Power Controls Technical Expert

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is responsible for creating a fully electric transportation future. This team is customer-focused, entrepreneurial, and data-driven, aiming to provide an industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. The role involves joining an agile team that is pioneering the EV future through collaboration, focus, and excellence. The goal is to drive positive change by contributing to a better world where everyone has the freedom to move and pursue their dreams. This position specifically leads the definition, development, validation, and sign-off of vehicle-level power control strategies for current and future platforms, supporting various vehicle types including ICE, FHEV, PHEV, and EV. The expert will ensure robust system behavior, influence architectural decisions, resolve complex quality issues, and mentor other engineers. The role demands deep technical knowledge in power management controls, system requirements, diagnostics, validation, and functional safety, with significant influence across hardware, software, and vehicle integration teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in automotive electrical power systems, power electronics, and control system development.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, demonstrating advanced technical depth in power systems and controls.
• Proven expertise in vehicle electrical architectures, including voltage regulation, load management, and power distribution.
• Hands-on experience developing power control strategies across ICE, FHEV, PHEV, and EV platforms.
• Deep experience in control logic design, development, and calibration for automotive power supply systems.
• Strong background in system requirements definition, DVM authoring, and validation, including HIL and in-vehicle testing.
• Extensive experience leading root cause analysis, field issues resolution, and warranty investigations; familiarity with 8D methodologies.
• Practical working knowledge of Functional Safety (ISO 26262) principles.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership and mentorship, influencing teams without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead global development, strategy definition, and technical sign-off for PowerNet control strategies (PowerNet 1.0, PowerNet 1+ and beyond) across ICE, FHEV, PHEV, and EV vehicle variants, including L3 production support.
• Own and influence vehicle-level power control behavior, including load management, multiple power sources, voltage regulation, and energy prioritization strategies.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance on power supply system architecture from a controls, calibration, and software behavior perspective.
• Define and review control logic designs and calibrations, proactively identifying potential failure modes, bugs, and improvement opportunities early in development.
• Serve as the technical authority for Power Control system requirements, test methods, and validation strategy.
• Author and approve system requirements and Design Verification Methods (DVMs) for in-vehicle and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) validation.
• Lead formal technical sign-off of critical system parameters, including voltage setpoints, voltage drop limits, and power quality requirements.
• Develop and maintain robust diagnostic strategies addressing system interactions, component failures, wiring faults, and abnormal operating conditions.
• Provide technical support for emissions and homologation testing, including software updates and controls enhancements related to power management.
• Identify, propose, and lead Technical Value Management (TVM) initiatives for cost optimization (e.g., sensor content reduction), from feasibility assessment through execution.
• Lead investigation, root cause analysis, and resolution of complex system-level quality issues, field concerns, and recalls related to power supply and control systems.
• Ensure voltage quality and power availability to safety-critical systems (e.g., EPAS, EBB) under all operating conditions.
• Develop and execute proactive robustness actions to prevent future quality and warranty issues.
• Interface closely with Functional Safety teams to support delivery of ASIL-rated PowerNet solutions.
• Lead warranty investigations, define test plans, and provide expert interpretation of test results to determine true root cause.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and training to junior and mid-level engineers.
• Create, update, and continuously improve engineering manuals, standards, and best-practice documentation related to Power Supply Calibrations and control strategies.
• Act as a go-to technical expert and key resource for PowerNet knowledge across programs and organizations.

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