Ford Motor Company

ADAS Strategy Director

Ford Motor Company$150K — $200K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field
  • 10+ years of leadership experience in the automotive technology sector
  • Proven ability to translate complex technical initiatives into business insights
  • Strong communication skills for effective collaboration in diverse environments
  • Experience leading teams, especially with executive leadership exposure

Responsibilities

  • Own and develop Ford's global ADAS strategy
  • Define future ADAS customer experiences and enabling technologies
  • Manage complexity across ADAS offerings and configurations
  • Oversee ADAS investment portfolio within the technology cycle
  • Lead competitive intelligence and external benchmarking for ADAS
  • Co-lead initiatives within the Technology Strategy organization
  • Maintain databases tracking ADAS technology proliferation and business health
  • Collaborate across global teams and functions

Benefits

  • Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
  • Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, and childcare support
  • Tuition assistance for personal and professional development
  • Vehicle discount program for employees and family members
  • Active employee resource groups and community service opportunities
  • Generous paid holidays and options for additional vacation time
Full Job Description
Job Description

In this position...

The person in this position will be the global leader for ADAS strategy within the Technology Strategy organization, leading a multi-disciplinary team to define the future of Ford's ADAS technology platforms. You will work closely with technical experts and executive leadership to define the compute, sensing, software, and feature roadmaps needed to keep Ford on the cutting edge of ADAS technology, while ensuring these systems meet corporate cost, quality, and complexity objectives.

You will also be responsible for managing Ford's ADAS investment portfolio-ensuring sufficient resources to achieve our objectives and driving clear tradeoff decisions where needed. In addition, you will lead systematic competitive intelligence and benchmarking across OEMs, suppliers, startups, and ecosystem partners, leveraging supplier relationships, industry consortiums, competitive tear-downs, and major tech events to inform strategy. You will serve as the company's subject-matter expert on current and future ADAS industry trends, competitive analysis and threat identification, and ADAS technology migration across Ford's global portfolio.

Responsibilities

What you'll do...
  • Own Ford's global ADAS strategy
    • Work closely with subject-matter experts and executive leadership to synthesize industry trends, portfolio needs, and corporate objectives into a forward-looking ADAS strategy that keeps Ford at the leading edge.
  • Define future ADAS experiences and enabling technology
    • Partner with engineering, product, and digital teams to define and refine key future ADAS customer experiences.
    • Define the required compute platforms, sensing configurations, and software enablers to deliver those experiences.
  • Manage ADAS complexity across the portfolio
    • Establish and maintain a "menu" of ADAS system configurations with engineering.
    • Collaborate with technology platform and vehicle program teams to develop offering strategies for each vehicle program and region.
    • Evaluate complexity-driving requests through a cost-benefit lens and drive decisions to closure.
  • Manage the ADAS investment portfolio within the technology cycle plan
    • Ensure sufficient funding to achieve ADAS objectives, supported by accurate and traceable modeling of resource requirements.
    • Raise new cycle-plan funding requests and identify opportunities for spending reduction when needed.
  • Lead competitive intelligence, benchmarking, and external scanning for ADAS
    • Maintain a constantly refreshed, data-driven view of the ADAS industry, including competitive trends and threats, emerging technologies, and cost-reduction opportunities.
    • Leverage supplier engagements, industry consortiums, competitive tear-downs, public announcements, analyst research, and major tech/industry events to inform Ford's ADAS strategy and roadmaps.
    • Translate external insights into clear recommendations on ADAS platforms, features, and investments.
  • Co-lead Technology Strategy organization initiatives
    • Co-lead technology unit papers and High Priority Studies alongside matched-pair partners in the Technology Strategy organization.
    • Ensure ADAS initiatives meet deliverable requirements and business case targets for uMR, uPS, and uPSC milestones.
  • Maintain ADAS technology and business health databases
    • Own and curate databases tracking ADAS technology proliferation, feature take-rates, and platform usage across the Ford portfolio.
    • Provide a clear source of truth on ADAS business health and deployment status.
  • Support the Unified Backlog process
    • Review ADAS-related new demand requests for business value and technical feasibility.
    • Work cross-functionally with product, engineering, and TPM to secure commitments for high-value initiatives.
  • Collaborate across the global enterprise
    • Partner with stakeholders across product development, digital product, technology platforms, integrated services, marketing, finance, vehicle programs, and regional teams.


Qualifications

You'll have...
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field
  • 10+ years of leadership experience in the automotive technology space, delivering multiple complex initiatives in cross-functional environments
  • Experience translating technical initiatives into business and profitability analyses to ensure efficient capital allocation
  • Strong oral and written communication skills, with demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate in diverse, cross-functional environments
  • Proven team-leadership experience, including working directly with senior and executive leadership

Even better, you may have...
  • Master's degree in Engineering or an MBA
  • Direct experience with ADAS technologies, including sensing (radars, cameras, ultrasonics), ADAS-specialized compute, and motion-control interfaces
  • Direct experience leading strategic initiatives and technology unit and/or vehicle program milestones
  • Highly technical background and demonstrated experience in the domains of the ADAS features being developed
  • Experience with embedded vehicle architectures-ideally Ford's FNVx architecture-including roadmaps, constraints, and integration for highly complex and distributed systems/features on- and off-board
  • Experience developing diagrams and visual frameworks to communicate complex concepts
  • Experience in product or technical program management for complex systems, or leading engineering feature delivery
  • Hyper-collaborative, team-centric leadership style that encourages and partners with teams and leaders at all levels to advance the integration of digital experiences
  • Strong executive presence and leadership skills-the ability to drive discussions, provide clear direction, and update senior leaders succinctly
  • Tenacity and comfort working in evolving states of ambiguity


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 childcare 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 leadership level 4.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL4Benefits

This position is Hybrid (onsite four days per week) for candidates who are in commuting distance to a Frod hub location.

#LI-WC2 #LI-Hybrid

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company manufactures or distributes automobiles in addition to offering financial services. The company sells to dealerships for retail sales, and for sale to fleet customers, including commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. Ford’s vehicle portfolio includes automobiles, buses, tractors, and trucks. Retail financing includes retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles, and direct financing leases for new vehicles to retail customers, government entities, daily rental car companies, and fleet customers. Finance receivables in the non-consumer portfolio include products offered to automotive dealers. Ford’s environmental initiatives include compressed natural gas, flexible fuel vehicles, electric drive vehicles, Hydrogen, PC power management, and so on. Ford Motor Company was founded by Henry Ford in 1903 and is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan.

Ford Motor Company Careers

Join the dynamic team at Ford Motor Company, a global leader in automotive innovation and manufacturing. At Ford, we are committed to driving human progress by providing outstanding vehicles and mobility solutions. This is an exciting time to become part of our inclusive team, where job opportunities abound and growth is not just a possibility, but a promise.

Work You’ll Do

At Ford Motor Company, you will collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the industry. Our professionals are at the forefront of automotive technology, leading projects that redefine transportation and sustainability. With a culture rooted in continuous improvement and respect for all, Ford offers a workplace where leadership, diversity training, and innovation are part of everyday life.

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Engage in work that makes a difference. Ford Motor Company is pioneering developments in electrification, autonomous vehicles, and smart mobility solutions. Our team of over 190,000 employees worldwide is dedicated to crafting experiences that improve the way the world moves.

Be Part of a Great Team

Working at Ford means more than just having a job; it means being part of a global family. Our culture promotes teamwork, integrity, and respect—values that underpin everything we do. We believe in nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment where every employee can thrive.

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Ford Motor Company is not just a great place to work; it’s a place to build a lasting career. Our employees enjoy competitive benefits, comprehensive health care, and retirement plans that rank among the best in the industry. We support career advancement through extensive training programs and hands-on experience in the latest automotive technologies.

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Whether you’re a seasoned professional looking for your next challenge or a student interested in an internship, Ford has opportunities that will harness your skills and ignite your ambition. Our hiring process is straightforward and respectful, designed to match your skills and passions with the right position.

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Learn more about Ford Motor Company
Size
183,000 employees
Market Cap
$44.8 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$1.2 billion
Founded
1903
5 Year Trend
-2.1%
Revenue
$127.1 billion
NASDAQ

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