IT Software Development, Director

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

75d

About The Position

As a Senior Software Engineer Manager within the M&S Dealer Experience Platforms team, you will report to an IT Director, MarTech & Dealer Platforms. This Director reports to Suresh Kandula, CTO Integrated Services & Director Retail Services Technology, who leads a global IT function encompassing digital product development, global marketing and sales technologies, after-market sales and services, global eCommerce technologies, order fulfillment, and Contact Center Platforms. Suresh reports to Mike Amend, Chief Digital and Information Officer. This will be a technical leader with deep expertise in software engineering and a proven ability to deliver large, complex transformation initiatives. You will have a collaborative leadership style with the ability to lead, mentor, and develop a team of software engineers, influence stakeholders, and build meaningful relationships at all levels and functions of the organization. You will role model leadership behaviors and champion culture change through living the Ford OS Behaviors. You will inspire and motivate your technology, engineering, and product development teams by leveraging emerging digital technologies and agile practices to deliver quick and incremental value to the business. You will have the ability to drive transformation while also modernizing legacy IT infrastructure and applications. You will be highly skilled in attracting and developing talent and bring a strong commitment to diversity and belonging. You will have strong communication skills, be able to work cross-functionally, in a matrixed environment and have experience in large multi-national corporations. This hybrid role requires full-time work authorization in the U.S. and is based in Dearborn, MI, with four days on-site per week.

Requirements

• Deep expertise in software engineering.
• Proven ability to deliver large, complex transformation initiatives.
• Collaborative leadership style.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and develop a team of software engineers.
• Strong communication skills.
• Experience in large multi-national corporations.
• Full-time work authorization in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with MACH-based architecture.
• Familiarity with regulatory compliance in software development.
• Experience in digital product management.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of software engineers, overseeing a portfolio of diverse technology projects focused on MACH-based architecture and regulatory compliance.
• Drive the design and delivery of robust, cloud-based solutions that enhance customer and dealer experiences.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and mentorship within the engineering community, including occasional hands-on coding and code evaluation.
• Collaborate effectively with digital product managers and cross-functional teams, providing technical thought leadership.
• Contribute to the strategic vision and goals for the MarTech and Dealer (B2B) solutions, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities and modernization initiatives.
• Ensure solutions are integrated across direct to customer, dealers, and vehicle enablement channels.
• Oversee the implementation of platform and ecosystem approaches from concept and design through the software development lifecycle.
• Manage existing footprint of teams, software, and Quality of Service goals.
• Manage the execution of multi-year roadmaps and collaborate with Product Management leadership to deliver value-driven software balancing speed, scale, and quality.
• Leverage and roll out continuous improvements to agile software practices.
• Drive OKR driven value creation within your area and ensure alignment with product launch milestones.
• Integrate with adjacent transformation initiatives and interdependencies.
• Ensure strong program management discipline to achieve consistent and quality software delivery within your domain.
• Support and implement organizational change management in a change-resistant business environment.
• Manage key internal and external relationships and robust contract management within your scope, engaging with SaaS, On-premises supplier technology, System integrators & service providers, and industry peers.
• Ensure ongoing maintenance and support within your area, including monitoring progress on programs, weekly management updates, recurring architecture and quality reviews, active technical debt management, mentoring and developing your team members, and supporting production escalations.
• Align and maintain critical Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) for all software platforms and solutions with enterprise solutions and tooling.
• Maintain automated detection, diagnosis, and remediation capabilities, ensuring 24x7 availability for global time zones while maintaining QoS requirements.
• Ensure software versions and compliance are maintained to protect for obsolescence and cyber risks.
• Manage budget and resource allocation for your team, leading staffing, sourcing, and headcount management.
• Drive technical debt mitigation and remediation efforts within your domain.
• Foster a high-performing team by developing and mentoring team members for retention and upskilling, identifying gap areas to bring in industry-leading talent, and contributing to a robust succession plan and leadership pipeline.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees