Material Flow Engineer, Ford Energy

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

Benefits offered by this job

Immediate medical, dental, vision and药

Vehicle discount program for employees

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Flexible family care days

Job summary

Ford Energy is building a high-volume battery storage manufacturing operation in the U.S. You will lead engineering efforts to optimize processes, balance lines, and improve labor efficiency across a large site.

This role supports material flow, safety, and continuous improvement efforts in a dynamic startup environment integrated with Ford Motor Company. You will develop and implement labor standards, collaborate with planning, production, and supply chain teams, and apply advanced engineering

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial Engineering preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment (internship and/or coop experience considered).
• Ability to travel as needed for both domestic and international, up to 50%.
• Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt).
• Experience with AutoCAD, MODAPTS, and manufacturing simulation tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead with Purpose: apply engineering principles to establish and improve high-volume battery storage manufacturing processes.
• Innovate: drive production throughput, line balancing, and labor efficiency.
• Empower Others: create a culture of lean manufacturing excellence and data-driven solutions.
• Develop and install labor standards and ergonomic methods, tracking manpower and line balance.
• Analyze production operations to identify improvements and develop new methods.
• Support material flow processes and ensure stock availability across designated locations.

Skills

Industrial engineering

Lean Six Sigma

Data analysis

Labor standards

AutoCAD

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial Engineering preferred)

Tools

MODAPTS

Manufacturing simulation tools

Teamcenter Engineering

CATIA V5

AutoCAD

Microsoft Office (Excel/PowerPoint)

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.

What You’ll Do

• 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

You’ll have

• 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.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR

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.