Powertrain Applications Engineer

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We made history and now we work to transform the future – for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters. As part of our Manufacturing team, you’ll help build the world-class, state-of-the-art smart vehicles we're known for. In our plants around the world, we’re constantly developing new technologies and processes to further increase our efficiency. You'll get the satisfaction of making great products people use and love. Seeking a highly motivated Applications / Programming Engineer to support and advance the digital manufacturing ecosystem in Ford Global and Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering Operations. This role is responsible for maintaining, enhancing, and modernizing business and manufacturing applications that support the successful implementation of new model programs and delivering our people, quality, delivery and operational excellence initiatives. The successful candidate will leverage software engineering expertise, manufacturing knowledge, data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and emerging Industry 4.0 technologies to improve operational efficiency, product quality, equipment reliability, and decision-making capabilities across the organization. This position serves as a critical link between Information Technology, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Quality, Maintenance, and Business stakeholders to ensure technology solutions deliver measurable value to the business.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering or an equivalent technical discipline such as Computer Science/Software/ Engineering.
• 5+ years of experience in an engineering discipline (ideally software development, applications engineering, or industrial automation), including hands-on experience supporting and troubleshooting enterprise systems.
• Proficiency in at least one of the following major programming languages (ColdFusion, Python, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML5 or CSS3), at least one core framework (React/Angular/jQuery), relational databases (SQL Server or Oracle) and knowledge/utilization of REST API’s.
• Experience building/consuming REST APIs, web applications, and system integrations using modern SDLC practices and version control tools (e.g. Git / GitHub).
• Experience building AI/ML models or deploying Generative AI solutions (Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI Assistants and Copilots, Azure OpenAI) to optimize manufacturing engineering efficiency and data flows.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP)), CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and data engineering/data lake architectures.
• Strong business acumen to proactively identify where technology can directly improve delivery of key metrics and organizational objectives.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts to cross-functional partners and confidently present, teach, or coach peers and Global Manufacturing Engineering (GME) leadership.
• A self-starter with a continuous improvement mindset who can adapt to a dynamic, cross-functional environment and lead technology-driven change.
• Proven ability to adapt quickly to evolving project needs and collaborate effectively within fast-paced, diverse, and cross-functional teams.

Nice To Haves

• Proven ability to champion emerging technologies, drive manufacturing innovation, and lead technology-driven change initiatives within a manufacturing engineering organization.
• A self-motivated individual with a strong sense of ownership and a demonstrated ability to leverage digital tools to directly improve Safety, Quality, Delivery, People, and Cost performance.
• Practical knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Kaizen initiatives, ideally supported by a Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Experience modernizing legacy code to drive application efficiency and optimization.

Responsibilities

• Application Development, Support and Lifecycle Management Scalable Launch Solutions: Design, develop, and deploy enterprise-grade software solutions, middleware, and REST APIs (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface) specifically engineered to support global manufacturing engineering new program launches and improve operational visibility of key deliverables and driving metrics.
• Standardized Integration: Architect robust integrations that connect new and existing organizational applications with global enterprise platforms.
• System Optimization: Enhance existing applications by improving functionality, usability, reliability, scalability, and performance.
• Application Lifecycle & Performance Management: Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of business-critical global manufacturing engineering applications—including proactive performance monitoring, root-cause troubleshooting, and system upgrades/enhancements and patch management.
• AI, Automation & Industry 4.0 Innovation Embed Advanced Tech: Identify opportunities to leverage and embed cutting-edge technologies—such as Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and predictive analytics—into digital tools and applications to improve the Global Manufacturing Engineering Organization effectiveness and decision-making.
• Intelligent Automation: Build automated workflows and digital solutions that minimize manual processes and improve agility and efficiency.
• Data Analytics & Operational Intelligence Launch Readiness Data Workstreams: Design and maintain scalable data workstreams that aggregate manufacturing data from diverse global sources to track program launch metrics.
• Operational Visibility: Develop centralized dashboards and data visualizations that provide GME leadership with actionable, data-driven insights into key launch deliverables and driving metrics.
• Manufacturing Collaboration & Continuous Improvement Strategic Requirement Gathering: Partner with global cross-functional GME teams and business stakeholders to translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Project Delivery: Provide technical leadership for manufacturing application solutions and digital tools to support program delivery process optimization using a data-driven approach, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement initiatives.
• Cybersecurity & Compliance Security & Compliance (Secure-by-Design): Implement secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC) practices and lead vulnerability remediation across manufacturing applications to ensure all connected systems strictly comply with enterprise security policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare 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