Staff Vehicle Product Management Engineer

Ford • Long Beach, CA

11d • $150,200 - $283,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

Ford Motor Company is seeking an experienced leader for its System Software Verification and Validation (V&V) team. The role leads system-level validation for embedded software and vehicle systems, from early development through program release, ensuring products meet quality and safety standards. The manager partners with development, systems engineering, feature, software, and attribute teams to define validation strategies, align requirements and test coverage, and assess program risks.

The position oversees system-level testing across integrated systems, ECUs, software, interfaces, vehicle domains, benches, and vehicles. It coordinates test resources, environments, and schedules; documents and communicates results and release readiness; and leads investigations, root-cause analysis, fix verification, and regression prevention. The role also leads, mentors, and develops validation engineers, manages customer validation requirements, and communicates progress, results, and risks to senior leaders and stakeholders.

This is a hybrid position requiring onsite work four or more days per week. Ford indicates that visa sponsorship is available. The position is leadership level 6, with a stated salary range of $150,200–$283,500; final salary is based on skills, experience, job scope, responsibility, and market value.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field.
• 12 or more years of experience in automotive systems, embedded software, or system validation.
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers and managing competing program priorities.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, including work across hardware, software, systems engineering, and program teams.
• Experience defining and delivering system-level validation strategies from concept through production.
• Experience managing validation schedules, resources, or lab capacity.
• Familiarity with vehicle testing standards and customer-specific validation requirements.
• Strong understanding of vehicle E/E architecture, embedded software, control systems, and cross-domain integration.
• Experience with system-level testing across benches, HIL platforms, and vehicles.
• Knowledge of automotive networks and related formats, such as CAN, LIN, Ethernet, FlexRay, DBC, LDF, and ARXML.
• Experience developing, reviewing, or guiding automated and manual test execution, including smoke and regression testing.
• Experience with test automation, requirements traceability, defect triage, and system-level debugging.
• Ability to interpret electrical and logical schematics, network diagrams, and wiring or harness drawings.
• Working knowledge of Automotive SPICE, ISO 26262, or other applicable development and safety processes.
• Experience integrating validation and regression testing into continuous integration workflows.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead system-level validation strategies for embedded software and vehicle systems from early development through program release.
• Own the system-level test and validation plan, aligning requirements, risks, program objectives, and timing.
• Partner with systems, feature, software, and attribute owners to establish requirements traceability, test coverage, and acceptance criteria.
• Identify validation gaps and ensure test plans, cases, and scripts cover functional and non-functional requirements.
• Lead validation across integrated systems, ECUs, software, interfaces, and vehicle domains using system-level test properties and vehicles.
• Oversee integration, system, and acceptance testing across system boundaries and operating conditions.
• Coordinate test resources, environments, and schedules to meet program milestones.
• Document and communicate test results, risks, and release-readiness assessments clearly and on time.
• Lead cross-functional investigations, root-cause analysis, fix verification, and actions to prevent regression.
• Analyze test results and provide actionable feedback to development teams.
• Establish and monitor metrics for test coverage, execution, defect trends, and validation effectiveness.
• Lead, mentor, and develop validation and verification engineers; assign work based on team priorities and development needs.
• Manage customer validation requirements and present progress, results, and risks to senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Foster accountability, continuous improvement, innovation, quality, and safety.

Benefits

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