Engineering Project Manager- Systems & Core Architecture

Ford; Allen Park, Northern (MI, KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent medical benefits

Paid time off and holidays

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Ford seeks an Engineering Project Manager for Systems & Core Architecture to bridge strategy and execution in the Software Defined Vehicle space. You will drive cross-functional delivery, define roadmaps, and track KPIs to inform leadership decisions.

You’ll collaborate with engineering to assess architecture, manage scope, and mitigate risks, while aligning with product and design teams to deliver high-quality vehicle software platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS, EE, CE, or related field.
• 5+ years of product/feature development across hardware, software, or services.
• 3+ years in a technical capacity or with engineering teams.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams (Engineering, Product, Design, QA).
• Familiar with JIRA, ADO and CI/CD.

Responsibilities

• Drive project planning with domain goals and roadmaps.
• Manage schedules, backlogs, dependencies, and delivery.
• Use KPIs and dashboards to inform decisions and communicate progress to leadership.
• Collaborate with engineers on architecture and feasibility.
• Identify risks, implement mitigation plans, and lead Kaizen improvements.
• Control scope and assess impact of changes.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

Tools

JIRA

ADO

CI/CD

Job description

Engineering Project Manager- Systems & Core Architecture

Ford's is at the forefront of the Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) revolution. We are reimagining vehicle electrical architecture and software platforms to deliver a streamlined, scalable, platform-first strategy.

As an Engineering Project Manager (EPM), you will be the bridge between strategic vision and technical execution. You will drive the delivery of high-quality systems solutions at speed, leading cross-functional strategies that impact our entire vehicle lineup. We are looking for a leader who is centered on product and engineering excellence with a bias for action—someone comfortable leading a system design meeting one hour and presenting a concise strategic update to leadership the next.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Planning & Domain Leadership

• Strategic Acumen: Support strategic objectives and drive planning efforts within your domain, owning feature delivery over mid- to multi-year horizons.
• Domain Strategy: Define project goals and delivery roadmaps, aligning resources with priorities and technology staging while maintaining awareness of industry trends.

Execution & Delivery

• Project Oversight: Drive the execution and delivery of work within your domain, managing schedules, backlogs, and identifying immediate dependencies.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Establish and track technical success metrics (KPIs) and use data/dashboards to inform decisions and make progress visible to the organization.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

• Alignment: Facilitate team alignment to committed work and ensure up- and down-stream dependencies remain synchronized.
• Reporting: Effectively communicate project progress, risks, and health to stakeholders using established frameworks and concise content tailored for leadership.

Technical Leadership & Influence

• Engineering Collaboration: Engage effectively with engineers on technical details, understanding architectural implications for project timelines and assessing technical feasibility.
• Customer Obsession: Translate customer requirements into actionable specifications across multiple teams, ensuring the project adheres to established development processes.

Continuous Improvement & Risk Management

• Proactive Mitigation: Identify, analyze, and solve problems encountered during execution. Anticipate risks and develop robust mitigation plans and escalation paths.
• Kaizen Mindset: Lead retrospectives and actively contribute to process improvements through Kaizen practices to ensure the team is operating at peak efficiency.

Scope & Change Management

• Control: Manage the defined scope of deliverables and assess the impact of requested changes on timeline, effort, and quality.
• Change Control: Follow established organizational processes to document and track changes, ensuring all stakeholders are informed of project-level shifts.

Qualifications

You’ll have...

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a similar related technical field. or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in product or feature development across hardware, software, and/or services.
• Technical Depth: 3+ years working in a technical capacity or closely with engineering teams, with the ability to understand complex engineering architectures.
• Tools & Methodology: Familiarity with modern DevOps tools (e.g., JIRA, ADO) and modern software development practices (CI/CD).
• Leadership: Proven experience leading cross-functional teams (Engineering, Product, Design, QA) through the entire product lifecycle.

Even better if you have...

• Experience with multiple product cycles involving software and services.
• A strong command of system design and the ability to lead technical design reviews.
• Experience in the automotive industry or with Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) platforms.

Benefits

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 grades 6-8 and ranges from $85,400-$192,900.

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 not 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.