Product Development Engineer - Exterior Underbody Structure Architecture

Ford Motor Company; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 86,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision coverage

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking an engineer for the Exterior Underbody Structure Architecture team. You will develop designs for frames, body mounts, EV battery structures, and related hardware, guiding programs from concept to production with cross-functional collaboration.

The role emphasizes delivering robust architecture solutions, aligning with cost, weight, and quality targets, and working with suppliers and manufacturing to enable successful program milestones.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or related field required.
• 5 years of experience in Structures Product Development.
• Experience with early product definition and deciphering deliverables for underbody structures.
• Launch delivery experience on at least one major program.
• CATIA V5 or 3DX or Teamcenter proficiency and strong problem solving.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver engineering work products for exterior underbody systems.
• Lead KPI alignment for quality, cost, weight, and performance.
• Define robust underbody design solutions aligned to program targets.
• Conduct FMEA and use reliability methods to drive architecture execution.
• Collaborate across product development, manufacturing, and suppliers.
• Present findings to cross-functional teams and leadership.

Skills

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

CATIA V5

3DX

Teamcenter

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.

Product Development

Product Development uses design thinking & user experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that delight our customers. We bring innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. We have opportunities around the world for you to contribute to advancements in autonomy, electrification, smart mobility technologies, and more!

In this position

An engineering role within the Exterior Underbody Structure Architecture team, reporting to a Structures Architecture Supervisor. The engineer is responsible for developing technical content, strategy, and processes for exterior underbody structural systems including frames, subframes, body mounts, front end structure, floor structure, bumper beams, tow hitches, tow recovery systems, EV battery structures, and associated hardware required for underbody functional interface. In this role, you will work as part of a team to support exterior advanced architecture by defining robust underbody structure design solutions, assuring quality performance, and delivering target designs for underbody structure components and systems. This position collaborates across product development, manufacturing, suppliers, and core engineering to support product and technology development, supplier sourcing inputs, design analytical verification aligned to production requirements, and implementation of quality assurance through FMA methodology.

What You’ll Do

• Work within the Exterior Underbody Structure Architecture team to develop and deliver engineering work products that support robust exterior system design solutions.
• Lead & ensure successful alignment of Underbody Structure KPIs including Quality, Cost, Weight & Functional Performance for major programs prior to the Strategic Confirmation milestone.
• Derive efficient underbody structure system design solutions aligned to program scope definition, technology readiness and capability, and affordable program targets for cost and TFLE.
• Create underbody structure systems fundamental design definitions aligned to attribute performance targets and manufacturing feasibility through systemic analysis of interactions between interfacing components and systems.
• Utilize customer-based data, Quality History, prior issues Prevent recurrence, and reliability & robustness methods to define FMEA action items tied to fundamental underbody architecture execution affiliated with each program.
• Mature underbody structure design from surrogate or concept designs to align with applicable architecture with continuous focus on failure mode avoidance.
• Deliver robust architecture design recommendations, with defined fixed and variable parameters, to support on-time program milestones with quality.
• Build strong relationships and collaborate with Flexible Vehicle Architecture, Design Technical Operations, Manufacturing, and Supplier partners.
• Communicate underbody structure architectural issues, trade-offs, risks, and recommendations with the supervisor, management, and cross-functional partners.
• Construct & develop relevant business cases for system selection alignment that offer proper support of program and corporate EBIT.
• Support your supervisor and broader team in end-to-end underbody structure architecture development through technical analysis, target alignment, issue resolution, and design maturity tracking.
• Ability to share & present work with cross-functional teams, Exterior Applications engineering teammates, and executive leadership with professionalism tied to technical data and facts.
• Collaborate with structures core engineering for recent lessons learned via tech club and other forums.
• Responsible for defining architecture design executions that meet/exceed quality targets, such as Safety, NVH, stiffness, and supply-base controls.
• Integrate Structural Systems TVM actions into forward models designs, to avoid post Job 1 design churn for cost reduction.
• Support Team-of-Four forums for design system selection, target derivation and alignment, and supplier sourcing plans that meet quality delivery and timing requirements.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or a related field
• 5 years of experience in Structures Product Development
• Thorough knowledge of early product definition and proven skill of deciphering deliverables for
• Underbody Structures commodities
• Launch delivery experience on at least one major program required
• The D&R Engineer is responsible for managing product release CAD and BOM structures, including assembly positioning and mass attribute analysis. This role also includes facilitating supplier data integration and developing CAD studies to support and drive design improvements.
• Catia V5 or 3DX or Teamcenter experience
• Demonstrated problem solving skills with emphasis on business plan comparisons for different solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively as part of an engineering team and influence technical decisions through data-driven recommendations
• Position will require occasional travel to Ford and supplier assembly plants for process reviews, technology demonstrations and PD events.
• Travel to global Ford engineering locations will be occasional.

Preferred

• Master’s degree preferred
• Program experience from inception through final design judgement required.

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 salary grades 7 - 8 and ranges from $86,600 -$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.

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.