Product Development Engineer – Exterior Underbody Structure Architecture

Jobtailor; Dearborn (MI, MO); On-site; USD 105,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Michigan seeks an experienced Underbody Structure Architect to lead the design and integration of automotive underbody systems. You will drive KPI alignment for quality, cost, weight, and performance across major programs and deliver robust architecture decisions.

You will collaborate with Ford, suppliers, and cross-functional teams to mature designs from concept to design maturity, conducting technical analyses and presenting findings to leadership.

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience in Structures Product Development.
• Thorough knowledge of early product definition.
• Proven skill deciphering deliverables for Underbody Structures commodities.
• Launch delivery experience on at least one major program.
• Experience managing product release CAD and BOM structures, including assembly positioning and mass attribute analysis.
• Experience facilitating supplier data integration.
• Experience developing CAD studies to support and drive design improvements.
• Catia V5 or 3DX or Teamcenter experience.
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills, including business plan comparisons for different solutions.
• Ability to collaborate effectively as part of an engineering team.
• Ability to influence technical decisions through data-driven recommendations.
• Ability to travel occasionally to Ford and supplier assembly plants.
• Ability to travel occasionally to global Ford engineering locations.
• Program experience from inception through final design judgement.
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver engineering work products supporting robust exterior system design solutions
• Lead alignment of Underbody Structure KPIs, including Quality, Cost, Weight, and Functional Performance, for major programs before Strategic Confirmation
• Derive efficient underbody structure system design solutions aligned to program scope, technology readiness, capability, and cost and TFLE targets
• Create fundamental underbody structure system design definitions aligned with performance targets and manufacturing feasibility
• Analyze interactions between interfacing components and systems
• Use customer data, quality history, prior issues, and reliability and robustness methods to define FMEA action items
• Mature underbody structure designs from surrogate or concept designs
• Deliver architecture design recommendations with defined fixed and variable parameters for on-time program milestones
• Collaborate with Flexible Vehicle Architecture, Design Technical Operations, Manufacturing, suppliers, and cross-functional partners
• Communicate architectural issues, trade-offs, risks, and recommendations to supervisors, management, and cross-functional partners
• Develop business cases for system selection supporting program and corporate EBIT
• Support end-to-end underbody structure architecture development through technical analysis, target alignment, issue resolution, and design maturity tracking
• Present technical work to cross-functional teams, engineering teammates, and executive leadership
• Collaborate with structures core engineering on lessons learned through tech clubs and other forums
• Define architecture design executions meeting or exceeding Safety, NVH, stiffness, and supply-base quality targets
• Integrate Structural Systems TVM actions into forward-model designs
• Support Team-of-Four forums for design system selection, target derivation and alignment, and supplier sourcing plans

Skills

Underbody Structure Design

CAD Management

Product Development

FMEA Item Definition

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Data-Driven Recommendations

Supplier Data Integration

Design Improvements

Mass Attribute Analysis

Program Experience

Problem-Solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Tools

Catia V5

3DX

Teamcenter

Job description

• Develop and deliver engineering work products supporting robust exterior system design solutions
• Lead alignment of Underbody Structure KPIs, including Quality, Cost, Weight, and Functional Performance, for major programs before Strategic Confirmation
• Derive efficient underbody structure system design solutions aligned to program scope, technology readiness, capability, and cost and TFLE targets
• Create fundamental underbody structure system design definitions aligned with performance targets and manufacturing feasibility
• Analyze interactions between interfacing components and systems
• Use customer data, quality history, prior issues, and reliability and robustness methods to define FMEA action items
• Mature underbody structure designs from surrogate or concept designs
• Deliver architecture design recommendations with defined fixed and variable parameters for on-time program milestones
• Collaborate with Flexible Vehicle Architecture, Design Technical Operations, Manufacturing, suppliers, and cross-functional partners
• Communicate architectural issues, trade-offs, risks, and recommendations to supervisors, management, and cross-functional partners
• Develop business cases for system selection supporting program and corporate EBIT
• Support end-to-end underbody structure architecture development through technical analysis, target alignment, issue resolution, and design maturity tracking
• Present technical work to cross-functional teams, engineering teammates, and executive leadership
• Collaborate with structures core engineering on lessons learned through tech clubs and other forums
• Define architecture design executions meeting or exceeding Safety, NVH, stiffness, and supply-base quality targets
• Integrate Structural Systems TVM actions into forward-model designs
• Support Team-of-Four forums for design system selection, target derivation and alignment, and supplier sourcing plans

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or a related field
• 5 years of experience in Structures Product Development
• Thorough knowledge of early product definition
• Proven skill deciphering deliverables for Underbody Structures commodities
• Launch delivery experience on at least one major program
• Experience managing product release CAD and BOM structures, including assembly positioning and mass attribute analysis
• Experience facilitating supplier data integration
• Experience developing CAD studies to support and drive design improvements
• Catia V5 or 3DX or Teamcenter experience
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills, including business plan comparisons for different solutions
• Ability to collaborate effectively as part of an engineering team
• Ability to influence technical decisions through data-driven recommendations
• Ability to travel occasionally to Ford and supplier assembly plants
• Ability to travel occasionally to global Ford engineering locations
• Program experience from inception (PS) through final design judgement (FDJ) required
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States
• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Underbody Structure Design and Product Development, with a strong focus on quality, cost, and performance metrics. Proficient in CAD management and cross-functional collaboration to drive engineering solutions and deliver on program milestones.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Underbody Structure Design
• CAD Management
• Product Development
• FMEA Action Item Definition
• Cross-Functional Collaboration

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Product Definition
• Mass Attribute Analysis
• Design Maturity Tracking
• Technical Analysis
• Program Experience
• Data-Driven Recommendations
• Supplier Data Integration
• Design Improvements
• Architecture Design Execution
• KPI Alignment

Soft Skills

• Problem-Solving
• Effective Collaboration
• Influencing Technical Decisions
• Communication Skills

Certifications & Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Industry Keywords

• Structures Product Development
• Engineering Work Products
• Quality History
• Functional Performance
• Safety Targets
• NVH Targets
• Supply-Base Quality

Tools & Technologies

• Catia V5
• 3DX
• Teamcenter