System Manager

Ford Motor Company; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 116,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, and Rx cover

Parental leave

Vehicle discount program for employees

Tuition assistance

Paid time off and holidays

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Lincoln Motor Company seeks an experienced Interior Systems Manager to lead the integrated view for forward-model programs. You will coordinate design release engineers and cross-functional partners to deliver an integrated plan while driving cost, weight, timing, and quality targets.

You will guide trade-offs, lead part-count reduction, and ensure readiness through APQP/PPAP and cross-team alignment. This role emphasizes leadership without direct authority and requires strong communication

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or closely related technical field.
• Experience in automotive product development, especially Interior Systems (Seats, Restraints, Cockpit, or Trim).
• Experience leading projects or cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Understanding of vehicle development processes, timing, and readiness expectations.
• Strong analytical and communication skills with clear reporting ability.

Responsibilities

• Lead the integrated Interior Systems view for assigned forward-model programs.
• Own system-level metric tracking across cost, weight, delivery, timing and quality.
• Prepare Interior Systems status reporting for BPRs with clear risks and decisions.
• Drive resolution of technical, packaging, cost, content, and timing issues.
• Guide system-level trade-offs to support targets and price-class positioning.
• Lead part-count reduction and other efficiency initiatives.
• Coordinate Interior Systems delivery plans and S/O reviews.
• Monitor APQP and PPAP across Interior Systems parts and raise risks.
• Support Matched Pair decisions to protect delivery milestones.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Prioritization

Leadership without authority

System integration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

PDP process knowledge

APQP/PPAP understanding

DPA knowledge

FEDE familiarity

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.

In this position...

Reporting to the Interior Systems Management Group Lead, this Leadership Level 6 (LL6) position leads the integration and program execution of Interior Systems for assigned forward-model vehicle programs. The System Manager is accountable for the integrated system-level view across Seats, Restraints, Cockpit, and Trim, driving progress toward cost, weight, timing, and quality targets while supporting the vehicle’s design intent and market positioning.

You’ll coordinate subsystem work, surface and resolve issues, and keep program stakeholders informed of status, risks, and decisions needed. Working through influence, you’ll align Design Release Engineers (DREs) and cross-functional partners around an integrated delivery plan and elevate issues that could affect program milestones or readiness.

• Lead the integrated Interior Systems view for assigned forward-model programs, coordinating activities across all interior commodities.

• Own system-level metric tracking and reporting, including cost, weight, sourcing, delivery, timing, and quality status.

• Prepare and lead Interior Systems status reporting for applicable Business Performance Reviews (BPRs), providing clear roll-ups of progress, risks, and decisions needed.

• Drive resolution of technical, packaging, cost, content, and timing issues with DREs and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Guide system-level trade-offs involving interior content and design to support vehicle targets, design intent, and price-class positioning.

• Lead part-count reduction and other complexity or efficiency initiatives.

• Coordinate Interior Systems delivery plans, including production-tooled build and pre-DCV testing dates, TKO glidepaths, and Sign-Off (S/O) reviews.

• Monitor APQP and PPAP status across applicable Interior Systems parts and raise risks to manufacturing readiness.

• Support timely Matched Pair (MP) decisions and other program decisions needed to protect component delivery plans and milestones.

• Guide DREs as they deliver components to target, maintaining the integrated system glidepath while respecting component-level ownership, including SOW and FEDE maintenance.

• Promote disciplined use of program processes and tools, and share lessons learned to improve execution across programs.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a closely related technical field.

• Experience in automotive product development, preferably in one or more Interior Systems areas: Seats, Restraints, Cockpit, or Trim.

• Experience leading projects, programs, or cross-functional teams, including driving action and issue resolution without direct reporting authority.

• Understanding of vehicle development processes and program timing, deliverables, and readiness expectations.

• Strong analytical and communication skills, including the ability to synthesize information from multiple subsystems into a clear status and recommendations for leaders.

• Ability to manage competing priorities, build alignment across teams, and elevate risks appropriately.

Even better, you may have…

• Experience supporting forward-model vehicle programs or early-stage vehicle development.

• Familiarity with Ford product development processes and systems, including PDP, FEDE, DPA, APQP, PPAP, TKO, and BPR.

• Experience with system-level target management, sourcing and delivery tracking, or manufacturing readiness.

• Experience with interior content or price-class differentiation, part-count reduction, or other complexity-reduction initiatives.

• Experience working with global teams, suppliers, DREs, or vehicle program organizations.

Schedule flexibility: This role may require work outside normal business hours to coordinate with global teams.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company.

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
• 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
• Generous vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day

This position is leadership level 6 and ranges from $115,500-$218,100.

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 with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid

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