Exterior Lighting Design Lead – Production & Validation

Ford; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Parental leave and family care support

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off & holidays

Job summary

Ford Motor Company seeks an experienced Exterior Lighting Engineer to lead the design and release of exterior lighting systems from concept through production launch.

You will collaborate with suppliers and cross‑functional teams to balance performance, cost, weight, and timing while ensuring DFMEA, DVP&R and regulatory compliance. The role requires strong ownership and leadership across mechanical, optical, electrical, software, and manufacturing interfaces.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical, Electrical, or related field is required.
• 5+ years of automotive exterior lighting engineering experience including production‑intent lamps.
• CAD design capability for preliminary design, packaging, and development.
• Experience leading exterior lighting development across key program milestones.
• DFMEA, DVP&R, design reviews, root cause analysis, and engineering change management.

Responsibilities

• Lead exterior lighting systems from concept through production launch.
• Coordinate with suppliers, optics, studio, software, electrical, purchasing, manufacturing and quality teams.
• Develop preliminary CAD concepts and support early design development.
• Drive cost savings and product improvements with cross‑functional teams.
• Ensure validation readiness and regulatory compliance through DFMEA, DVP&R and testing.

Skills

Exterior lighting design

Cross-functional leadership

CAD design

Technical ownership

Program leadership

Data-driven engineering

Education

BS in Mechanical, Electrical, or related field

BS in Mechanical, Electrical, Optical, or Software Engineering

Tools

CATIA

Teamcenter/TCE

3DX

WERS

FEDEBOM

Job description

Ford Motor Company seeks an experienced Exterior Lighting Engineer to lead the design and release of exterior lighting systems from concept through production launch.

You will collaborate with suppliers and cross‑functional teams to balance performance, cost, weight, and timing while ensuring DFMEA, DVP&R and regulatory compliance. The role requires strong ownership and leadership across mechanical, optical, electrical, software, and manufacturing interfaces.