Manufacturing Platform Supervisor

Ford • Dearborn, MI

1d • $112,680 - $212,760 • Hybrid

About The Position

Are you ready to redefine what's possible and leave your mark on the world's most iconic vehicles? At Ford Motor Company, our Manufacturing team is at the forefront of innovation, pioneering the next generation of world-class, smart transportation. We're not just building cars; we're crafting the future of mobility, driven by a relentless pursuit of efficiency and cutting-edge technology in our global plants. If you're a visionary leader, a meticulous problem-solver, an outside the box thinker, and a determined performer eager to challenge the status quo and contribute to groundbreaking manufacturing solutions, your journey starts here.
In this position...
Step into a pivotal, highly visible leadership role within our Global Manufacturing Engineering Architecture and Program Delivery department. Here, you won't just contribute; you'll directly shape the future of Ford's vehicle lineup, ensuring our next-generation models set industry benchmarks. As a leader on our dynamic Platform Team, you'll leverage early insights, collaborating closely with Product Development to optimize every facet of new model production. You'll drive critical initiatives, interacting directly with senior leadership across Body Construction Engineering, Global Paint Engineering, and Final Assembly Engineering to deliver manufacturing excellence for our iconic vehicles.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering is essential.
• Minimum of 5+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, ideally with expertise in Body-on-Frame (BoF) assembly and a solid understanding of Unibody vehicles.
• Demonstrated success in vehicle launches, with hands-on experience from Digital Pre-Assembly (DPA5) through Job #1 (MP1) on a major program (Ford scale 4+ preferred).
• Proven practical experience in BoF assembly tooling implementation.
• A proactive, self-starting mindset with the ability to navigate challenging situations and deliver results with minimal supervision.
• Exceptional leadership and project management capabilities.
• A creative problem-solver, adept at finding innovative solutions to complex, ambiguous, or highly constrained challenges.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Comprehensive understanding of SCCAFs, PFMEAs, and failure mode avoidance principles.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills, enabling you to articulate intricate concepts clearly to diverse audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Valuable Body Structures experience.
• Advanced engineering or Architecture/Platform development expertise.
• Prior supervisory experience leading and mentoring an engineering team.
• Familiarity with virtual engineering tools such as TCE, APT, or VPS/GSPAS.

Responsibilities

• Drive Innovation from Technical Kick-off (TKO) to Technology Program Start (TPS): Spearhead Design for Assembly (DFA) integration into new vehicle part development, partnering closely with the Product Development team. Your insights will optimize facility and tooling, elevate quality, and streamline labor requirements from the earliest Technical Kick-Off (TKO) through Technology Management Review (TMR).
• Lead and Influence Manufacturing Strategy: Guide and empower a dedicated team to champion the manufacturing perspective on architectural strategy, ensuring seamless alignment with Product Development for the successful execution of future product lines at a platform level.
• Improve Product Launches: Initiate and coordinate with Manufacturing Core Teams to define optimal build sequences, refine installation processes, and develop cutting-edge tooling strategies for groundbreaking new product launches.
• Quantify and Optimize Production Impact: Provide critical analysis of manufacturing and facility impact for new model programs, delivering precise insights on facility, tooling, and labor implications across all manufacturing functions, even with evolving data.
• Improve existing Assembly Lines efficiency for future models: Analyze and optimize existing facility layouts and assembly processes using current plans and AutoCAD, actively shaping the blueprint for future state-of-the-art production.
• Champion Global Manufacturing Standards: Evaluate all product designs and concepts against our stringent Global Manufacturing Requirements, driving continuous improvement by revising, generating, and documenting new standards as needed.
• Cultivate Continuous Improvement: Translate "Lessons Learned" from previous New Model launches into actionable Prevent Recurrence Actions, embedding these improvements into the DNA of future programs.
• Benchmark and Innovate: Conduct comprehensive competitive vehicle benchmarking, analyzing manufacturing processes, sub-assemblies, and joining techniques to inspire and integrate next-generation ideas into our future product development.
• Be the Voice of Manufacturing: Represent all manufacturing functions, collaborating powerfully across diverse cross-functional teams – including Program Delivery, Product Development, Marketing, Program Planning, Supplier Technical Assistance, Material Planning & Logistics, and New Model Programs – during early product planning workshops.
• Ensure Program Success: Masterfully manage and report on all critical program status assessment points throughout the pivotal TKO to TMR phase.
• Shape Organizational Excellence: Strategize, create, and implement innovative organizational structures and methods to continuously enhance our operational efficiency and effectiveness.
• On-Site Impact: Engage directly with our North American assembly plants through site reviews, playing a vital role in real-world implementation and problem-solving.

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
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees