Ford Motor Company

Sr. Director, AI Platform Engineering & Enablement

Ford Motor Company • $150K — $200K *
US-AnywhereRemote in Dearborn, MI
Enterprise Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 12+ years in technology with experience in platform strategy and enterprise architecture
  • Extensive knowledge of AI capabilities across major cloud and enterprise AI platforms
  • Proven ability to assess and rationalize an enterprise-scale AI portfolio
  • Hands-on experience in cloud platform architecture to evaluate AI capabilities
  • Experience in building and governing enterprise AI frameworks from scratch
  • Strong understanding of LLM architecture and AI infrastructure at scale

Responsibilities

  • Own the cross-platform AI strategy for EPEO's portfolio
  • Continuously assess AI capabilities across leading providers
  • Define and maintain a prioritized AI strategy roadmap for the organization
  • Identify transformational opportunities through AI integration
  • Drive AI activation and adoption across all platforms
  • Build a governance framework for AI investments and compliance
  • Maintain executive alignment and communicate AI platform strategy

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision
  • Generous paid time off and flexible work arrangements
  • Retirement savings plan with company match
  • Professional development and training opportunities
  • Wellness and employee assistance programs
Full Job Description
Job Description

In this position...

This role requires a leader who brings deep technical knowledge of enterprise AI platforms and the strategic judgment to look across every platform EPEO offers - spanning leading AI and cloud platform providers - and define where AI belongs, what it should change, and how the organization gets there. This is not an operational role. It is the most forward-looking mandate in the platform organization: a cross-cutting AI strategy and enablement function with authority across all platform organizations.

The Senior Director, AI Platform Engineering & Enablement brings two equally weighted mandates. On the engineering side, this leader applies deep technical judgment to evaluate, architect, and govern how AI capabilities are integrated across EPEO's platform portfolio - ensuring what is deployed is the right capability, properly engineered, and fit for the business functions it serves. On the enablement side, this leader ensures AI capabilities from our major providers are not just procured but actively activated, governed, and embedded into how our platforms operate. This person does not wait for the organization to ask what AI can do. They already know, and they have a plan.

Responsibilities

What you'll do...

AI Portfolio Strategy & Platform Assessment

Own the cross-platform AI strategy across all of EPEO's platform portfolio:

  • Maintain a comprehensive, enterprise-wide view of how AI is strategically positioned across every platform EPEO operates - what is deployed, what it is being used for across business functions, whether it is the right capability for the problem, and where gaps or redundancies exist


  • Continuously evaluate AI capabilities across all major providers and platforms against EPEO's current operating model:
    • Leading cloud platform AI services and infrastructure
    • Enterprise AI assistant and productivity platforms
    • Frontier AI model providers and API platforms
    • Emerging AI providers and infrastructure primitives


  • Define and own the cross-platform AI strategy roadmap - a prioritized, forward-looking plan for how AI should evolve across the platform organization over the next one to three years


  • Identify where AI creates step-change opportunities in platform operations: what can be automated, augmented, or fundamentally re-architected rather than incrementally improved


  • Challenge existing platform assumptions - bring a clear-eyed view of where current approaches should be replaced by AI-native alternatives, not just enhanced by them


AI Enablement Across the Platform Organization

Drive activation and adoption of AI capabilities across all platforms EPEO operates:

  • Partner with Platform Engineering, Developer Experience, Employee Experience, Foundational Platform, and Digital Core Platforms to move AI capabilities from available to embedded - integrated into how platforms are built, operated, and improved across the enterprise


  • Serve as the strategic AI advisor across all platform organizations - providing a consistent, cross-cutting AI lens that individual platform teams cannot maintain on their own


  • Build and govern the AI portfolio framework for EPEO: how AI investments are categorized, evaluated for fit, measured for value, and reported to executive leadership


  • Drive internal alignment across platform organizations on AI priorities, sequencing, and shared standards - operating with influence across teams that do not report directly into this role


  • Develop internal AI platform fluency - bring platform engineering and SRE leadership along on the AI journey through structured evaluation frameworks and shared strategic context


AI Governance, Risk & FinOps

Establish the governance and financial management layer for AI across the enterprise platform portfolio:

  • Build and own the AI governance framework spanning all providers: model selection criteria, acceptable use policies, data classification standards for AI inputs, and enterprise risk guardrails


  • Own AI FinOps as a strategic discipline:
    • Consumption visibility and cost attribution by platform, team, and use case
    • Model tier efficiency and cost-per-outcome tracking
    • Enterprise-wide ROI reporting on AI investment across all platform providers
    • Budget governance and spend forecasting for AI at the EPEO portfolio level


  • Ensure AI enablement activities meet enterprise standards for security, compliance, intellectual property protection, and responsible use


  • Partner with CISO, Legal, and Compliance to maintain a risk management framework for AI that scales with adoption and adapts to evolving regulatory requirements


Vendor Strategy & Provider Relationships

Lead EPEO's strategic AI vendor relationships at the architecture and roadmap level:

  • Engage leading AI and cloud platform providers as strategic partners - not just commercially but at the technical and roadmap level, influencing provider direction based on EPEO's scale and enterprise needs


  • Maintain a forward-looking technology radar for AI: evaluate emerging models, agentic frameworks, and AI infrastructure patterns for enterprise applicability before they become mainstream


  • Lead vendor capability assessments that go beyond marketing materials - forming independent, technically grounded views of where each provider's AI platform is heading and what it means for EPEO's business functions


  • Manage the AI provider portfolio as a strategic asset: evaluate concentration risk, capability overlap, and investment sequencing across providers


Cross-Functional Platform Partnership

Partner closely with platform organizations across EPEO to ensure AI strategy translates into embedded, operating reality:

  • Platform Engineering - align AI enablement priorities with core infrastructure and platform delivery roadmaps, ensuring AI capabilities are built into the platform layer, not bolted on


  • Developer Experience - collaborate on how AI changes the way engineers build, test, and ship software across the enterprise, identifying where AI augments the inner and outer loop


  • Employee Experience - partner on how AI-enabled platform capabilities reach and serve the broader workforce, extending value beyond engineering to all business functions


  • Foundational Platform - work in close alignment on shared infrastructure, data, and runtime services that underpin AI workloads across EPEO's portfolio


  • Digital Core Platforms - engage on how AI strategy intersects with the core systems and business platforms that power enterprise operations, ensuring AI enablement spans both modern and foundational technology layers


  • Partner with Security, Legal, and Compliance to ensure AI adoption across all platform organizations meets enterprise risk, data handling, and regulatory standards


Executive Alignment & Strategic Communication

Build and maintain executive-level alignment on AI platform strategy and investment:

  • Present well-formed AI strategy recommendations to senior and executive leadership - including business cases, opportunity cost of inaction, and multi-year investment prioritization


  • Provide clear executive visibility into EPEO's AI platform health: adoption, governance posture, FinOps efficiency, and transformation progress


  • Represent the AI platform strategy at internal leadership forums, external industry events, and in strategic vendor conversations


  • Translate a fast-moving AI landscape into clear, actionable direction for the platform organization - synthesizing vendor signals, market developments, and internal data into decisions leadership can act on


How success is achieved...

  • Maintaining a current, rigorous, and independent view of how AI is positioned across EPEO's entire platform portfolio


  • Identifying platform transformation opportunities ahead of the organization - forming views before consensus exists and bringing well-formed recommendations to leadership


  • Driving AI enablement through influence, not authority - building trust and alignment across platform organizations that do not report directly into this role


  • Translating complex AI developments into clear, enterprise-wide strategic direction that supports business functions and that leadership can act on with confidence


  • Governing AI investments with the rigor of a FinOps discipline - not just tracking spend but connecting it to platform value and business outcomes


  • Building and maintaining strategic vendor relationships that give EPEO early access to AI capabilities and influence over provider roadmaps


Qualifications

You'll have...

AI Platform & Technical Expertise

  • 12+ years of experience in technology, including significant hands-on platform strategy, enterprise architecture, or AI infrastructure leadership
  • Deep working knowledge of the enterprise AI provider landscape across leading cloud platforms, enterprise AI assistant and productivity platforms, and frontier AI model providers - able to evaluate technical capabilities and architectural fit, not just vendor positioning


  • Demonstrated experience assessing and rationalizing AI portfolios at enterprise scale - you have looked across a large organization's AI landscape, identified what belongs and what doesn't, and made recommendations that were acted on across business functions


  • Hands-on background in cloud platform architecture sufficient to evaluate AI capabilities at the architectural level - not just vendor positioning


  • Experience designing or governing enterprise AI governance, FinOps, and enablement frameworks from the ground up - not inheriting and maintaining, but building and standing up


  • Strong understanding of LLM architecture, agentic patterns, RAG, multi-model orchestration, and AI infrastructure primitives at enterprise scale


Leadership Profile

  • A strategically-oriented leader who combines technical credibility with the ability to drive organizational change through influence


  • Comfortable operating at both extremes:
    • Senior leadership strategy and investment discussions spanning technology, business functions, and enterprise priorities
    • Deep technical and architectural conversations with platform engineering and vendor engineering teams


  • Proven ability to operate with a long time horizon in an environment where the technology changes quarterly - holding a multi-year strategic view while remaining responsive to a rapidly evolving AI landscape


  • Experience leading in large, matrixed engineering organizations (5,000+ engineers) where influence without direct authority is the primary mode of getting things done


  • Genuine intellectual curiosity about the AI frontier - you follow research, engage vendors at the technical level, form independent views, and are rarely surprised by what ships


  • Track record of managing strategic AI vendor relationships with hyperscalers and AI-native companies at the architecture and roadmap level


Enterprise Context

  • Experience in a Fortune 500 or large-scale enterprise environment with complex regulatory, compliance, and security requirements


  • Demonstrated ability to build the business case for multi-million dollar AI platform investments and present to C-suite and board-level stakeholders


  • Background in cloud platform engineering, enterprise architecture, or a CTO-adjacent strategy role strongly preferred - credibility in this role requires having built the platforms you are now strategizing about


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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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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