Technical Experience Designer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

Hybrid work model

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Ford Motor Company seeks a Technical Experience Designer in Dearborn, MI to bridge creative design and real-time asset implementation. You will translate design intent into robust pipelines, optimize the 3D Digital Twin framework, and maintain documentation for the Core UX center of excellence within Digital Product Design.

The role requires 3+ years in technical design, Unreal Engine/OpenGL proficiency, and scripting (C++, Python). It is a hybrid role onsite four days per week in Dearborn, MI.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in technical design or real-time asset implementation.
• Experience with Unreal Engine and 3D asset pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Translate design intent to technical implementation and pipelines.
• Own day-to-day execution and optimize the 3D Digital Twin framework.
• Maintain technical docs and best practices to align the team.
• Drive workflow improvements for rapid prototyping and storytelling.
• Support cross-platform integration for in-vehicle and mobile ecosystems.

Skills

Unreal Engine

OpenGL

Maya

C++

Python

Rapid prototyping

Cross-functional teamwork

Blueprinting

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

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-in-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.

In this position...

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.

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.

What you'll have...

• 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.

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.

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, we encourage you to apply!

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 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.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR

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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