Thermal Technical Program Manager

Ford; Long Beach, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 139,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Flexible family care days

Vehicle discount program

Job summary

Ford Motor Company is seeking a Thermal Technical Program Manager to lead the thermal management program for next‑gen EVs, spanning coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems. You will partner with engineering and supply chain to ensure on‑time, on‑budget delivery and optimal performance.

You will drive program plans, manage milestones, and coordinate with stakeholders across design, manufacturing, and procurement to align resources and schedules.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, or related).
• 5+ years of experience in technical program management within automotive, aerospace, or complex system development.
• Proven track record of managing multi-disciplinary engineering projects from concept to launch.
• Strong understanding of the product development lifecycle and project management methodologies.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the thermal program plan and drive it to delivery, partnering with the Thermal Engineering Manager and subsystem owners.
• Milestone & Critical-Path Management: track deliverables against milestones and maintain the critical path.
• Stakeholder Management: interface between Thermal team and vehicle program management, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and supply chain.
• Supplier & Industrialization Coordination: manage supplier timing, quotes, prototypes, and industrialization activities.
• Build & Test Readiness: align prototype builds, test vehicles, and facility time with the schedule.
• Resource & Budget Management: oversee budgets and timelines; mitigate risks.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Project planning

Stakeholder management

Thermal systems

Automotive industry

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree in Engineering or MBA

PMP certification

Tools

Jira

Azure DevOps

MS Project

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.

Product Creation and Industrialization (PC&I) brings together Ford’s vehicle, electric, digital and design teams with our global manufacturing system. Working as one end-to-end organization, we turn ideas into high-quality vehicles, software and experiences across gas, hybrid and electric, designed around what customers need.

In this position...
Join our dynamic and agile team pioneering Ford's EV future. As the Thermal Technical Program Manager, you will lead the planning and delivery of the thermal management system for our next-generation electric vehicles, across the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems. You will drive cross-functional alignment, manage project execution, and ensure our thermal solutions meet aggressive performance, cost, and timing targets.

Be the person who gets the thermal system to launch. Your leadership will turn great engineering into on-time delivery, directly shaping the performance, range, and comfort of Ford's future EVs and the sustainable mobility landscape.

What you'll do

You will own the thermal program plan and drive it to delivery, partnering with the Thermal Engineering Manager and the subsystem owners.

• Program Leadership: Develop, manage, and execute comprehensive program plans for the EV thermal management system, covering the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems from concept through launch.
• Milestone & Critical-Path Management: Track thermal deliverables against vehicle program milestones and gateways, maintain the critical path, and escalation early when key dates are at risk.
• Stakeholder Management: Serve as the primary interface between the Thermal team and vehicle program management, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and supply chain teams.
• Supplier & Industrialization Coordination: Work with Design & Release Engineers and supply chain managers to manage supplier timing, quotes, prototype deliveries, and industrialization activities, so hardware is ready for each build and test phase.
• Build & Test Readiness: Partner with Thermal Test Engineers and build planners to align prototype builds, test vehicles, and facility time with the program schedule.
• Resource & Budget Management: Oversee project budgets, resource allocation, and timeline adherence, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify technical, schedule, and resource risks, develop and implement mitigation strategies, and drive open issues to closure.
• Communication & Reporting: Establish clear communication channels and provide regular, transparent updates on program status, key decisions, and critical-path items to all stakeholders, including leadership reviews.
• Decision Facilitation: Facilitate critical technical and strategic decisions by ensuring the relevant data, options, and perspectives from engineering leads are presented clearly.
• Process Improvement: Champion program management best practices and contribute to the continuous improvement of development processes within the thermal engineering organization.

You’ll have

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, or related field).
• 5+ years of experience in technical program management within the automotive, aerospace, or complex system development industries.
• Proven track record of managing multi-disciplinary engineering projects from concept to launch.
• Strong understanding of the product development lifecycle and project management methodologies.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.

Even better, you may have

• Master's degree in Engineering or MBA.
• PMP certification or equivalent.
• Experience with thermal management systems, particularly in electric vehicles.
• Experience managing suppliers through prototype, validation, and production launch.
• Proficiency with project management tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, MS Project).

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 $138,800-$232,700. 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 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.