Tech Leader - Sustainable Fuels & Decarbonization

Trellis Group; Dearborn, Northern (MI, KY); Hybrid; USD 142,000 - 268,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Parental leave

Adoption support

Vehicle discount

Tuition assistance

Employee groups

Paid time off

Job summary

Ford Motor Company seeks a technical leader to guide research in energy, fuels, and decarbonization for on-road transportation. The role focuses on evaluating fuels, energy carriers, and life-cycle analysis to support Ford’s sustainability goals.

You will lead a team, manage external collaborations, and translate findings into strategic technology roadmaps, addressing regulatory and market shifts in global energy systems.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in automotive fuels, energy systems analysis, and/or industrial sustainability.
• 5+ years of managing or mentoring a technical research team.
• Experience engaging with industry representatives or government agencies (DOE, EPA) and national labs.

Responsibilities

• Lead research on conventional, renewable, and alternative fuels, including properties and emissions.
• Lead cradle-to-grave LCAs for vehicles, fuels, and battery supply chains for robust sustainability claims.
• Develop models to evaluate economic viability of fuel pathways, energy infrastructure, and supply chains.

Education

Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, or related field

Tools

Aspen HYSYS

GREET

SimaPro

GaBi

openLCA

Job description

In this position...

As part of the Research and Advanced Engineering activity at Ford Motor Company, this technical leadership role is responsible for leading our research activities and developing technical strategies in the areas of energy, fuel science, and decarbonization of on-road transportation.This role is critical for evaluating current and future fuels and energy sources, and for providing the technoeconomic and life-cycle evidence required to guide Ford’s sustainability goals.The successful candidate will serve as the primary technical authority on the interaction between energy carriers (liquid and gaseous), vehicle propulsion systems, and the industrial processes used to produce them.

What you'll do...

• Lead research on conventional, renewable, and alternative fuels, including chemical and physical properties, implications of these fuels on performance, emissions, and durability.
• Lead a team conducting comprehensive "cradle-to-grave" LCAs for vehicles, fuels, and battery supply chains to ensure Ford’s sustainability claims are scientifically robust and compliant with global regulations, inclusive of all propulsion types.
• Develop/secure and use models to evaluate the economic viability of current and future fuel pathways, energy infrastructure, and associated supply chains, including a carbon abatement cost perspective.
• Represent Ford in technical consortia and government/academic partnerships relating to fuels, energy infrastructure, and sustainable transportation
• Partner with Engineering, Purchasing, Planning, Operations, & Sustainability teams to translate energy science and LCA findings into actionable technology strategy, informing corporate decarbonization strategy.
• Track evolving global fuel, emissions, and carbon-accounting regulations (e.g., EPA, CARB, EU RED III, low-carbon fuel standards) and translate regulatory shifts into technical risk assessments and strategic recommendations for Ford's sustainability roadmap.

You'll have...

• Masters Degree with equivalent experience in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in automotive fuels, energy systems analysis, and/or industrial sustainability.
• 10+ years of experience with the properties, performance, and environmental attributes of conventional fuels (gasoline, diesel) and renewable/alternative fuels (e.g., biofuels, e-fuels, hydrogen, electricity).
• 10+ years of expertise with alternative fuel and energy-supply infrastructure (production, storage, and transport).
• 5+ years of working experience with LCA methodology and software
• 5+ years of familiarity with corporate emissions and supply chain sustainability accounting
• 5+ years of experience managing or mentoring a technical research team, including setting research priorities and managing external contractor/consultant relationships.
• 5+ years of prior experience engaging with industry representatives or government agencies (DOE, EPA) and national labs on fuels/energy research programs.

Even better, you may have...

• Ph.D. or Master’s degree (Ph.D. preferred) with equivalent experience in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, or a related field
• Experience publishing or presenting technical findings in peer-reviewed journals, industry white papers, or conferences related to fuels, energy systems, or decarbonization.
• Familiarity with carbon credit markets, low‑carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programs, or renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance mechanisms.
• Experience with techno‑economic modeling tools (e.g., Aspen HYSYS, GREET model, Argonne National Lab tools) or LCA software platforms (e.g., SimaPro, GaBi, openLCA).
• Working knowledge of hydrogen production pathways (green, blue, gray) and fueling infrastructure economics.

Strong technical writing and data interpretation skills, with the ability to translate complex scientific/economic findings into clear, consumable recommendations for executive audiences.

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 leadership level 5 and ranges from $141,700-$268,300. 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.