Manager, Infrastructure & Platform Engineering, Ford Energy

Ford Energy; Glendale (KY); On-site; USD 116,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Parental leave

Tuition assistance

Vehicle discount program

Paid time off

Holidays

Job summary

Ford Energy is seeking a Manager of Hybrid Infrastructure & Hosting to architect and operate the platforms powering our Battery Energy Storage System facility. You will balance high-performance local edge computing with our enterprise Google Cloud Platform environment, reporting to the Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations.

You will lead hybrid infrastructure, on-site data center design, edge computing, and 24/7 reliability initiatives, while guiding vendor collaborations and the plant’s

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree or relevant work experience.
• GCP expertise: 5+ years hands-on with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Professional Cloud Architect or Cloud Engineer certification is highly preferred.
• 8+ years in IT infrastructure with at least 3 years in a leadership or lead engineering role.
• Hybrid proficiency: experience managing cloud and physical hardware in sync.
• Deep understanding of server hardware, enterprise storage, and data center infrastructure.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools to automate deployments.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and manage Ford Energy’s cloud environments (GCP).
• Lead design and setup of the plant’s local data center/server rooms; edge compute.
• Implement backup and disaster recovery strategies spanning on-prem and cloud.
• Lead technical execution of infrastructure projects during plant construction and go-live phases.

Skills

GCP Expertise

Hybrid Environments

Edge & On-Premises Infrastructure

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Cloud Architecture

Leadership/Lead Engineering

Containerization (Kubernetes, Docker)

Education

Bachelor Degree or relevant work experience

Professional Cloud Architect or Cloud Engineer certification

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Terraform

Job description

Job Description

As the Manager of Hybrid Infrastructure & Hosting, you will be the primary architect and operator of the computer platforms that power our new Battery Energy Storage System BESS manufacturing facility. Reporting to the Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations, you will lead the "engine room" of Ford Energy—managing the delicate balance between high-performance local edge computing on the factory floor and our enterprise-scale Google Cloud Platform environment.

Responsibilities

Cloud Architecture & Management (GCP Focus)

• GCP Governance: Design, deploy, and manage Ford Energy’s cloud environments.
• Cloud Economics: Monitor and optimize cloud consumption to ensure cost-effectiveness while maintaining high performance.
• Identity & Security: Implement and maintain robust Identity and Access Management policies and security configurations within the cloud environment.

On-Premises & Edge Infrastructure

• Physical Hosting: Lead the design and setup of the plant’s local data center/server rooms, including rack layouts, power requirements, and cooling coordination.
• Edge Computing: Implement high-availability edge compute solutions to support real-time manufacturing data and low-latency production requirements.
• Virtualization: Manage the on-site virtualization layer to ensure maximum hardware utilization and resilience.

Operational Reliability & Data Integrity

• Business Continuity: Develop and test comprehensive backup and disaster recovery strategies that span both physical hardware and cloud workloads.
• Monitoring & Observability: Implement advanced monitoring tools to ensure 24/7 visibility into system health.
• Storage Management: Architect and manage scalable storage solutions for massive manufacturing datasets, ensuring data is available for analysis and long-term retention.

Project & Vendor Leadership

• Deployment: Lead the technical execution of infrastructure projects during the plant’s construction and "go-live" phases.
• Hardware Sourcing: Work with vendors to specify and procure the physical infrastructure needed for the facility.

Required

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor Degree or relevant work experience
• GCP Expertise: 5+ years of hands‑on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Professional Cloud Architect or Cloud Engineer certification is highly preferred.
• Infrastructure Experience: 8+ years in IT infrastructure with at least 3 years in a leadership or lead engineering role.
• Hybrid Proficiency: Proven experience managing "hybrid" environments where cloud and physical hardware must work in sync.
• Hardware Knowledge: Deep understanding of server hardware, enterprise storage, and data center physical infrastructure.
• Automation: Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools to automate environment deployment.

Preferred Skills & Attributes

• Manufacturing Context: Experience supporting a 24/7 production environment where system uptime directly impacts manufacturing throughput.
• Containerization: Strong knowledge of Kubernetes and Docker, particularly in a manufacturing or IIoT context.
• Problem Solver: A "get-it-done" mindset with the ability to troubleshoot complex issues across the full stack (from a physical cable to a cloud API).
• Collaborative: Ability to work closely with the Network and Security teams to ensure a seamless and hardened infrastructure.

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 leadership level 6 and ranges from $115,500-$218,100.

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.

Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.

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.

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