Ford Motor Company

Junior Designer

Ford Motor Company • $95K — $145K *
Long Beach, CA 90805In-Person
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in industrial design, transportation design, or related field.
  • Some experience in consumer product industry, transportation sector, or design consultancy.
  • Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite tools.
  • Familiarity with 3D modeling software like Rhino or Blender.
  • Basic skills in presentation applications like PowerPoint or Keynote.

Responsibilities

  • Support design innovation by identifying actionable concepts that meet user needs and business goals.
  • Develop prototyping and visualization skills through iterative design practices.
  • Assist in translating insights into feasible product concepts.
  • Engage in all stages of the design process from research to prototyping.
  • Apply systems thinking in designing physical experiences across consumer journeys.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance design versatility.
  • Contribute to learning experience content strategy, ensuring feasibility within program constraints.

Benefits

  • Exposure to multidisciplinary design practices across physical and digital realms.
  • Mentorship from senior designers and cross-functional experts.
  • Hands-on experience in a fast-paced, experimental design studio.
  • Opportunities for rapid skill development and growth in design capabilities.
  • Collaborative work environment with a small, agile team.
Full Job Description
Job Description

This is an incredible opportunity for an early-career designer to build a broad, multidisciplinary skill set across physical and digital design disciplines in a high-energy, small-team environment where every contributor wears multiple hats. You'll gain hands-on exposure to concepting and sketching, low- to high-fidelity prototyping, workshop facilitation, and asset production across the full lifecycle of projects, pilots, and research initiatives - all while being mentored by senior designers and cross-functional experts.

Responsibilities

What you'll do...
  • Contributing to Design Innovation: Support the design of novel and unique experience solutions to meaningful customer problems, helping identify design opportunities and actionable concepts that align with user needs, business goals, design principles, and technical capabilities.
  • Building Prototyping & Visualization Skills: Develop your craft in rough prototyping ("build to learn") and design visualization, with growing emphasis on physical enablers. You'll iterate on design solutions based on customer, user, and system feedback under the guidance of senior team members.
  • Supporting Insight-Driven Design: Assist in translating customer and user insights into desirable, feasible product concepts - a core skill you'll continue to sharpen as you grow in the role.
  • Engaging Across the Full Design Process: Actively participate in every stage of the design process, from inspiration and research to prototyping and vision communication, gaining exposure to integrated digital-physical experience design across brand, products, and services.
  • Developing Systems Thinking: Begin applying systems thinking to physical experience design, learning how touchpoints connect across a service journey for consumer and business applications.
  • Practicing Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teammates - including engineering, planning, and research - to build strong working relationships and develop the versatility needed to move fluidly between disciplines in a small, agile studio.
  • Learning Experience Content Strategy: Support the design and iteration of experience concepts, helping confirm feasibility within program constraints while learning how strategy translates into execution.

Why This Role: This position is designed for growth. You'll be embedded in a skunkworks-style studio that values speed, experimentation, and versatility over rigid specialization - an ideal environment for a junior designer looking to rapidly expand their multidisciplinary capabilities across physical, digital, and service design.

Qualifications

You'll have...
  • Bachelor's degree in industrial design, transportation design, or a related field.
  • Some experience (internship, co-op, academic, or entry-level) in a consumer product industry, transportation sector or supplier, design consultancy, or similar field.
  • Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite design tools.
  • Familiarity with at least one 3D modeling software application (e.g., Alias AutoStudio, Rhino, or Blender).
  • Familiarity with relevant presentation applications (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, or similar).


Even better, you may have...
  • 0-2 years of industrial design or transportation design studio experience (internships and academic project work welcomed).
  • Strong curiosity, creativity, and eagerness to experiment with features and functional solutions.
  • Emerging ability to translate customer and research inputs into relevant, desirable product concepts.
  • Developing communication skills through presentation and storytelling.
  • Growing product design aesthetic sensibility.
  • Foundational sketching, visualization, modeling, and presentation skills.
  • Some 2D application skills (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).
  • Some 3D application skills (e.g., Alias AutoStudio, VRED, Rhino, Maya, or Blender).
  • Genuine enthusiasm for contributing to projects in a multidisciplinary team environment, with a willingness to stretch beyond a single design discipline.
  • Hands-on experience or interest in building low-fidelity prototypes (e.g., cardboard, foam core, wood, laser cutting, 3D printing) and a desire to learn production and prototyping methods.
  • Interest in learning to translate design vision into animated story-form using digital presentation tools (including AI visualization tools).
  • A growth mindset and willingness to take on new challenges as design proposals move from concept toward production.


This position is a salary grade 7 and ranges from $95,600-$145,000.

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

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week.

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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.

Join Our Market-Leading Team

Ford’s commitment to excellence is why we are a leader in the automotive sector. We offer a variety of career paths, from engineering to marketing, all designed to foster professional and personal growth. Our team benefits from Ford’s commitment to professional development and networking opportunities, ensuring that every team member can reach their full potential.

Innovative Work

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.

Future-Proof Your Career

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.

Explore Job Opportunities and Internships

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.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. We look for passionate, curious, creative, and solution-driven team players. Ready to start your journey with Ford? Prepare your resume, sharpen your interview skills, and become part of a company that’s building the future of transportation.

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Personalize your subscription to receive job alerts, latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Discover the exciting and rewarding career opportunities awaiting you at Ford Motor Company. Join us at Ford, where we go further so you can go farther in your career.
Learn more about Ford Motor Company
Size
183,000 employees
Market Cap
$44.8 billion
Industry
Manufacturing & Automotive
Net Income
-$1.2 billion
Founded
1903
5 Year Trend
-2.1%
Revenue
$127.1 billion
NASDAQ
F
* Ladders Estimates

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