Thermal Technical Program Manager

Ford Motor • Long Beach, CA

6d • 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 Creation and Industrialization (PC&I) brings together Ford’s vehicle, electric, digital and design teams with our global manufacturing system. Working as one end-to-end organization, we turn ideas into high-quality vehicles, software and experiences across gas, hybrid and electric, designed around what customers need. In this position... Join our dynamic and agile team pioneering Ford's EV future. As the Thermal Technical Program Manager, you will lead the planning and delivery of the thermal management system for our next-generation electric vehicles, across the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems. You will drive cross-functional alignment, manage project execution, and ensure our thermal solutions meet aggressive performance, cost, and timing targets. Be the person who gets the thermal system to launch. Your leadership will turn great engineering into on-time delivery, directly shaping the performance, range, and comfort of Ford's future EVs and the sustainable mobility landscape.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, or related field).
• 5+ years of experience in technical program management within the automotive, aerospace, or complex system development industries.
• Proven track record of managing multi-disciplinary engineering projects from concept to launch.
• Strong understanding of the product development lifecycle and project management methodologies.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Engineering or MBA.
• PMP certification or equivalent.
• Experience with thermal management systems, particularly in electric vehicles.
• Experience managing suppliers through prototype, validation, and production launch.
• Proficiency with project management tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, MS Project).

Responsibilities

• Own the thermal program plan and drive it to delivery, partnering with the Thermal Engineering Manager and the subsystem owners.
• Develop, manage, and execute comprehensive program plans for the EV thermal management system, covering the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems from concept through launch.
• Track thermal deliverables against vehicle program milestones and gateways, maintain the critical path, and escalate early when key dates are at risk.
• Serve as the primary interface between the Thermal team and vehicle program management, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and supply chain teams.
• Work with Design & Release Engineers and supply chain managers to manage supplier timing, quotes, prototype deliveries, and industrialization activities, so hardware is ready for each build and test phase.
• Partner with Thermal Test Engineers and build planners to align prototype builds, test vehicles, and facility time with the program schedule.
• Oversee project budgets, resource allocation, and timeline adherence, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Proactively identify technical, schedule, and resource risks, develop and implement mitigation strategies, and drive open issues to closure.
• Establish clear communication channels and provide regular, transparent updates on program status, key decisions, and critical-path items to all stakeholders, including leadership reviews.
• Facilitate critical technical and strategic decisions by ensuring the relevant data, options, and perspectives from engineering leads are presented clearly.
• Champion program management best practices and contribute to the continuous improvement of development processes within the thermal engineering organization.

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