Wheel-Tire Quality and NVH Supervisor

Ford • Dearborn, MI

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.
If good is just never good enough for you, Ford Quality shares your passion for striving for perfection. We’re responsible for driving the continuous improvement efforts that enable Ford to deliver the highest quality products and services. Help us drive operational excellence through such innovative, proprietary initiatives as our Global Product Development System, Quality Operating System and New Model Launch. Work cross-functionally and closely with integrated teams in Manufacturing, Product Development, Purchasing, Marketing, Sales and Service.
In this position...
The WTJO Quality / Systems & Strategy Supervisor is a key leadership role within the UnSE organization, serving as the primary link between senior leadership and the frontline engineering workforce. This role is critical in bridging the gap between upfront program strategy and downstream execution.
This supervisor will lead a team of engineers with roles that support the global Application and Core teams, consisting of the following:
Program Planning & Strategy Engineer: A GSR role responsible for the collection and organization of early program requests. This engineer establishes initial tire and wheel lineups, supports cost and weight target setting roundtables, manages early BOM creation, conducts scenario comparisons, and interfaces directly with Architecture and Chassis teams.
VVWD / NVH Engineer: Dedicated to expert-level technical support for the diagnosis and resolution of VVWD and NVH quality issues for all vehicle lines manufactured globally.
Wheel and Tire Assembly Engineer: Leads the development and optimization of wheel and tire assembly products, processes, and uniformity specifications within Ford's internal manufacturing operations and at outside suppliers.

The team reporting to this Supervisor may expand to include engineers supporting Quality / OPD activities, DV Test Logistics, and Warranty Parts Return Analysis.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical engineering or related field
• 5+ years of industry experience with minimum of 4 years Chassis Engineering discipline
• Experience in writing macros (e.g., Excel VBA) to aid in the automation of engineering tools.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Self-starting, self-directed
• Detail orientated with a zero-defect mindset
• Ability to work in a globally diverse team
• Strong presentation, written and verbal communication and project management skills
• Ability to handle complex tasks and challenging situations under compressed timing
• Experience communicating with senior leaders, design and release engineers, manufacturing, and suppliers
• Outstanding planning, organizational and project management skills with proper follow-up to accomplish multiple objectives
• Effective coaching and mentoring skills
• Strong Leadership Behaviors with demonstrated ability to drive and deliver results
• Ability to build strong effective relationships with cross functional teams (Core Chassis, Design and Release, Program Management, Vehicle Operations, and Suppliers)
• Position requires travel to global supplier manufacturing sites as well as global Ford manufacturing facilities

Nice To Haves

• Masters preferred
• AI experience
• Understanding of GPDS deliverables and basic Ford engineering tools including Teamcenter and buck environment.
• Six Sigma Black Belt or demonstrated understanding and application of DOE techniques.

Responsibilities

• People Leadership & Talent Development
• Strategic Planning & Program Definition
• Robustness Engineering & Prevention
• Lessons Learned (Corporate Memory and E2E Quality)
• Standards & Governance
• Team Management: Manage a diverse team of GSR engineers (levels 5 through 8) and supplemental workers, spanning disciplines from early strategy to post-production quality.
• Performance Management: Conduct regular check-ins and annual reviews using the Performance Plus framework, setting clear objectives that align with Ford+ Behaviors.
• Coaching & Mentoring: Guide engineers through complex technical hurdles. Specifically, mentor the Program Planning Engineer on navigating the cross-functional landscape of early program development.
• Resource Planning: Manage workload balance across the product lifecycle—ensuring resources are allocated effectively between upfront strategy work (UN V0) and current model execution (launch/warranty).
• Upfront Strategy Leadership: Provide leadership oversight for the collection of early program requests. Ensure the team is effectively organizing inputs to establish optimized Tire and Wheel lineups that meet customer needs while respecting complexity targets.
• Tech Leader Interface: Act as the primary liaison between the Program Planning GSR and the Technical Leader. Ensure that the lineups and strategies being developed align with the long-term technical roadmap and commodity strategies set by the Tech Leader.
• Target Setting Governance: Support the team in Cost and Weight target setting roundtables. Provide guidance on scenario comparisons to ensure data-driven decisions are made during the early architecture and chassis interface phases.
• BOM & Complexity Management: Oversee early Bill of Materials (BOM) construction to ensure accuracy and readiness for Program Start (), minimizing late-stage churn.
• DFMEA Leadership: Oversee the "Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA)" for your core commodities to accurately predict and mitigate risks (e.g., Tire / Wheel Assembly DFMEA).
• SCCAF & Vital Stats: Lead the Significant Characteristic Control Alignment Feature (SCCAF) process for Tire and Wheel Assembly. Identify Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) parameters and ensure clear communication to manufacturing and supplier teams.
• Problem Solving: Lead the team in resolving technical issues using 8D or 6-Sigma methodologies.
• Warranty & TGW Analysis: Regularly analyze data from GSAR and CQIS (Customer Quality Information System). Identify trends and translate them into technical requirements for future programs.
• Read-Across Management: When a failure occurs on a specific vehicle program, ensure the Read-Across is executed and root causes are addressed in the Core Standards to prevent recurrence in future architectures.
• Quality Documents: Own the applicable Requirements, Test Methods, and Functional Specifications defining pass/fail criteria for validation and manufacturing standards.
• Reliability Targets: Work with the Reliability team to set long-term targets (e.g., B10 life or R/1000 targets) to ensure components meet the intended life of the vehicle.

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