Job DescriptionAs the Technical Product Manager for the Vehicle Electrical Software & Systems Engineering (VESSE) Ecosystem of AI Tools, you will lead the strategy and adoption of artificial intelligence solutions that accelerate the design, development, and validation of vehicle electrical and software systems.
In this position...You are not just a manager of backlogs; you are a technical practitioner and internal evangelist. You will use low-code/no-code tools to rapidly prototype AI-driven engineering solutions-such as automated requirement analysis, synthetic data generation for testing, or predictive E/E architecture optimization. Your mission is to prove the value of AI to the VESSE community, drive the adoption of our existing tool portfolio, and build the business cases that scale these innovations across the global engineering organization.
Based in Dearborn, MI, this is a hybrid position with a required four-day onsite presence each week
ResponsibilitiesWhat you'll do...1. Ecosystem Strategy & Evangelism- Portfolio Advocacy: Act as the lead "product champion" for the existing VESSE AI tool suite. Drive high adoption rates among electrical, software, and systems engineers.
- Feature Discovery: Work deeply within the VESSE engineering workflows to identify pain points; translate these into new features for the AI tool ecosystem.
- Community Building: Lead workshops, "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) sessions, and internal demos to showcase how the AI ecosystem solves real-world engineering bottlenecks.
2. Rapid POC Development (Low-Code/No-Code)- Hands-on Prototyping: Use LCNC platforms (e.g., Streamlit, Github Copilot extensions for VS code, Agent mode using Claude, Chat GPT or Gemini models) to build functional "Quick-Win" POCs that demonstrate AI's potential in the VESSE space.
- Feasibility Testing: Use these prototypes to validate technical feasibility and user desirability before committing full-scale engineering resources.
3. Business Case & KPI Ownership- Value Quantification: Build robust business cases for new AI tools and features. Link technical performance to VESSE-specific KPIs such as Engineering Hours Saved, Defect Detection Rate (DDR), Time-to-Market reduction, and System Reliability.
- ROI Tracking: Monitor the impact of the AI tool ecosystem on the vehicle development lifecycle and report progress to executive leadership.
4. Technical Integration & Lifecycle Management- Domain Expertise: Ensure AI tools are deeply integrated with standard VESSE workflows (e.g., SysML, AUTOSAR, MBSE tools, and CI/CD pipelines).
- Data Strategy: Partner with data engineers to ensure the VESSE ecosystem has access to high-quality, labeled engineering data for model training and fine-tuning.
QualificationsYou'll have...- Bachelor of Computer Science, Data Science, Data Engineering or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
- 5+ years in a Technical Product Management or a "Solutions Architect" role preferably within the automotive or aerospace industry. Skills may include:
- Data-Centric Mindset: Deep focus on data discovery; proven ability to identify, evaluate, and integrate high-value engineering datasets from across the VESSE lifecycle to power AI models.
- AI/ML Literacy: Strong conceptual and practical understanding of Machine Learning (e.g., LLMs for requirements, Predictive Analytics for testing, or Computer Vision for hardware inspection).
- Cloud & Infrastructure Proficiency: Solid proficiency in the GCP (Google Cloud Platform) ecosystem, including the ability to set up projects, define IAM roles, manage service accounts, and handle API registrations to support secure and scalable AI tool development.
- Agile & SDLC Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in Agile methodologies and JIRA, with a deep understanding of the full SDLC as it applies to complex automotive software and systems engineering
Even better, you may have...- MBA or Master Degree of Computer Science, Data Science, Data Engineering or related field
- Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and PLM tools.
- Understanding of automotive safety and compliance standards (ISO 26262, ASPICE).
- Experience with MLOps and the deployment of AI models into cloud-based engineering environments.
Technical & Engineering Expertise- LCNC Prototyping: Demonstrated ability to build functional prototypes using Low-Code/No-Code tools to solve engineering problems.
- VESSE Domain Knowledge: 5+ years of experience in Vehicle Electrical, Software, or Systems Engineering. You must understand the complexities of E/E architectures, ECU communication (CAN/Ethernet), and software-defined vehicle concepts.
Product & Business Leadership- Global Team Leadership: Proven ability to lead and leverage diverse, cross-functional teams-including Data Engineers, Data Scientists, Full Stack/Front End Developers, and DevOps Engineers-across both US and offshore locations to deliver high-quality AI products on schedule.
- Evangelism & Storytelling: Proven track record of "selling" technical products to internal stakeholders and driving cultural change within engineering teams.
- Business Acumen: Ability to develop financial models and business cases that justify the "Build vs. Buy" of AI tools.
- Strategic Roadmapping: Experience managing an "Ecosystem" of interconnected products rather than a single standalone feature.
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 salary grade 7 or 8 and ranges from $86,600- 166,200.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's 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:
https://fordcareers.co/GSR
Visa sponsorship is 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.
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