Exterior Lighting Engineer

Location: Dearborn, MI, United States; Hybrid

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.

Product Development uses design thinking & user experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that delight our customers. We bring innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. We have opportunities around the world for you to contribute to advancements in autonomy, electrification, smart mobility technologies, and more!

In this position...

The Ford Exterior Lighting Engineer role is intended for an experienced automotive lighting Design & Release engineer who can independently lead exterior lighting systems from early concept through production launch. The role requires deep working knowledge of lamp design, CAD/package development, requirements cascade, supplier execution, validation planning, tooling readiness, production release, and launch issue resolution. This engineer will lead cross-functional execution with lighting suppliers, optics, studio, software, electrical, purchasing, manufacturing, supplier technical assistance, and quality teams while balancing performance, craftsmanship, cost, weight, timing, and regulatory compliance.

Our ideal candidate is an experienced, hands-on exterior lighting engineer who can quickly contribute with limited ramp-up time. This candidate should be comfortable developing preliminary CAD concepts, assessing design feasibility, driving supplier design convergence, identifying risks early, and making sound engineering decisions across mechanical, optical, electrical, software, manufacturing, validation, and quality interfaces. The candidate must demonstrate strong ownership, technical judgment, communication, and program leadership skills.

This role is intended for an experienced engineer who can contribute quickly in a Design & Release environment. The right candidate will bring practical exterior lighting experience, strong technical ownership, and the ability to work effectively with suppliers and cross-functional teams.

 

Ford Product Development Engineer: Exterior Lighting