Director, Cloud Platform Engineering

Ford is seeking a visionary Director, Cloud Platform Engineering – Data, Analytics & Agentic Data Cloud to own strategy, architecture, and engineering of Ford's cloud database and analytics platforms , built on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services including Cloud SQL, Spanner, AlloyDB, BigTable, Firestore, and BigQuery.

This leader will bring a product-minded, automation-first, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) platform engineering discipline to every layer of Ford's data estate, own Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) and fit-for-purpose database architecture patterns for Product Development Organizations (PDO), drive consolidation and cost optimization of SaaS database products, and define Ford's Agentic Data Cloud patterns , including database MCP servers, Knowledge Catalog, and Conversational Analytics , for consumption by application teams.

Responsibilities:

• Platform Engineering Vision & Leadership:
• Serve as Ford's visionary platform engineering leader for cloud databases and analytics , setting a multi-year strategic roadmap that anticipates future AI, security, and scale requirements.
• Instill a platform engineering mindset across the data estate , treating databases and analytics systems as internal products with self-service APIs, golden paths, paved roads, and clear SLOs rather than ticket-driven infrastructure.
• Drive all platform services through an Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) mindset , defining, provisioning, and managing database and analytics infrastructure as version-controlled, testable, and repeatable code rather than manual configuration.
• Continue to deepen partnerships with cloud and SaaS vendors, co-building rich, differentiated capabilities within their platforms so Ford operates as a strategic technical partner rather than a passive consumer.
• Build, mentor, and lead a global, high-performing team of platform engineers, architects, and SREs; foster a culture of innovation through hackathons, ideathons, and DevSecOps community events.

• Cloud Database & Analytics Platform Engineering:
• Architect and operate GCP-native database platforms (Cloud SQL, Spanner, AlloyDB, BigTable, Firestore) with consistent, reusable, IaC-driven platform engineering patterns across provisioning, security, and observability.
• Own platform engineering for BigQuery and the broader analytics stack , building governed, self-service data pipelines and reusable analytics tooling for product and data science teams.
• Build golden-path templates, service APIs, and IaC-based paved-road automation that let engineering teams provision and operate database and analytics resources safely and consistently at scale.

• Database-as-a-Service & Fit-for-Purpose Architecture:
• Own Ford's Cloud Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) strategy, enabling self-service provisioning across GCP-native and SaaS database platforms with automated, golden-path IaC pipelines.
• Define and evangelize database architecture patterns that guide Product Development Organizations (PDO) toward fit-for-purpose database selection , matching workload characteristics to the right relational, NoSQL, graph, or in-memory technology rather than defaulting to a single platform.
• Partner with PDO application and engineering teams to embed these architecture patterns into design reviews, reference architectures, and reusable templates.
• SaaS Consolidation & Cost Optimization:
• Lead enterprise-wide consolidation of SaaS database products (e.g., MongoDB, Neo4J, Redis), reducing platform sprawl, redundant licensing, and support overhead.
• Own full lifecycle management of database, analytics, and SaaS platforms , versioning, patching, upgrade planning, end-of-life tracking, and decommissioning of unused resources , to proactively eliminate unnecessary and duplicate cost.
• Own cost-optimization strategy and cloud-cost mindsets (rightsizing, usage governance, cost recommenders) across the data platform portfolio; manage vendor contracts and negotiate enterprise agreements.

• Agentic Data Cloud:
• Define and evangelize Ford's Agentic Data Cloud strategy, shifting the enterprise from a passive system of intelligence to an agent-centric system of action.
• Provide application teams with standardized, reusable patterns for database MCP (Model Context Protocol) Servers, enabling AI agents to safely discover, reason over, and act on enterprise data.
• Lead deployment of Knowledge Catalog capabilities for AI-context governance and data discoverability, and roll out Conversational Analytics patterns for natural-language data interaction across Ford's applications.
• Define guardrails and human-in-the-loop controls aligned to Ford's Agentic AI Rubric; partner with Google product and engineering teams (GDIA, Enterprise Architecture) on POC design and service launch frameworks.

Requirements:

• 15+ years in software engineering, cloud architecture, and data platform services, including significant leadership experience.
• Proven platform engineering ownership of large-scale database and analytics environments on GCP (Cloud SQL, Spanner, AlloyDB, BigTable, Firestore, BigQuery).
• Strong hands-on experience with Infrastructure-as-Code tooling and practices, driving platform services through code-defined, version-controlled automation rather than manual provisioning.
• Direct experience with SaaS database platforms (MongoDB, Neo4J, Elastic, Redis), including consolidation and cost-optimization initiatives at enterprise scale.
• Demonstrated success owning DBaaS and defining fit-for-purpose database architecture patterns adopted by application/product teams.
• Demonstrated experience with agentic AI and data platform concepts , MCP servers, Knowledge Catalog, Conversational Analytics, and AI governance frameworks.
• Strong background in DevOps/SRE practices, automation, CI/CD, and observability.
• Bachelor's degree required.

Benefits:

• 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.