Tech Lead Vehicle Electrical Software Systems Engineering, Ecosystem of AI Tools

We are the movers of the world and the makers of the future. We get up every day roll up our sleeves and build a better world -- together. At Ford were all a part of something bigger than ourselves. Are you ready to change the way the world moves

Enterprise Technologyplays a critical part in shaping the future of mobility. If youre looking for the chance to leverage advanced technology to redefine the transportation landscape enhance customer experience and improve peoples lives this is the opportunity for you. Join us and challenge your IT expertise and analytical skills to help create vehicles that are as smart as you are.

The VSSE- Ecosystem of AI Tools (VSSE-EAT) is at the forefront of Fords mission to integrate artificial intelligence into the heart of vehicle engineering. We are looking for a Technical Lead to lead a multidisciplinary team in transforming a fragmented collection of 0 to 1 stage AI projects into a robust interconnected and enterprise-scale ecosystem to drive quantified business value.

In this role you will move beyond managing individual features. You will be the visionary architect of a platform that allows AI tools to collaborate using advanced frameworks such as Agent to Agent(A2A) or Model Context Protocol (MCP). You will empower both engineers and non-technical employees by building a low-code agent builder ensuring that the power of AI is accessible across all of Ford Product Development.

Why this role

This is a rare opportunity to set the standard for how a global automotive leader uses AI. You arent just using tools; you are building the factory that creates them.

Key Responsibilities

1. Scaling & Standardization

• From POC to Production: Lead the re-architecting of tools currently in Discovery or POC stages to ensure they are compliant with Ford standards and can scale to support 1000s of global users.
• Robust Frameworks: Collaborate with your squad of Full-stack Data and DevOps engineers to build an integrated and extensible framework that is both robust and efficient.
• Governance: Establish the rules of the road for AI tools within the ecosystem ensuring they are secure compliant and maintainable.

2. Ecosystem Orchestration & MCP Leadership

• Multi-Agentic Strategy: Design the framework for a multi-agentic architecture where specialized agents (focused on hardware electrical or software) can collaborate seamlessly.
• MCP at Ford: Take the lead in implementing the enterprise standard for Model Context Protocol (MCP)in the VSSE ecosystem. You will define how different AI agents and tools share context and data to solve complex automotive problems in a secure and scalable way.
• Low-Code Empowerment: Drive the product roadmap for an Agent Builder that allows non-technical business customers to create and deploy AI agents while maintaining the technical depth required for engineering teams.

3. Cross-Functional Leadership & Metrics

• Squad Leadership: Lead a dedicated team of Data Scientists Product Designers and Developers. You are the glue that connects user experience (UX) with deep data science and backend stability.
• Business Collaboration: Work closely with business customers to understand Ford-specific data (Hardware Electrical Software) to ensure data integrity and alignment.

• Bachelors degree in computer science Engineering or a related technical field Masters degree preferred.
• 7 years in software development
• 2 years focused on Generative AI
• 3 years of experience defining product vision strategy product roadmaps and building and managing backlogs
• 2 years working with Agile software methodologies (Scrum eXtreme Programming Kanban)
• AI/ML Fundamental Literacy: Deep understanding of the LLM lifecycle including fine-tuning Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and the difference between probabilistic and deterministic outputs.
• Software Engineering Foundation: A background in professional software development (e.g. Python Java or C). You must be able to discuss system architecture API design and latency trade-offs with your engineers.
• Architecting for Scale: Proven experience taking a software product from a local lab environment to a production environment supporting hundreds of concurrent users (knowledge of Kubernetes cloud scaling and load balancing).
• Protocol & Framework Knowledge: Ability to quickly master and implement emerging protocols like Model Context Protocol (MCP) and multi-agent orchestration frameworks (e.g. LangChain AutoGen or CrewAI).
• Data Systems: Proficiency in navigating complex data environments specifically how to integrate AI tools with enterprise data lakes while maintaining governance.
• Lifecycle Management: Experience managing the Maturity Pipeline - moving products from Discovery/POC through Beta to a hardened Production state.
• Platform Thinking: Ability to move beyond single-feature thinking to build an extensible ecosystem where tools share context and interact via a unified framework.
• Metric-Driven Leadership: A track record of optimizing Time to Market (TTM) and User Adoption. You should be able to demonstrate how youve used telemetry and user feedback to pivot or accelerate a product.
• Squad Leadership: Experience leading a diverse team of Data Scientists Full-stack/Front-end Developers and Designers. You must be able to speak all their languages.

Preferred qualifications:

• Automotive Domain Expertise: Familiarity with Ford-specific data structures (Hardware signals Electrical architecture or Vehicle Software versions). Understanding the V-Model or PD engineering cycles is a huge plus.
• Low-Code/No-Code Product Experience: Prior experience building or managing an Agent Builder or a Self-Service platform that empowers non-technical users to create their own workflows.
• Advanced AI Research Interest: A candidate who proactively follows AI research (ArXiv papers GitHub trending repos) and can translate academic hype into industrial utility.
• Design-First Mindset: While its a technical role experience working with Product Designers to simplify complex AI interactions into intuitive UI/UX for Ford employees.
• Compliance & Governance: Experience working within highly regulated industries (Automotive FinTech or Healthcare) where data privacy and safety standards are non-negotiable.
  

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 a salary grade 8.

For more information on salary and benefits click here: sponsorship IS available for this position.

Relocation IS available for this position.

This role is based in Dearborn MI and you are expected to commute 4x a week.

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 committed to a culturally diverse workforce. 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-.