PLM Engineering Manager

Ford • Dearborn, MI

2d • $132,800 - $250,800 • Onsite

About The Position

Ford Motor Company is seeking a hands-on, highly technical people leader to lead 3DEXPERIENCE customization, development, and high-level escalation support. The manager will guide a team of 3DX developers, platform engineers, and release engineers, and connect Ford business and engineering stakeholders with hosting and infrastructure teams and Dassault Systèmes. The role requires a broad understanding of the 3DX architecture, from 3DPassport and 3DSpace through 3DSearch and FCS to the database, alongside the ability to set engineering standards that keep the customized platform stable and upgrade-ready.

The manager owns platform customization and development, integrations, security configuration, engineering standards, and requirements intake. They are also the final internal escalation point for critical and complex incidents, leading diagnostics, vendor escalations, incident response, root-cause analysis, and permanent corrective actions. The role oversees performance optimization, upgrade readiness, change management, and automation across platform lifecycle activities.

The position also leads, mentors, and develops technical staff; manages team capacity and resource planning; supports knowledge transfer to L1/L2 teams; and provides technical leadership and evidence for IT audits. The role calls for strong collaboration, strategic communication, process rigor, and composure during production outages and high-visibility escalations.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience with Dassault Systèmes ENOVIA / 3DEXPERIENCE, including platform customization, development, and administration.
• 5+ years in software development, software engineering, and scripting with 3DX customizations, including EKL, JPO, JAR, YAML, and supporting automation/pipelines.
• 3+ years in escalation and production support for enterprise Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
• 3+ years leading or managing technical teams in an enterprise environment.
• Proven experience managing vendor support escalations with Dassault Systèmes or comparable enterprise software vendors.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, flexible industrial systems team like Ford Motor Company.
• Expert-level experience using large language models and artificial intelligence.
• Expert-level knowledge of MQL, TCL, JPO/Java, triggers, EKL, the 3DX data model, P&O security, and Unified Typing.
• Familiarity with Git/GitHub, CI/CD pipelines such as Jenkins, Tekton, or GitHub Actions, and Infrastructure-as-Code such as Ansible or Terraform.
• Proficiency in Python, PowerShell, and Bash scripting for automation.
• Proficiency in JavaScript, 3DDashboard widget (UWA) development, and REST API/web service integration.
• Deep knowledge of 3DX components, including 3DSpace, 3DPassport, 3DDashboard, 3DSearch/Exalead, and FCS, and how they interact.
• Advanced log analysis, JVM thread and heap dump analysis, and SQL performance analysis skills for Oracle and/or SQL Server.
• Strong understanding of Linux/Windows server operations, OS patching cycles, and network security, including SSL and firewalls.
• Expert-level Jira proficiency for backlog management, capacity planning, and reporting.
• Working knowledge of ServiceNow for incident, problem, and change management.
• Proven ability to set engineering standards, guide design decisions, and raise a development and support team's technical capability.
• Ability to translate technical root causes and constraints into business impacts for senior leadership.
• Deep understanding of ITIL incident, problem, and change management principles and audit compliance, including GRC/SOX.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills focused on root-cause analysis and preventative measures.
• Demonstrated ability to lead calmly and decisively during production outages and high-visibility escalations.
• Demonstrated success building relationships across Development, Infrastructure, Hosting, Business, and vendor teams to deliver under aggressive timelines.
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States; employment eligibility will be verified at hire.

Nice To Haves

• CAA (C++/Java) development.
• SSO/SAML identity integration.
• Knowledge of automotive product development processes, including BOM, engineering change, and variant/configuration management.
• Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Certification.
• ITIL Certification.
• SAFe / Agile Certification.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and delivery of 3DX customizations, including data model extensions, triggers, JPOs, MQL/TCL scripts, and EKL logic using Dassault-supported methods.
• Guide development of 3DDashboard widgets, web forms, tables, commands, and menus.
• Own technical design and support for integrations between 3DX and Ford enterprise systems using REST APIs, custom web services, and middleware.
• Oversee People & Organization configuration, including collaborative spaces, organizations, roles, security contexts, and access rules.
• Define and enforce coding standards, code review practices, and source control for 3DX development.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, and program teams to translate requirements into technical designs and advise on out-of-the-box versus customization decisions.
• Serve as the highest internal escalation point for critical and complex incidents across the 3DX suite and native application platform interactions.
• Lead deep diagnostics using application logs, MQL traces, JVM thread and heap dumps, database query analysis, and HTTP/network tracing.
• Manage the relationship with Dassault Systèmes Support and R&D, drive Service Requests to resolution, provide reproducible test cases, and validate hotfixes.
• Lead incident bridges during platform outages, coordinate response across hosting, development, and supplier teams, and provide timely status to business stakeholders.
• Own root-cause reports and problem records, and drive permanent corrective actions.
• Convert recurring L3 issues into knowledge articles, runbooks, and automated fixes to improve L1/L2 resolution.
• Oversee performance tuning across JVM/TomEE configuration, databases, indexing, caching, and FCS file throughput.
• Own technical impact analysis of customizations for upgrades, Functional Deliveries, and hotfixes; lead regression testing and support cutover execution.
• Ensure customizations and platform changes follow ITIL-aligned change management, are documented, and have appropriate approvals before promotion through Dev, Test, QA, and Prod.
• Drive automation for deployments, bulk data operations, and platform health checks within Ansible and CI/CD pipelines.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 3DX developers and escalation engineers, including hiring, performance management, and technical career growth.
• Lead capacity planning, use Jira to track bandwidth and forecast constraints, and assign resources against priorities and escalation demand.
• Build technical depth in the L1/L2 support organization through training, code reviews, and hands-on troubleshooting coaching.
• Provide technical leadership and evidence for IT audits and ensure 3DX customizations and changes comply with GRC, IFAR, and ASAR requirements.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, and subsidized back-up child care.
• 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: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed