Lead Software Test Engineer

Ford Motor Company • Dearborn, MI

1d • $65,100 - $166,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Test Engineer to govern, coordinate, and accelerate testing and release cycles across our enterprise programs. In this role, you will be the core driver of release readiness, acting as the bridge between Product Driven Organizations (PDOs), quality teams, and leadership to ensure smooth, predictable software deliveries. You will bring a solid background in Software Quality Assurance/Testing and Release Management, paired with working knowledge of test automation frameworks (any modern tool). Crucially, you possess an innovative mindset: you will leverage AI capabilities and workflow automation to identify bottlenecks, eliminate process waste, optimize phase gates, and drive continuous improvement across our end-to-end delivery lifecycle.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of total experience in Software Quality Assurance/Testing, with 3+ years leading Release Management or Test Delivery Coordination across complex enterprise programs.
• Testing & Automation Foundations: Hands-on or solid foundational experience with automated testing frameworks and tools (experience with tool such as Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Tricentis Tosca, Worksoft, Postman, etc.).
• Demonstrated track record managing multi-phase testing cycles (SIT, Regression, UAT, Performance, Dry Runs) and enforcing strict quality gates.
• Functional or technical familiarity with the SAP ecosystem (SAP GUI, Fiori, S/4HANA) or large-scale ERP enterprise architectures.
• Experience running Proof of Concepts (PoCs) or piloting new tools through internal enterprise governance and security clearance processes.

Nice To Haves

• Experience or strong interest in leveraging AI/GenAI tools and automation (e.g., AI impact analysis, smart test scoping, automated release notes/dashboards, workflow bots) to eliminate waste and optimize delivery cycles.
• Experience with CI/CD delivery models and release orchestration pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Tekton, Jenkins).
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Define, enforce, and govern entrance and exit criteria across all critical testing cycles: System Integration Testing (SIT), Regression, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Load & Performance (L&P), and Release Dry Runs.
• Serve as the quality gatekeeper, assessing release health and providing data-driven go/no-go recommendations to leadership.
• Lead end-to-end release preparation and execution coordination across multiple cross-functional Product Driven Organizations (PDOs).
• Partner closely with product, engineering, and vendor test teams to align schedules, scope, environment availability, and dependencies.
• Proactively analyze the release lifecycle to identify bottlenecks, redundant steps, and process waste.
• Identify opportunities to introduce AI tools, GenAI, and process automation to streamline release workflows, optimize regression scoping, automate status tracking, and speed up cycle turnarounds.
• Facilitate daily triage meetings, track critical defects, and resolve blockers related to test environments and test data management (TDM) to keep test cycles on track.
• Manage and escalate cross-team risks and release dependencies before they impact delivery timelines.
• Design, track, and maintain centralized release metrics (e.g., test execution velocity, defect aging, leakage, pass/fail trends, and release risk profiles).
• Provide clear, executive-ready visibility into release readiness and operational risks to senior stakeholders.
• Evaluate and run Proof of Concepts (PoCs) for emerging release coordination, quality governance, and workflow automation tools.
• Navigate corporate governance, security, and architecture review processes to get tools approved for enterprise adoption.

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