Rear Closures Design & Release Engineer

Ford Motor • Dearborn, MI

19h • Hybrid

About The Position

Product Development uses design thinking & user experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that delight our customers. We bring innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. We have opportunities around the world for you to contribute to advancements in autonomy, electrification, smart mobility technologies, and more! In this position, the candidate will work with internal and external customers to develop competitive cost & weight efficient designs. Additionally, the candidate will be responsible to engineer the required CAD and lead analytical and physical analysis to deliver a system that will meet all prescribed requirements. As the program matures, responsibilities will shift to product testing, delivering PSW, and launching within one of Ford’s many assembly plants.

Requirements

• Minimum BS Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering or a related field
• 8+ years of professional experience in the Automotive or Aerospace industry
• 5+ years of experience on rear closures systems for forward model vehicles with direct ownership of part engineering, system engineering, and part release to meet cost, weight, quality, functional performance, studio appearance, craftmanship, test validation, manufacturing feasibility, and launch timing requirements (e.g. tailgates, liftgates, swing gates, side doors, cargo doors, moveable roof systems)
• Experience with sheet metal body structures, closures, stamping, static and/or dynamic sealing, power/gas struts, power drive units/motors, and hinges
• Hands-on experience with “in-house” engineering, design, and release, as well as managing full-service supplier commodities, with on-time delivery at cost & quality targets.
• Design and Release/Product Development Engineer/ Closures Commodity Subject Matter Expert experience
• Ability to operate within CATIA/3DX environment, Teamcenter Engineering, and Digital Buck
• Capability with Microsoft Suite of products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

Nice To Haves

• Preferred 2 years of professional experience in the Automotive or Aerospace industry.
• Experience with hinged closures is preferred
• Experience interfacing with design studio on resolution of design issues related to Exterior Rear Closures system.
• Experience leading peers via Design reviews to resolve part to part interface issues and deliver a successful system.
• Experience solving current model quality issues and implementing corrective actions.
• Ability to utilize and demonstrate System engineering disciplines and Design for Manufacturing principles to proactively solve issues.
• Knowledge of craftsmanship expectations, benchmarking, and futuring.
• Knowledge of automotive exterior components, including materials and manufacturing technologies, such as stamping, injection molding, extrusion, forging, casting, welding, riveting, etc.
• Experience with bolted joint structures
• Experience with Structural mechanics
• Experience with hinge mechanism dynamics
• Experience with Systems engineering
• Working knowledge of FEA, DFMEA, Control Plan development, & Dimensional Variation Analysis
• CATIA/3DX ability to create simple parts, sections, and studies a plus

Responsibilities

• Work with internal and external customers to develop competitive cost & weight efficient designs.
• Engineer the required CAD and lead analytical and physical analysis to deliver a system that will meet all prescribed requirements.
• As the program matures, responsibilities will shift to product testing, delivering PSW, and launching within one of Ford’s many assembly plants.
• Manage product release CAD and BOM structures, including assembly positioning and mass attribute analysis.
• Facilitate supplier data integration and develop CAD studies to support and drive design improvements.
• Understand and effectively utilize product check-in/check-out processes, version control, data release, and change management within Ford’s PLM ecosystem.
• Perform feasibility analyses using CAD tools, including draft angle analysis, undercut detection, minimum bend radius validation for sheet metal, and clearance checks to support manufacturing and machining requirements.
• Work overtime & travel to support launches.

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