Manufacturing Systems Solutions Engineer, PLM & Physical Plant Floor Systems

About the position In this position... The Manufacturing Engineering Transformation team is responsible for leading the digital manufacturing strategy and optimizing the software ecosystem used to deliver programs and manage change at the plant. Acting as the bridge between engineering requirements and software development, we oversee the full product lifecycle—from requirements gathering and solution alignment to development prioritization. We validate these planning tools through Stakeholder Demos, UAT, and Concept Ready pilots, ultimately managing deployment and training to ensure successful adoption by the manufacturing workforce. As a Manufacturing Systems Solutions Engineer, you will operationalize this strategy, delivering solutions that advance Ford’s digital manufacturing capabilities. What you'll do...

Responsibilities

• Develop Requirements: Utilize industry specific knowledge, lead workshops and interviews with manufacturing engineers, industrial engineers, plant personnel and leaders to identify opportunities. Translate these business needs into detailed technical requirements and user stories for the development team.
• Solution Alignment: Ensure that proposed digital solutions align with the broader manufacturing strategy, existing IT architecture, and industry standards.
• Development Oversight and Prioritization: Act as the technical product owner by managing the feature backlog. You will work closely with developers to clarify questions, remove blockers, and prioritize sprint tasks based on business value and urgency.
• Product Review: Conduct regular reviews of the software during the development phase to ensure the build matches the engineering specifications and quality standards.
• Stakeholder Demo: Lead demonstrations of new features and prototypes to key stakeholders to validate concepts, gather immediate feedback, and ensure the product is moving in the right direction.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Design and execute comprehensive UAT plans. You will coordinate with end-users to test the software in simulated environments, ensuring it meets all functional requirements before hitting the manufacturing engineering toolkit.
• Concept Ready (CR) Pilot: Manage the pilot phase by deploying mature prototypes or MVPs into a limited production environment. You will lead these pilots to validate technical feasibility, operational fit, and business value before authorizing full-scale development or mass deployment.
• Deployment / Training / Adoption: Orchestrate the full rollout of digital tools to engineering offices and manufacturing sites. This includes creating technical documentation, delivering training sessions to engineers and plant personnel, and monitoring usage metrics to drive active adoption of the new technology.
• Project Management: Utilize Jira to manage the product backlog, track progress, and ensure timely delivery of features.
• Stakeholder Communication: Act as the bridge between software development teams and manufacturing stakeholders—including engineers, plant personnel, and leadership—by clearly articulating project status and synthesizing technical details.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of experience in a manufacturing/engineering environment (automotive, aerospace, or heavy industry preferred).
• 3+ years of experience leveraging manufacturing engineering tools for tasks such as time studies, process simulations, and line balancing.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Strong Project Management skills and results-oriented mindset.
• Experience deploying physical plant floor systems, including controls, tooling, robotics, and/or material delivery.

Nice-to-haves

• Advanced Degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience with PLM tools (e.g., TeamCenter).
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and tools (e.g., Jira).
• Knowledge in the following Ford software systems: FEDE, WERS, GSPAS/APT.

Benefits

• 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.

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