Mechanical Design Engineer, Thermal

Ford Motor Company; Long Beach (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking an experienced mechanical design engineer to lead the thermal system hardware design for EV thermal management. You will translate performance targets into manufacturable 3D CAD models, package interfaces within vehicle constraints, and drive designs from concept through production release.

The role emphasizes GD&T, tolerance analysis, and collaboration with cross-functional teams across packaging, controls, testing, and suppliers to ensure robust, cost-effective

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of mechanical design experience in automotive components or systems.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD tools (CATIA, NX, or 3DEXPERIENCE).
• Working knowledge of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Solid understanding of design for manufacture and assembly across multiple processes.
• Familiarity with heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and pressure-system fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design of thermal system hardware across subsystems.
• Design thermal hardware in 3D CAD from concept to production release.
• Package and route thermal hardware within vehicle constraints.
• Translate performance targets into physical geometry meeting thermal and flow requirements.
• Develop designs optimized for manufacturing and high-volume assembly.
• Apply GD&T and perform tolerance stack-up analyses.
• Create and release detailed drawings and manage BOMs.

Skills

Automotive design

3D CAD

GD&T

DFM / DFA

Thermal engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CATIA

NX

3DEXPERIENCE

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’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

In this position...

What you’ll do...

You will lead the mechanical design of thermal system hardware across one or more subsystems, translating performance and packaging requirements into detailed, manufacturable designs.

Component & Assembly Design: Design thermal hardware across coolant, refrigeration, and HVAC/climate subsystems in 3D CAD from concept through production release.

System Packaging & Routing: Package and route thermal hardware through the vehicle, resolving space, interface, and clearance constraints with adjacent systems (battery, drive unit, power electronics, IP, chassis, and body) and coordinating shared interfaces across subsystems.

Performance-Driven Design: Translate thermal, hydraulic, and refrigerant performance targets from the system and subsystem engineers into physical geometry — flow paths, sealing, mounting, and heat‑exchanger placement — that meets thermal, pressure, and flow requirements.

Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFM/DFA): Develop designs optimized for their manufacturing processes (injection molding, brazing, stamping, extrusion, machining) and for high‑volume assembly, working with full service and build to print suppliers on tooling and process feasibility to balance cost, mass, and quality.

Tolerance & GD&T: Apply geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, perform tolerance stack‑up analysis, and define critical dimensions to ensure fit, sealing, and function across the production range and across mating subsystems.

Design Analysis & Robustness: Support structural, flow, thermal, and durability analysis (CFD/FEA in partnership with analysis teams), and use DFMEA to identify and mitigate various failure modes.

Engineering Documentation: Create and release detailed part and assembly drawings, manage engineering changes, and maintain CAD data and bills of materials through the product development process.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Work closely with the system and subsystem engineers (who own performance targets), Controls Engineers (for actuator/valve strategy), test engineers (for validation), and suppliers (for tooling and build), supporting design reviews and readiness gates through launch.

You’ll have...

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

3+ years of experience in mechanical design of automotive components or systems.

Proficiency in 3D CAD (CATIA, NX, or 3DEXPERIENCE) for part and assembly modeling and detailing.

Working knowledge of GD&T and tolerance stack‑up analysis.

Solid understanding of design for manufacture and assembly across multiple processes (e.g., molding, brazing, stamping).

Familiarity with heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and pressure‑system fundamentals as they apply to thermal hardware.

Even better, you may have...

Master’s degree in a relevant engineering discipline.

Direct experience designing thermal hardware — coolant loops, refrigeration/heat‑pump circuits, heat exchangers, or HVAC units.

Experience with EV thermal management systems (battery, drive unit, power electronics, and cabin cooling/heating).

Familiarity with refrigeration and HVAC systems.

Experience with actuator- and valve‑driven hardware and control interfaces.

Experience with DFMEA, DVP&R, and the release/change‑management process for production parts.

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 7-8 and ranges from $100,400-$232,700.

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 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.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid #LI-JD2 #UEV