Lighting Engineer - Exterior Lighting

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

Job summary

Ford Exterior Lighting Engineer role is for an experienced design & release engineer who can independently lead exterior lighting systems from concept to production launch. The position requires deep knowledge of lamp design, CAD, requirements cascade, supplier execution, validation planning, tooling readiness, and regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate will drive cross-functional execution with suppliers, optics, software, electrical, purchasing, manufacturing, and quality teams while

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical, Electrical, or related field
• 5+ years of professional automotive exterior lighting engineering experience with production-intent lamp systems
• Demonstrated CAD design capability for preliminary design work
• 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

Responsibilities

• Generate and execute technical solutions for Exterior Lighting components to support new vehicle programs
• 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
• Communicate information to and from internal and external organizations
• Lead team meetings (suppliers, designers, engineers, manufacturing, supplier quality, etc.)
• Travel as required (including international)

Skills

Exterior lighting engineering

CAD design

Cross-functional leadership

Technical ownership

Data-driven decisions

Education

BS in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering

MS in Engineering (preferred)

Tools

CATIA

Teamcenter/TCE

3DX

WERS

FEDEBOM

Job description

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 qu