Exterior Lighting Engineer

Ford - Lincoln Veteran Careers Program; 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

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 Development uses design thinking & user experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that delight our customers. We bring innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life.We have opportunities around the world for you to contribute to advancements in autonomy, electrification, smart mobility technologies, and more!

In this position...

The Ford Exterior Lighting Engineer role is intended for an experienced automotive lighting Design & Release engineer who can independently lead exterior lighting systems from early concept through production launch. The role requires deep working knowledge of lamp design, CAD/package development, requirements cascade, supplier execution, validation planning, tooling readiness, production release, and launch issue resolution. This engineer will lead cross-functional execution with lighting suppliers, optics, studio, software, electrical, purchasing, manufacturing, supplier technical assistance, and quality teams while balancing performance, craftsmanship, cost, weight, timing, and regulatory compliance.

Our ideal candidate is an experienced, hands‑on exterior lighting engineer who can quickly contribute with limited ramp‑up time. This candidate should be comfortable developing preliminary CAD concepts, assessing design feasibility, driving supplier design convergence, identifying risks early, and making sound engineering decisions across mechanical, optical, electrical, software, manufacturing, validation, and quality interfaces. The candidate must demonstrate strong ownership, technical judgment, communication, and program leadership skills.

This role is intended for an experienced engineer who can contribute quickly in a Design & Release environment. The right candidate will bring practical exterior lighting experience, strong technical ownership, and the ability to work effectively with suppliers and cross‑functional teams.

What you’ll do...

• Systems Engineering for Exterior Lighting
• Generate and execute technical solutions for Exterior Lighting components to support new vehicle programs
• Perform complex engineering evaluation analysis
• Translate vehicle, regulatory, appearance, optical, electrical, software, manufacturing, and quality requirements into robust exterior lighting component designs
• Develop preliminary CAD design proposals, package studies, section reviews, design‑in‑context assessments, and conceptual CAD models to support early design development.
• Work cross‑functionally to implement cost savings, product improvements, and to support prototype and production build activities
• Lead supplier technical execution, including design reviews, CAD/data reviews, tooling readiness, issue resolution, cost/weight tradeoffs, and launch support
• Balance attributes such as cost, weight, complexity, and timing
• Production release of Exterior Lighting systems, subsystems, components, and features
• Drive validation readiness and evidence of compliance through DFMEA, DVP&R, inspection/ testing review, functional assessments, and corrective action closure
• Core requirement and technology development
• Communicate information to and from internal and external organizations
• Lead team meetings (suppliers, designers, engineers, manufacturing, supplier quality, etc.)
• Travel as required (including international)

You’ll have...

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or related field
• 5+ years of professional automotive exterior lighting engineering experience, including direct responsibility for production‑intent lamp systems, components, or features.
• Demonstrated CAD design capability for preliminary design work, package studies, section development, etc.
• Experience leading exterior lighting development across key program milestones.
• Experience with DFMEA, DVP&R, design reviews, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and engineering change management
• Ability to lead suppliers and cross‑functional teams with clear communication, technical ownership, and timing discipline
• Ability to evaluate design tradeoffs and resolve technical issues using data‑driven engineering judgment
• Appropriate for an experienced‑hire role with limited ramp‑up time required

Even better, if you have …

Preferred

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Optical, or Software Engineering
• Master’s Degree or other Advanced Degree
• Direct experience with the engineering design and release of exterior lighting components such as headlamps, rear lamps, CHMSL, light bars, reflectors, bezels, lenses, housings, electronics modules, or lamp‑level wire harnesses
• Familiarity with Design For Six Sigma process
• Experience with DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis), GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing), and ISO standards
• Experience with CATIA, Teamcenter/TCE, 3DX, WERS, FEDEBOM, or similar automotive CAD, release, and BOM management systems
• Knowledge of plastic materials, plastic injection molding, optics, basic electrical/electronic circuitry, software, lamp manufacturing processes, tooling, fixture design and product validation
• Knowledge of exterior lighting performance attributes including photometry, lit appearance, condensation, thermal management, EMC, electronics/software interfaces, aiming, serviceability, craftsmanship, and perceived quality
• Knowledge of global lighting regulations
• Prior experience supporting prototype builds, plant launch, PPAP, safe launch, warranty/quality investigations, supplier corrective actions, or production change management
• Experience or industry network in automotive lighting suppliers, OEM lighting organizations, lighting‑specific professional communities, or university programs that can support targeted sourcing and talent pipeline development

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

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 7 -8 and ranges from $86,600- $166,200.

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.

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.