Sight – Software Engineering Lead

Lincoln Motor Company; Redford Charter Township (MI); Hybrid; USD 133,000 - 251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Ford in the United States is seeking a Software Engineering Manager for the Sight Vision product family. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team building scalable software for AI/ML anomaly detection in industrial settings.

Reporting to the Sight | Vision Product Family Manager, you will own the software development lifecycle, ensure robust engineering practices, and drive 24/7 production readiness across edge and centralized platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, or a related technical field.
• 5 years of experience directly managing software engineering teams, with hiring, mentoring, and retention experience.
• 8 years of experience in software engineering, Computer Vision, or data-driven products.
• Deep understanding of the machine learning lifecycle (data engineering, model training, inference, monitoring).
• Extensive experience leading teams in Agile environments, managing sprints, and optimizing delivery velocity.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and grow a multi-disciplinary team of software and data engineers.
• Own the software development lifecycle for Sight Vision products with scalable, reliable code.
• Provide technical oversight for software/hardware architecture, MLOps pipelines, and controls integration.
• Partner with Product Managers to translate manufacturing challenges into technical roadmaps and backlogs.
• Ensure vision products integrate with centralized data and operating platforms for global rollout.
• Drive engineering best practices including automated testing, CI/CD, and monitoring at the edge.
• Drive innovation by integrating agentic workflows and AI-assisted tooling to maximize productivity.
• Ensure deployment considers factory lighting, line speeds, and network constraints.

Skills

Leadership

Software Engineering

Computer Vision

Agile

MLOps

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

MLOps platforms

CI/CD

GCP

Job description

Overview

At Ford, you’ll work on ideas that matter, alongside passionate people who want to make a global impact. Together, we’re shaping the next era of transportation—grounded in purpose, driven by progress. Make your move.

• Job Type: Full time
• Work Type: Hybrid

About the Organization

We are undergoing a historic industrial shift—moving from building great vehicles to building the sophisticated, scalable systems that power them. The Advanced Industrial Technology organization was created to operationalize this shift. Our mission is not to deploy isolated tools; it is to build an ecosystem that learns from factory data, transforms it into scalable platforms, and delivers measurable enterprise value.

This organization is designed to position us as a leader in industrial innovation. We accelerate digital evolution and manufacturing excellence by integrating cutting‑edge technology directly into our global operations. Our structure includes vertical business units focused on specific technology stacks, supported by shared services that ensure scale and operational consistency.

As part of this team, the Sight Vertical is responsible for building an end‑to‑end business around AI/ML anomaly detection products using both image data (Vision ) and parametric data (Sense ). This vertical transforms raw data into actionable manufacturing intelligence through products focused on visual error‑proofing, defect detection, and assembly process monitoring.

The Position

Reporting to the Sight | Vision Product Family Manager, the Software Engineering Manager is responsible for the execution and technical health of the Vision product lines. You will lead the engineering team in translating strategic goals into robust, scalable software, ensuring our products meet rigorous industrial standards for global rollout.

What You’ll Be Able to Do

• Engineering Leadership & Mentorship: Lead, coach, and grow a multi-disciplinary team of software and data engineers. Foster a collaborative environment focused on continuous improvement and professional development.
• Technical Delivery: Own the software development lifecycle for Sight Vision products. Ensure the team delivers high-quality, maintainable code that meets project milestones and performance benchmarks and results in a reliable and highly scalable product.
• Architecture & Strategy: Provide technical oversight for software and hardware architecture, MLOps pipelines, technology stack selection, and controls integration. Balance the need for rapid innovation with the stability required for 24/7 manufacturing environments.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Managers and stakeholders to translate manufacturing challenges into technical roadmaps and executable engineering backlogs.
• Platform Integration: Ensure all vision products are built for seamless integration with centralized data and operating platforms, adhering to a “build once, scale everywhere” philosophy.
• Operational Excellence: Drive engineering best practices, including automated testing, CI/CD, and robust monitoring for models deployed at the “edge” (on‑site factory hardware).
• Innovation:Drive innovation by integrating Agentic workflows and AI‑assisted engineering tools to maximize team productivity and software quality
• Deployment Oversight: Work with site‑level stakeholders to ensure technical solutions account for real‑world variables such as factory lighting, line speeds, and network constraints.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, or a related technical field.
• Leadership Experience: 5 years of experience directly managing software engineering teams, with a proven track record of hiring, mentoring, and retaining talent.
• Technical Background: 8 years of experience in software engineering, Computer Vision, or complex data‑driven products.
• Systems Knowledge: Deep understanding of the machine learning lifecycle (data engineering, model training, inference, and monitoring).
• Agile Proficiency: Extensive experience leading teams in Agile environments, managing sprints, and optimizing delivery velocity.

Preferred Requirements

• Master’s in a technical field related to Computer Vision, Software Development, or Data Science.
• Experience with MLOps platforms and cloud infrastructure (GCP).
• Experience scaling software products from a single pilot to a global enterprise footprint in an industrial or IoT context.
• Strong experience in agentic workflows is a huge plus
• Knowledge of industrial communication protocols and edge computing hardware.

This position is leadership level 6 and ranges from $132,800-$250,800.
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.
Relocation assistance IS provided for this role.
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.