Description
In this position as a Forward Deployed Engineer, Ford Energy, you will sit at the intersection of engineering and business impact. This is a hands-on individual contributor role for engineers who want to own outcomes, not tickets. You will work directly with internal stakeholders and external customers to understand real operational problems, then design, build, and deploy the software that solves them.
You will work across the full stack: application development, cloud infrastructure on GCP, enterprise data platform for AI scale, integrations with manufacturing and warehousing technology, and automation and tooling that take an idea to a production deployment.
The role is built for engineers who thrive in ambiguity, want direct exposure to the business and customer problems they're solving, and want outsized ownership and accountability over what they ship. You will not be handed a fully specified spec; instead, you will be in the room helping define the problem and then building and deploying the answer.
Ford Energy's engineering organization is being built to be AI-native from day one. You will help define what 'AI-native' means for Ford Energy engineering and build practical AI/ML capabilities and intelligent automation that solve real operational problems.
Responsibilities
- Build an AI-Native Organisation: Help define what 'AI-native' means for Ford Energy engineering, and set the example and standards for the team.
- Embed and Solve: Work directly with internal operations, product, and customer teams to understand real business and operational problems.
- Own Delivery End to End: Wear multiple hats across the stack, writing application code, designing and operating cloud infrastructure, and owning automation, environments, and pipelines.
- Build the Custom Edge: Design, develop, and secure applications, API integrations, and edge systems.
- Architect and Build, Fast: Move fluidly between architecture and hands-on implementation.
- Turn Ambiguity into Deployed Software: Convert evolving operational and business needs into working systems.
- Partner Relentlessly: Build direct working relationships with stakeholders and customers.
- Uphold the Standard: Contribute to engineering standards through high-quality design and code.
Qualifications
- Technical Depth: 5+ years of experience as a software engineer with a strong background in hands-on development, systems architecture, and integrating production systems.
- Bias for Deployed Outcomes: A track record of taking ambiguous, high-stakes problems from first conversation to working software in production.
- AI & Velocity Mindset: Demonstrated experience with AI/ML in production or applied business contexts.
- Modern Stack Experience: Experience with Go, Python, TypeScript, API design, GCP, and modern cloud architectures.
- Adaptability: Ability to navigate ambiguous, fast-changing environments.
- Communication: Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- High Autonomy, High Accountability: Comfortable operating with minimal process and significant latitude.
Benefits
- Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs
- Family building benefits, including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time