Industrial Engineering Team Manager

Ford, Inc; Wayne (MI); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and prescription drug

Flexible family care

Parental leave

Adoption assistance

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Employee resource groups

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Vacation time purchase

Job summary

Ford Motor Company in Michigan seeks a Lead Industrial Engineer to drive productivity improvements across manufacturing. You will mentor engineers, lead line-balancing initiatives, and partner with production, safety, and union representatives to implement efficient, safe processes.

This leadership role focuses on labor planning, time-study methods (MODAPTS), and continuous improvement through Kaizen and Six Sigma, with monthly reporting and cost-reduction goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering required.
• 3–5 years of relevant experience.
• Experience managing engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead IE efforts to improve ergonomics, safety, workstation setup, and production efficiency.
• Collaborate with Production, Health and Safety, hourly employees, team leaders, and union reps to resolve concerns.
• Lead and coach IEs and CI Specialists in productivity improvements: line balancing, throughput gains, labor utilization, and value-added work.
• Identify headcount and labor-cost reduction initiatives; publish monthly reports by area.
• Plan manpower, daily reporting, weekly roll analysis, staffing strategies, and training alignment.
• Support hiring and posting with union representatives.
• Plan workstation, allocation, mix, and line-speed changes to maximize efficiency.
• Lead cycle-line layout development and labor planning.
• Guide time-study planning (MODAPTS) and IE training across the plant.
• Promote continuous improvement and waste elimination via Kaizen, Six Sigma, and low-cost automation projects.
• Represent the plant on the National Ergonomics Committee and lead safety and ergonomics initiatives.
• Monitor monthly progress in VPOS and support Finance with labor-efficiency targets.

Skills

Industrial engineering

Team leadership

Root cause analysis

Kaizen

Six Sigma

Labor planning

Ergonomics

Safety

Cycle-line layout

Education

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering

Tools

MODAPTS

Microsoft Office

GSPAS

Job description

We are the movers of the world and the makers of the future. We get up every day, roll up our sleeves and build a better world -- together. At Ford, we're all a part of something bigger than ourselves. Are you ready to change the way the world moves?

As part of our Manufacturing team, you'll help build the world-class, state-of-the-art smart vehicles we're known for. In our plants around the world, we're constantly developing new technologies and processes to further increase our efficiency. You'll get the satisfaction of making great products people use and love.

In this position...

Lead IEs and support production to develop productivity proposals (rebalances, OLOT reduction, throughput improvements).

What You'll Do...

• Lead Industrial Engineering (IE) efforts to improve ergonomics, workplace safety, workstation setup, and production efficiency.
• Partner with Production, Health and Safety, hourly employees, team leaders, and union or works council representatives to resolve job, staffing, and ergonomic concerns.
• Lead and coach IEs and Continuous Improvement Specialists in developing and delivering productivity improvements, including line balancing, rebalancing, OLOT reduction, throughput gains, operator utilization, and increased value-added work.
• Identify and lead headcount and labor-cost reduction initiatives; track hourly headcount changes with Global IE teams and publish monthly reports by area.
• Manage plant and departmental manpower planning, including daily reporting, weekly roll analysis and reviews, staffing strategies, and alignment of training and versatility plans with workforce needs.
• Support hiring and posting activities in partnership with union representatives.
• Plan and implement workstation, allocation, mix, and line-speed changes, as well as plant and shop operating patterns that maximize efficiency.
• Lead cycle-line layout development and future-model labor planning, ensuring layouts and labor allocations support safety, quality, delivery, and efficiency.
• Guide time-study planning and execution, including MODAPTS, and provide IE training and support across the plant.
• Promote continuous improvement and waste elimination through Kaizen, Six Sigma, and low-cost automation projects.
• Represent the plant on the National Ergonomics Committee and lead plant safety and ergonomics initiatives.
• Monitor monthly progress in VPOS and support the Finance Controller with labor-efficiency targets and monthly labor-cost reporting.

You'll have...

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering
• Experience: 3–5 years of relevant experience
• Demonstrated experience managing engineers
• Ability to quickly identify and resolve issues through root cause analysis, then partner with production departments to implement changes
• Flexibility to rotate among plant positions, including Production and Quality
• Strong customer focus and commitment to following plant processes and the Quality Operating System
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities and deliver results
• Collaborative approach to union relations and willingness to contribute as part of a team
• Confidence and technical expertise to mentor hourly and salaried employees across the production organization
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Even better, you may have…

• MODAPTS certification
• Familiarity with GSPAS
• Experience using Microsoft Office

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 the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage

• Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up childcare 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 leadership salary grade 6.

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 committed to a culturally diverse workforce. 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.

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