Field Quality Engineer

We made history and now we work to transform the future – for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

At Ford, the Vehicle Hardware Engineering teams are using Design Thinking & User Experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that will delight our customers. Our employees are laser-focused on bringing innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. From autonomy and electrification to smart mobility technologies, our teams around the world are working together with excitement to make smart vehicles for a smart world.

Within Product Development (PD), the Field Quality Engineering (FQE) team plays a critical role connecting real-world customer experiences with engineering solutions. This team operates at the intersection of customers, dealers, and engineering—ensuring that emerging issues are rapidly identified, accurately understood, and resolved at their root cause.

We are seeking highly technical, hands-on engineers who thrive in dynamic environments and are passionate about solving real-world problems to build this new team.

Location Strategy:

These roles will be deployed in close proximity to key Ford manufacturing facilities across Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. Positioning Field Quality Engineers near these hubs enables rapid response to dealer-reported concerns in regions with strong Ford vehicle population, while also providing direct exposure to manufacturing processes. This proximity is critical to accelerating issue resolution, strengthening collaboration between field and plant teams, and ensuring engineers develop a deep understanding of how

Responsibilities

In this position...

Field Investigation & Technical Validation

• Travel to dealerships, fleet locations, and customer sites to investigate vehicle concerns firsthand (GEMBA)
• Validate customer concerns by observing real-world conditions and confirming failure modes prior to repair or part replacement
• Capture operating environments, usage patterns, and contributing factors impacting vehicle performance

Technical Data Collection & Reporting

• Collect and document detailed technical data, including photos, videos, and service observations.
• Vehicle data logs (CAN, diagnostics, system data) and information from dealer equipment (alignment, tester data, etc).
• Physical parts when required
• Develop formal technical reports that clearly describe: Failure conditions, Reproduction steps, Environmental and usage factors, Initial observations and engineering hypotheses.
• Provide clear and actionable inputs to Product Development engineering teams

Engineering Collaboration & Problem Solving

• Partner directly with PD engineering teams to support: Root cause investigation, Failure replication with first hand insights into field conditions
• Development of corrective actions
• Support structured problem solving (8D / 14D) by supplying high-quality field data and evidence
• Accelerate issue resolution by bridging the gap between data signals and real-world validation

Issue Identification & Prioritization

• Utilize outputs from Ford systems (warranty triggers, VOQ trends, and internal analytics tools) to:
• Identify issues requiring deep technical investigation
• Support prioritization of emerging concerns

Dealer & Customer Engagement

• Work closely with: Dealer technicians and service managers, Customers and fleet operators.
• Collect Voice of Customer (VOC) insights and ensure accurate problem definition
• Product Feedback & Continuous Improvement
• Provide real-time feedback to Product Development regarding: Emerging quality issues, Gaps in validation or test conditions, Customer usage differences vs design assumptions
• Influence improvements to: Design robustness and recurrence prevention, validation strategies, Design standards, Customer experience

Qualifications

You'll have...

• Bachelor’s degree in: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Computer or Software Engineering, or related technical field
• 3+ years of strong technical experience in vehicle systems and diagnostics
• Ability to travel regularly (50%+ to dealer, fleet, customer visits)
• Dealership service or vehicle testing environments
• Strong problem-solving skills and experience with structured methods (8D / 14D), Red X or similar training / certification
• Excellent technical communication and report writing skills
• Valid driver’s license

Even better, you may have...

• Experience with embedded automotive software systems and ECU architectures
• Ability to capture and analyze vehicle network data (CAN, Ethernet)
• Experience using diagnostic and data acquisition tools (e.g., CANalyzer, CANoe)
• Understanding of software-driven vehicle behavior (ADAS, infotainment, connectivity, controls)
• Ability to differentiate between software, hardware, and integration-related issues.
• Basic scripting or data analysis (Python, MATLAB) preferred
• Familiarity with: OTA updates, Diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), Calibration and software validation processes

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.

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. #LI-Hybrid

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