Technical Experience Designer

Ford Design; Dearborn (MI); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Paid time off

Parental leave

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Ford Design is seeking a Technical Experience Designer in Dearborn, MI, hybrid work four days per week. You will bridge creative design with technical execution, translating high‑fidelity concepts into scalable real‑time experiences across in‑vehicle and mobile ecosystems.

The role emphasizes ownership of 3D Digital Twin frameworks, collaboration with design and engineering, and building robust technical pipelines while maintaining standards and rapid prototyping capabilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent education and experience.
• 3+ years in technical design or real‑time asset implementation.
• Proficiency in Unreal Engine and OpenGL, alongside Maya for asset prep and rigging.

Responsibilities

• Creative Translation & Communication: partner with creative leads and engineers to bring design intent to life and present technical strategies to leadership.
• Technical Implementation: own day‑to‑day execution and system optimization for the 3D Digital Twin framework and resolve bottlenecks.
• Documentation & Standards: author and maintain technical implementation documentation, best practices, and pipeline guidelines.
• Workflow Enhancement: drive technical workflow improvements around rapid prototyping and immersive storytelling.
• Behavioral & Cross‑Platform Integration: understand system behaviors to support cohesive feature design across in‑vehicle and mobile ecosystems.

Skills

Unreal Engine

OpenGL

3D asset pipelines

Prototyping

Scripting (C++, Python)

Blueprinting

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience

Tools

Maya

Custom engine plugins

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.

Digital Product Design (DPD) at Ford is committed to envisioning and creating simple, thoughtful, enjoyable, and compelling product experiences that our customers need and love. We work in close partnership with product and engineering to deliver best‑class interactions experiences that meet the needs of people today, and in the future. Our team is comprised of a dynamic group of product designers, researchers, visual designers, industrial designers, modelers, and project managers.

The Technical Experience Designer acts as an essential bridge between creative design and technical execution within the core team. Joining as an immediate operational catalyst, this role seamlessly integrates into active workstreams to translate high‑fidelity creative intent into reality. By absorbing technical implementation and pipeline logistics, the Technical Designer ensures high‑velocity execution, reduces bandwidth strain on the team, and safeguards technical standards for our real‑time digital experiences.

The ideal candidate will support the Core UX center of excellence within Digital Product Design, reporting directly to the 3D Design Manager.

Location

This role is located in Dearborn, MI on a Hybrid work model in office 4 days/ week.

Responsibilities

• Creative Translation & Communication: Partner closely with creative leads and engineers to bring design intent to life, while effectively presenting technical strategies, prototypes, and pipeline updates to leadership.
• Technical Implementation: Own the day‑to‑day execution and system optimization for the core 3D Digital Twin framework, proactively resolving technical bottlenecks.
• Documentation & Standards: Author and maintain comprehensive technical implementation documentation, best practices, and pipeline guidelines to ensure team alignment.
• Workflow Enhancement: Drive technical workflow improvements around rapid prototyping, immersive storytelling, and overall team output.
• Behavioral & Cross‑Platform Integration: Understand system behaviors to support cohesive feature design, adapting 3D asset pipelines for seamless deployment across in‑vehicle and mobile ecosystems.

Qualifications

• Bachelors or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 3+ years of experience in technical design or real‑time asset implementation, with exceptional problem‑solving, troubleshooting, and debugging skills.
• Proficiency in Unreal Engine/OpenGL, alongside standard 3D DCC software (e.g., Maya) to support technical art, asset preparation, and rigging workflows.
• Comfortable utilizing multiple rapid prototyping solutions to quickly iterate on hardware and software interactions.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams and shift priorities across multiple active environments.
• Solid foundation in version control, complex feature packaging, asset delivery tracking, and pipeline documentation.

Even better you'll have

• Cross‑Functional Technologist: A dual‑minded designer adept at successfully collaborating across creative, engineering, and product disciplines.
• Systems & Procedural Logic: A solutions‑oriented mindset with deep proficiency in Blueprinting and procedural workflows to accelerate design execution.
• Scripting & Custom Tooling: Strong understanding of C++, Python, and general scripting to automate workflows, including experience building and maintaining custom engine plugins.
• UI Motion Integration: Experience with Rive or similar real‑time animation tools for state machine logic and interactive motion design.
• AI‑Enhanced Workflows: Integration of AI tools to drive pipeline efficiencies, accelerate pace, and scale high‑quality output.

Benefits

• 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 a salary grade 8 and ranges from $115,000-$192,900.

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.

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