Material Flow Engineer, Ford Energy

Ford Energy; Glendale (KY); On-site; USD 99,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Tuition assistance

Paid time off and holidays

Vehicle discount program

Job summary

Ford Energy, a Ford Motor Company subsidiary, seeks a Material Flow Engineer to lead material flow initiatives in our Glendale gigafactory. You will optimize on-site handling, drive safety, quality, and productivity, and support manufacturing process engineering efforts across operations.

Responsibilities include establishing efficient labor standards, improving line balancing, and fostering a culture of lean excellence with data-driven solutions. Travel up to 50% is required as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial Engineering preferred)
• 5 or more years of experience in a manufacturing environment
• Ability to travel up to 50% for domestic and international travel
• Flexibility to support multiple shifts

Responsibilities

• Lead material flow initiatives to enable continuous production in a high-paced, highly automated gigafactory.
• Drive production throughput, line balancing, and labor efficiency for a large site.
• Develop and implement lean labor standards and methods with ergonomic and safety considerations
• Provide engineering support for material flow processes and training
• Collaborate with Planning, Inventory Control, Production, and Supply Chain to uphold policies and drive improvements

Skills

Material flow

Lean manufacturing

Six Sigma

Manufacturing data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial Engineering preferred)

Tools

AutoCAD

MODAPTS

Manufacturing simulation tools

Teamcenter Engineering

CATIA V5

Job description

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.

Ford Energy is a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company dedicated to accelerating U.S. energy independence. Leveraging Ford’s century of manufacturing excellence and world-class battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology, Ford Energy designs, manufactures, and services grid-scale and commercial DC battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ford Energy is uniquely positioned to capture the growing demand for reliable, US-built energy storage systems. We are not just building batteries; we are building the infrastructure for the next generation of the American grid.

Why Ford Energy?

At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands.

In this position…

As a Material Flow Engineer, you will lead material flow initiatives within the facility to enable continuous production in a high-paced, highly automated, next generation gigafactory. Your primary focus will be to manage and optimize the supply chain for all on-site Material Handling activities. You will lend essential expertise to support our manufacturing process engineering efforts, helping us enhance safety, quality, and productivity across operations. This means using engineering principles and analytical methods to drive ongoing improvements in both manufacturing processes and products. You will play a critical role industrializing Ford Energy Battery Systems, scaling operations at our Glendale facility. This is a high-impact, startup role within a legacy manufacturing powerhouse.

Responsibilities

• Lead with Purpose: Apply engineering principles and analytical techniques to establish, optimize, and continuously improve high-volume battery storage manufacturing and assembly processes.


• Innovate: Use your entrepreneurial mindset to drive production throughput, line balancing, and labor efficiency for a massive manufacturing site.


• Empower Others: Create a culture of lean manufacturing excellence, fostering an environment where standardized work and data-driven production solutions thrive


• You will drive the development and installation of direct and indirect labor standards and methods, incorporating ergonomic and safety standards, while tracking labor and ensuring efficient manpower utilization and line balancing.


• You will conduct job ergonomics evaluations and analyze production and non-production operations to identify those requiring study, developing new or improved methods and standards as needed.


• Provide engineering support for material flow process; document standards and procedures, provide training, overall adherence and maintenance to ensure materials are available in designated stock, markets and line locations throughout the facility


• Work with Planning & Inventory Control, Production, Material Handlers, and Supply Chain to ensure robust policies are available and practiced and strive for continuous improvement


• Apply technical expertise, commensurate with formal training and limited job experience, in the development of material flow processes


• Design and/or develops material flow processes and equipment


• Recommend changes to increase safety, reduce costs, improve quality and optimize efficiency


• Lead facilitator of plant layout change management activities


• Develop floor space analyses to confirm storage requirements and recommend practical solutions where required


• Assist in qualifying manual and powered material handling equipment requirements


• Work to improve material flow and manage materials and inventory consistent with Lean principles


• Lay out market, sequencing, and kitting areas to facilitate material handling, process flow, space utilization, and labor


• Define and manage in-plant storage and call systems to maintain inventories; define and develop methods to achieve organizational objectives


• Provide vehicle and pedestrian flow/congestion/safety analyses and recommend practical solutions where required


• Interact on a regular basis with other functional groups and vendors on technical and/or administrative matters


• Work with Production, Production Control, Supply Chain, Quality and other engineering departments


• Prepare detailed plans, generally spanning several months, vital to complete assigned projects


• Develop and approve schedule milestones


• Develop and coordinate labor, facility and equipment requirements for assigned projects


• Propose alternate plans for economic evaluation


• Administer technical procedures including process and work procedures


• Implement an industrial engineering system (standard cost data, capacity and equipment requirement forecasting, shop floor control system)


• Forecast and manage operating expense and capital budget requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial Engineering preferred)


• 5 or more years of experience working in a manufacturing environment (internship and/or coop experience will be considered)


• Ability to travel as needed for both domestic and international, up to 50%


• Flexibility to support business needs by working across various shifts

Even better, you may have…

• Validated functional expertise in material flow


• Experience in Greenfield site development or high-volume automotive, battery, or electronics manufacturing.


• Demonstrated experience working with all levels of management organizations


• Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt).


• Experience with 8D, 5-Why analysis, DMAIC/DMADV methodologies, and lean tools (6S, Kanban, Poka-Yoke, Value Stream Mapping).


• Familiarity with engineering change and release systems (e.g., WERS, CORA, or similar).


• Technical Knowledge: Advanced proficiency in AutoCAD, MODAPTS, and manufacturing simulation tools.


• Working knowledge of Teamcenter Engineering, CATIA V5, AutoCad or similar programs


• Excellent written and oral communication skills


• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (particularly Excel and PowerPoint)


• Strong understanding of lean material flow strategies & lean manufacturing processes


• Strong communication, collaboration, and team-building skills.


• Passion for energy systems and U.S. energy independence.


• Leadership Attributes


• Strategic visionary: Translates production data into scalable manufacturing strategies aligned with the growing BESS industry.


• Decisive under pressure: Makes rapid, data-driven decisions during line balancing and production ramp-up.


• Adaptable: Leads effectively in an evolving startup environment and supports a 24/7 operation, including nights, weekends, and holidays as needed.

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 8 and ranges from $99,100-$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.

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.