4 years of experience applying industrial engineering methods in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, material handling, or supply-chain operations.
• At least 2 years of experience with discrete-event simulation or material-flow simulation tools.
• Proficiency in Power BI, Excel, SQL, Python, Alteryx, or similar data and automation tools.
• Working knowledge of lean manufacturing, Gemba, value-stream mapping, standardized work, labor and productivity analysis, capacity and throughput analysis, process optimization, and root-cause problem solving.
• Ability to analyze operational data and convert findings into practical improvement actions.
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or Operations Research.
• Experience conducting work-measurement studies using MODAPTS, MOST, or comparable predetermined-motion-time systems.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or comparable lean certification.
• Experience developing dashboards, analytical models, automated workflows, or AI-enabled operational tools.
• Experience supporting Tier 1 supplier assessments or operational improvement activities.

Responsibilities

• Conduct Gemba studies and current-state assessments across manufacturing and material-flow operations.
• Develop value-stream maps to identify bottlenecks, waste, congestion, capacity constraints, and non-value-added activities.
• Analyze labor requirements, work content, utilization, throughput, and operational capacity.
• Develop and standardize labor methods using recognized industrial engineering and work-measurement practices.
• Support process simulation and scenario analysis to identify labor, material-flow, and capacity opportunities.
• Lead Kaizen and continuous-improvement activities to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity.
• Establish repeatable operating standards and support deployment of best practices across multiple sites.
• Analyze end-to-end material flow from supplier locations through warehouses, off-dock facilities, manufacturing plants, and the point of fit.
• Identify opportunities to reduce handling, travel distance, congestion, inventory, and other non-value-added activity.
• Improve material presentation, storage, routing, replenishment, dock operations, and point-of-fit delivery processes.
• Support material-cost and operational-efficiency studies at Tier 1 supplier locations.
• Work with Supplier Technical Assistance and other stakeholders to assess and improve supplier material-flow operations.
• Support MP&L requirements development and labor analysis for forward-model and manufacturing launch programs.
• Participate in launch-readiness reviews and identify material-flow, labor, capacity, process, and infrastructure risks.
• Support supplier audits, launch reviews, and post-Job 1 operational stabilization activities.
• Use data and analytics to identify operational trends, constraints, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop dashboards and performance measures to track productivity, utilization, throughput, labor efficiency, and improvement implementation.
• Apply Power BI and other analytical tools to enable fact-based operational decisions.
• Support the development and enhancement of agentic, AI-enabled, or automation solutions for opportunity identification and efficiency analysis.
• Translate complex operational data into clear recommendations for plant and functional leadership.
• Partner with MP&L, Manufacturing, Plant Industrial Engineering, Purchasing, Supplier Technical Assistance, Finance, Launch, FPS, IT, and supplier teams.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops to align on current-state conditions, improvement opportunities, ownership, and implementation plans.
• Communicate findings, risks, savings opportunities, and recommendations to leadership and operating teams.
• Build working relationships across plants, suppliers, and third-party facilities.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage.
• Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, and subsidized back-up childcare.
• Family-building benefits, including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement and fertility treatments.
• 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.
• 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