Vehicle Software Updates Systems Engineering Manager

We made history and now we work to transform the future for our customers our communities and our families. Youll 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.

At Ford the Vehicle Engineering teams are using Design Thinking & User Experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that will delight our customers. Our employees are laser-focused on bringing innovative exciting and sustainable ideas to life. From autonomy and electrification to smart mobility technologies our teams around the world are working together with excitement to make smart vehicles for a smart world.


In this position...

As the Vehicle Software Updates Systems Engineering Manager you will lead a highly skilled Systems Engineering team responsible for building and evolving Fords industry-leading Vehicle Software Release and Over-the-Air (OTA) Update capabilities. As a technical leader at the intersection of embedded systems cloud operations and manufacturing youll shape the architecture and strategy behind how software moves from the factory floor to service bays to vehicles on the road. Driving the transformation of Fords Software Factory into a modern scalable and resilient release pipeline. This is a high-visibility role for someone who thrives at the crossroads of deep technical expertise and cross-functional leadership translating complex engineering challenges into clear strategy for both your team and executive stakeholders.

This role is hybrid in-office 4 days per week in Dearborn Michigan.

What youll do...

• Strategic Leadership: Lead the architectural design and evolution of Fords next-generation Software Factory release and deploy pipeline. Defne the strategy for how software is released and deployed across the entire vehicle lifecycle from initial assembly in the plant to service diagnostics and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
• Team Management: Recruit mentor and develop a diverse team of Systems Engineers. Foster a culture of technical excellence continuous improvement and agile delivery specifically focused on high-integrity software release practices.
• Technical Governance & Quality: Oversee the creation and standardization of system-level requirements and specifications. Establish rigorous quality gates and validation standards to ensure software integrity across all delivery channels (Plant Service and OTA).
• Operational Excellence: Optimize and automate processes for software release and deployment activities. Lead triaging and resolution efforts for complex integration and field issues.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Serve as the primary point of contact for Software Release and Deploy transformation at Ford (including SRP/VRP transformation) for senior leadership and global stakeholders across Manufacturing/Plant Operations Service Engineering Embedded ECU Development and Cloud Operations.
• Release Pipeline Integration: Coordinate between multiple teams to ensure the Software Factory toolchain seamlessly integrates with vehicle hardware ensuring a consistent and reliable pipeline to release high-quality Software Release Packages and Vehicle Release Packages while managing migration of legacy systems to the modernized systems.
• Risk Mitigation & Launch Support: Drive War Room sessions and executive reviews to resolve critical path blockers for vehicle launches (Job 1) and major software feature rollouts ensuring zero-defect delivery.

What youll have...

Education

• Minimum: Bachelors degree in electrical engineering systems engineering computer science or a related technical field.
• Preferred: Masters degree in engineering or business administration (MBA).

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Software Engineering Systems Engineering or Embedded Systems Development or related fields.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a formal or informal leadership or management role leading cross-functional technical teams through complex product lifecycles.
• Deep understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Software Factory toolchains (e.g. GitHub GCP Jenkins).
• Proven ability to translate complex business requirements into technical system-level architectures for both Embedded and Cloud domains.

Even better youll have...

• Direct experience in Automotive OTA (Over-the-Air) update technology or large-scale distributed systems.
• Familiarity with the Ford in-house IVS/SWCM/SRP/VRP systems to drive Software Release transformation
• Technical mastery of automotive communication protocols (CAN Ethernet/SomeIP) and cybersecurity principles for software deployment.
• Exceptional communication skills with a demonstrated ability to abstract technical material for executive-level presentations (LL5).
• Experience creating and managing big picture roadmaps across complex projects and multiple development teams to drive Macro-level project progress across cross-functional domains.
• Background in the Aerospace Defense or Automotive industries with a focus on safety-critical software integration.
• Demonstrated Product Mindset with ownership of the end-to-end product lifecycle (strategy development launch and post-launch support).

You may not check every box or your experience may look a little different from what weve 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 builderor 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 Years Day
Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is leadership level 5 and ranges from $141700-$268300.

Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidates 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: 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 the United States if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability please call 1-.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week.

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