Product Development Engineer

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 Development uses design thinking & user experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that delight our customers. We bring innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. We have opportunities around the world for you to contribute to advancements in autonomy, electrification, smart mobility technologies, and more!

In this position... 

The automotive industry is quickly moving towards a greater number of new powertrains to meet customer and market demands, many of which are new BEV and Hybrid programs. With this shift, there is an expanding need for differential development for the new and unique powertrain architectures. Differentials perform critical functions and are among the most essential components in powertrains. As the engineer for transmission and driveline differentials, you will have the unique opportunity to own all stages of the product design, development, and release. Your work will span from the product concepts to full scale production, with an emphasis on quality, cost, weight, and functional performance.

What you'll do...

• Develop differential components and assemblies in conjunction with powertrain systems teams, manufacturing teams, and global suppliers.
• Deliver product designs on time to support vehicle program milestones and launch.
• Lead component design, analysis, failure mode avoidance (FMA), and test validation.
• Manage prototype and production build delivery and quality

The engineer will lead and support the following design engineering activities from pre-program through launch:

• Lead transmission & axle design and release activities for current production and future applications.
• Develop components to meet powertrain and vehicle attributes including strength, durability, and NVH.
• Lead Ford internal and external supplier CPMT (Component Product Management Team) for your components.
• Interface with systems engineering team, Ford manufacturing plants, and component suppliers to meet program objectives for quality, cost, weight, durability, and NVH.
• Lead “Team of 4” cross functional meetings between PD, Purchasing, Finance, and Cost Estimating in supplier selection to deliver components to program target costs.

• Interface with CAD/CAE team to deliver optimized designs and identify manufacturing feasibility.

• Create and maintain FMA documents e.g. DFMEA, DVP&R, P-Diagram, Boundary Diagram.
• Deliver Final Engineering Sign-off and production launch at Ford powertrain assembly plants.
• Manage supplier delivery and Ford milestones through Job1.  Complete PPAP and production implementation on new programs or changes to existing parts.
• Analyze warranty/test hardware to identify root cause of failure and define corrective actions using 8D tools/methods.
• Benchmark, identify and implement current model quality and cost reduction actions.
• Occasional travel to suppliers or assembly plants may be required.