Feature Systems Engineer - Partner Programs

Ford - Lincoln Veteran Careers Program; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Parental leave

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

Ford Design is seeking a qualified Systems Engineer to define requirements for connected vehicle features and manage cloud-to-vehicle interfaces. You will govern supplier integration and ensure compliance with Ford architecture, cybersecurity, privacy, and customer experience expectations.

The role covers ownership of cloud interfaces, OTA deployment governance, and end-to-end feature validation, with collaboration across product, engineering, privacy, and supplier teams in a hybrid work

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of systems engineering experience in telematics or cloud-connected products.
• Experience coordinating across internal teams and external suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Define connected vehicle requirements and regulatory compliance.
• Own Ford cloud interface definitions and connectivity architecture.
• Lead supplier integration and ensure alignment with Ford standards.
• Govern OTA deployment and software update governance.
• Define user authorization, onboarding experiences, and privacy controls.
• Verify supplier implementations against Ford architectures.
• Define fleet telematics signals, events, and data reporting.

Skills

Systems engineering

Cloud-connected products

Telematics

Architecture definition

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Job description

Do you want to drive business strategy and define products for software and digital experiences? Enterprise Connectivity Business Operations team translates those strategic choices into tangible business propositions. We represent the voice of the customer as we build distinctive, always-on connected vehicle technologies and services that transform the ownership experience.

Launched in 2023, Integrated Services creates and markets new customer experiences by integrating hardware, software and services across Ford Blue, Model e and Ford Pro. These products and services allow Ford's retail and commercial customers to customize their vehicles like never before with OTA (over-the-air)-driven experiences that grow better over time. Ford is developing leadership at the forefront of connected, digital platforms that will revolutionize every aspect of how vehicles function, the way people interact with them, and the value those vehicles provide.

Join us in shaping the future of Ford Motor Company, as part of a global organization with exceptional colleagues in world-class facilities. As part of Ford Design, you’ll be at the cutting edge of Ford’s most strategically critical work, designing people and society’s needs into the heart of our next generation of products, services, and experiences.

In this position…

Serves as Ford's technical authority for connected vehicle features, responsible for defining requirements, governing cloud-to-vehicle interfaces, ensuring supplier implementation alignment, and validating compliance with Ford architecture, cybersecurity, privacy, and customer experience expectations.

What you'll do…

The Ford FSE acts as the system owner for connectivity features and cloud-integrated services. The role bridges product requirements, vehicle engineering, cloud services, privacy compliance, provisioning, telematics, fleet services, OTA updates, and supplier integration activities. The FSE establishes Ford-defined behavior and interfaces while ensuring supplier implementations are aligned with Ford standards and customer experience requirements.

Requirements & Systems Architecture

• Define connected vehicle technical, security, privacy, safety, and regulatory requirements.
• Own Ford cloud interface definitions and connectivity architecture requirements.
• Define Ford Well-Known Signals, event models, signal mappings, enumerations, units, and expected vehicle behavior
• Maintain requirements through change-control and legal-review processes.

Supplier Integration & Technical Leadership

• Communicate Ford feature expectations and technical requirements to suppliers.
• Drive closure of feature gaps identified between Ford and supplier implementations.
• Review supplier sequence diagrams, implementation proposals, and architectural responses.
• Ensure supplier solutions remain aligned with Ford architecture and interfaces.

Cloud & Backend Systems Ownership

• Define and govern Ford cloud integration requirements
• Own customer authorization, account-linking, and VIN association workflows.
• Define backend activation and deactivation requirements for connected services.
• Govern fleet-management, feature-package, and remote-command cloud services

Customer Experience & HMI Definition

• Define customer authorization and onboarding experiences.
• Define connected services DISCLAIMERS and setup wizard behavior.
• Establish Ford UI/UX expectations for privacy, account management, and connected services.
• Define profile synchronization and user-management expectations.

Privacy, Cybersecurity & Regulatory Compliance

• Define privacy controls, consent requirements, and data-sharing behaviors.
• Ensure connected features comply with cybersecurity, privacy, and ePrivacy requirements.
• Define regional compliance and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Establish governance for fleet-privacy and dual-consent frameworks.

OTA & Software Update Governance

• Define OTA/MMOTA deployment requirements and strategies.
• Own software-update content, rollout policies, and version governance.
• Define cloud deployment requirements for emissions, battery-health, and regulatory data reporting.

Provisioning & Manufacturing Integration

• Define End-of-Line (EOL) provisioning requirements and cloud registration processes.
• Govern Sync key allocation and supplier-feed integration requirements.
• Define cloud-triggered carrier provisioning and SIM activation processes.

Connected Feature Governance

• Define operational behavior for remote climate control, remote start, lock/unlock, vehicle health alerts, vehicle location, EV charging, panic alarms, and stolen vehicle services.
• Establish expected command responses and status-reporting requirements.
• Define fleet telematics signals, events, and command capabilities.

Verification & Validation

• Verify supplier implementation compliance with Ford-defined architectures and requirements.
• Validate signal mappings, telemetry behavior, status reporting, and cloud integrations.
• Confirm regulatory, privacy, and customer experience requirements are satisfied.

Fleet & Telematics Services

• Define fleet enrollment and feature-package management requirements
• Govern telematics payload definitions, data integrity requirements, and reporting expectations.
• Define fleet remote-command authorization and lifecycle management requirements.

You’ll have...

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering
• 5+ years of systems engineering experience, including experience in telematics or cloud-connected product program.
• 5+ years of experience supporting complex products development or service launches, integrations or validation cycles, coordinating across internal organizations & external suppliers integration issues through resolution or documented disposition
• 5+ years of experience defining or reviewing the architecture of connected products or services, including system interfaces and architecture deliverables, such as interface specifications, sequence diagrams, or data-flow diagrams.

Even better, you may have...

• Master’s degree in relevant Engineering / technical field.
• Experience supporting OEM / vehicle program through integration and launch, including coordinating vehicle, cloud/backend, and supplier teams; managing integration issues through resolution or formal disposition; and contributing to release-readiness evidence or post-launch issue resolution

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.

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
• 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
• Generous vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day

This position is a salary grade 7 to 8 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 with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid #LI-KD1