System Manager - Interior Systems Engineering

Ford • Dearborn, MI

1d • 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.
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 System Manager for Interior Systems Engineering is responsible for the end-to-end integration of all interior subsystems for a specific vehicle program. The System Manager serves as the primary owner of subsystem-level metrics and is responsible for driving the resolution of technical and timing issues to ensure the interior system meets cost, weight, and quality targets while maximizing vehicle appeal across various price classes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related field.
• 5 years of experience in interior systems (Seats, Cockpit, Trim, or Restraints).

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related field.
• Proficiency with Ford systems, including FEDE (for DVP/TKO tracking), APQP/PPAP processes, and DPA (Digital Pre-Assembly) issue resolution.
• Ability to synthesize complex data from multiple subsystems into a clear, high-level "roll-up" for executive review.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to drive cross-functional teams toward deadlines without direct reporting authority.

Responsibilities

• Metric Management & Reporting: Lead status reports in the weekly Business Process Review (BPR). Provide a detailed roll-up of cost, weight, sourcing, and delivery metrics for Seats, Restraints, Cockpit, and Trim subsystems.
• Issue Resolution: Drive the resolution of underlying technical issues, packaging issues (e.g., DPA/Digital Pre-Assembly), cost, and content issues impacting the interior team and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strategic Balancing: Make critical trade-off decisions regarding interior content and design choices to maximize system-level performance. Develop and execute price class differentiation strategies to ensure the interior aligns with the vehicle’s market positioning.
• Efficiency Initiatives: Lead the part-count reduction initiative at the interior-level to optimize complexity and manufacturing costs.
• Program Timing & Delivery:
• Maintain and manage part delivery dates for production-tooled builds and any pre-DCV testing.
• Manage the Tooling Kick-Off (TKO) glidepath and Sign-Off (S/O) review plans.
• Oversee the APQP and PPAP status for all interior parts to ensure manufacturing readiness.
• Decision Making: Ensure timely Matched Pair (MP) decision-making to support the component delivery plan and prevent program delays.
• Support the SET Leader: Provide the necessary data and system-level views to help the SET Leader report on total vehicle-level metrics and high-level design choices.
• Empower DREs: Provide guidance to Design Release Engineers (DREs) as they deliver specific components to target. While the DRE owns the individual component SOW and FEDE maintenance, you are responsible for the integrated "glidepath" of those components.
• Stakeholder Management: Act as the central point of contact for interior systems for vehicle-level stakeholders, ensuring the interior team’s progress is transparent and issues are escalated appropriately.

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: Mid Level