In this position...

You will play a pivotal role at the heart of Ford's Program Management organization — authoring the Program Direction Letter (PDL), the document that drives Ford's vehicle ordering and manufacturing systems. You will be positioned at the intersection of Engineering, Marketing, Manufacturing, and Program Management, serving as the central subject matter expert (SME) on Program Teams.

• High Visibility — Working directly with Program leadership, Engineering, Marketing, and Manufacturing teams
• Career Growth — A recognized stepping stone within Program Management
• Collaborative Culture — Part of a community of authors who share best practices and mentor one another
• Impact — Your work directly influences Ford's ability to build and deliver vehicles worldwide
• Key Role — Your decisions and direction shape the entire program

By stepping into this role, you will also:

• Build deep program knowledge across Ford's vehicle development process
• Develop strong cross-functional relationships with leaders across Engineering, Marketing, and Manufacturing
• Strengthen your leadership and decision-making skills in a high-visibility environment
• Position yourself for future growth opportunities within Program Management and beyond
• Become a trusted expert and community leader within Ford's PDL Author network

You'll have...

• Bachelor of Science or related degree; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence across functions and levels
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills with comfort serving as a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and drive cross-functional issues to closure in a fast-paced environment
• Self-starter mentality with the ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Knowledge and understanding of VPP, GPDS, and Integrator deliverables
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)

Even Better, You My Have...

• Master's Degree in Engineering or related degree
• Experience reading Product Direction Letters and Marketing Order Guides to set up and maintain vehicle configuration
• Familiarity with the automotive industry and knowledge of product direction planning, intent, and execution
• Knowledge of WERS, PDO, SOE, Conceps, and MOCM systems
• Ability to evaluate continuous product changes, codify data within various systems, and initiate corrective actions to minimize mis-built vehicles and re-invoicing requests
• Adjacent skills in Bill of Materials (Manufacturing – MPL), Marketing, Codification in the PDO tool, New Model Launch, etc.

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 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 Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a salary grade 6 to salary grade 8 and ranges from $72,480-162,120.
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 not 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.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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 status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week.

What You'll Do

PDL Authoring, Management & Change Verification

• Author the Program Direction Letter (PDL) from PS to DCV directly in the PDO tool; post DCV: paired author PDL with MPL Codification Team

• Define Product Definition (add, delete, and revise features and timing points) via mark-ups; incorporate PDMO reports into PDO-CM PDLs

• Configure and set up PDL reports, maintain the PDL change log, and author cross-MY PDLs for current and future programs

• Review of PDO WIP reports and provide OK-to-Publish direction to codification

• Track approved assumption changes, determine change drivers and corrections; manage PDL Change Control/Verification and coordinate timing to implement changes

• Conduct PDL Change Verification for all PDL changes, ensuring stakeholder verification using the Change Connect Tool

• Lead FPD PDL sign-off and the late (post TT PDL) process

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the trusted SME for program assumptions and content, interfacing with Marketing, PMT Leaders, DR Engineers, Feature System Engineers, Engineering, CM, NMs, TVM, and Program teams
• Coordinate cross-functional meetings and lead Marketing Interface Meetings to confirm program content, assumptions, and resolve PDL and Order Guide compatibility issues
• Work closely with MPL Codification, PDO, and SOE teams to ensure PDL accuracy and resolve feature discrepancies
• Participating in decision forums (CPE DF) and supporting the development of business cases to improve revenue and program profitability

Training, Mentoring & Community Engagement

• Contribute to a community that improves process learning, applies best practices, and ensures consistent PDL execution
• Share learnings and best practices while guiding and mentoring others on program
• Provide training support for Engineers on how to read the PDL and run buildability reports
• Provide additional context to features via Author Notations and define timing points as needed

Non-PDL Work

• Support program needs and career development (e.g., MIM, Export PAT, CPE DF)