EDS Design Engineer

Ford-Motor-Company; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 139,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Hybrid work model

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Job summary

Ford Motor Company seeks an EDS Design Engineer in Palo Alto, CA, to define the vehicle's electrical wire harness systems for next‑gen EVs. You will own end‑to‑end harness design, integration, and validation, bridging architecture and physical implementation in a hybrid work setup.

You'll design in 3D, optimize mass and packaging, tackle EMI and thermal challenges, and collaborate with cross‑functional teams to deliver production‑worthy solutions.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical, Mechanical, Electromechanical or Mechatronics Engineering.
• 5+ years designing and developing EDS designs in automotive or similar industry.
• Experience using 2D & 3D EDS tooling (NX, Mentor Capital, 3DX, CATIA V5, Zuken).
• Experience in mass-production environment from concept to SOP launch.

Responsibilities

• Own harness families from concept through production launch; meet milestones.
• Develop harness designs in 3D CAD; optimize mass, cost, and packaging.
• Resolve EMI, thermal protection, and mechanical durability issues.
• Validate harness design via DVP&R and packaging reviews.
• Update EDS library with new components and maintain data for suppliers.

Skills

EDS harness design

3D CAD

EMI and thermal

Cross‑functional collaboration

Agile tools (Jira/Confluence)

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical/Mech/Mechatronics

Tools

NX

Mentor Capital

3DX

CATIA V5

Zuken

Confluence

Jira

Job description

As an EDS Design Engineer, you will be at the forefront of defining the 'nervous system' for our next-generation electric vehicles. You will be responsible for the end-to-end vehicle-side electrical wire harness design and physical integration, serving as the critical link between architectural theory and vehicle reality.

In this role, you will help realize the vision of a Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) by optimizing the intersection of electrical connectivity, hardware placement, and mechanical packaging. While your primary focus is the robust physical design and routing of the harness, you will work deeply within the electrical architecture to ensure the system is efficient, manufacturable, and capable of supporting advanced vehicle functions. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive innovation and remain hands-on during vehicle 'bring-up' phases to troubleshoot and validate your designs.

What you'll do...

• Full Lifecycle Ownership: Own harness families from initial concept through production launch, ensuring all design, engineering, and program milestones are met.
• 3D Design & Integration: Develop vehicle harness designs in 3D CAD, collaborating with cross-functional teams to find innovative routing solutions while optimizing mass, cost, and packaging efficiency.
• Technical Problem Solving: Drive resolution for critical technical issues including EMI, thermal protection, mechanical strain, mechanical cycling (durability), and environmental sealing.
• Design Integrity & Validation: Ensure harness robustness through rigorous packaging reviews and the development and execution of Design Verification Plans and Reports (DVP&R).
• Component & Complexity Strategy: Define harness protection, retention, and complexity management strategies (variant handling) while collaborating on updating new components into the EDS library.
• Manufacturing & Launch Support: Support vehicle and Tier I assembly lines during development phases to resolve build issues, confirm change implementation, and ensure on-time delivery.
• Documentation & Supplier Liaison: Develop and review 2D manufacturing drawings, schematics, and device transmittals to ensure suppliers have accurate data for harness production.
• Innovation & Research: Conduct research to identify and implement the latest trends in wiring technology, such as automated manufacturing, high-speed data transmission, and advanced materials.

You'll have...

• B.S. in Electrical, Mechanical, Electromechanical or Mechatronics Engineering.
• 5+ years of experience designing and developing EDS Designs in an automotive or similar industry (e.g., Aerospace, Medical Device, Robotics).
• Experience using 2D & 3D EDS Tooling (e.g., NX, Mentor Capital, 3DX, CATIA V5, Zuken, etc.).
• Proven experience in a mass-production environment, taking a product from initial concept through Job 1/SOP launch.

Even better, you may have...

• Technical Depth: Strong Electrical Engineering fundamentals and a systems-level approach to design and development.
• Hands-on Experience: Proven track record of building and launching automotive products, vehicle prototyping, and instrumentation of prototype vehicles in a controlled lab environment.
• EDS Component Design: Experience designing EDS components such as brackets and retention/protection hardware in plastic and sheet metal, including familiarity with associated manufacturing processes (e.g., injection molding, stamping) and design-for-manufacturability considerations.
• LV/HV Connection Systems: Familiarity with connector system selection, seals, and terminal retention mechanisms.
• Analytical Trade-offs: Experience deriving cost, manufacturability, reliability, and failure modes (DFMEA) trade-offs based on specific designs.
• Tools & Collaboration: Familiarity with Confluence and Jira for task management in a fast-paced, iterative development cycle.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills with an eagerness to work cross-functionally in a high-performing, dynamic environment.
• Agile Mindset: A desire and curiosity to strive for exceptional delivery execution and continuous improvement.

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• 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.

This position is a salary grade 8 and ranges from $138,800-$232,700.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week.