Global Sr. Manager, Advanced Seats Engineering, Structures, & Compliance

Ford is seeking a Sr. Global Manager – Advanced Seats Engineering, Structures, and Compliance to lead a global engineering organization responsible for early architecture and technology innovation, seat structure design and development, and seat system regulatory compliance.

This leader will direct cross-functional, cross-regional teams to deliver seating systems that meet the highest standards of safety, quality, performance, and manufacturability, while driving advanced technology and innovation strategies.

Responsibilities

Global Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a global team of engineers and managers across multiple disciplines, sites, and time zones.
• Build organizational capability by attracting, developing, and retaining top engineering talent.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance culture across globally distributed teams.

Advanced Seating Architecture & Technology Development

• Direct early-phase seating architecture strategy, concept development, and advanced technology roadmaps aligned with future vehicle programs.
• Partner with product planning, design, and innovation teams to identify and mature emerging seating technologies.
• Guide feasibility studies, benchmarking, and technology readiness assessments to inform long-term seating strategy.

Seat Structure Development & Industrialization

• Oversee structural design, engineering analysis, validation, and industrialization of seat systems from concept through ongoing product development.
• Drive continuous improvement in structural performance, weight optimization, cost, and quality.

Seat System Compliance & Homologation

• Guide seating development priorities to meet emerging homologation and 3rd party targets.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for compliance risks and work cross-functionally to resolve regulatory issues.
• Ensure lessons-learned and best practices are fed into forward model development programs.

Cross-Functional & Strategic Leadership

• Collaborate with Program Management, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supplier Technical Assistance teams to ensure integrated program delivery.
• Represent Seating Engineering in senior leadership reviews, program milestones, and executive-level technical discussions.
• Drive alignment of global engineering standards, processes, and best practices across regions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• Master's degree in Engineering or related field (preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive experience managing technical teams of increasing size and complexity.
• Strong automotive industry experience, with demonstrated expertise in seat systems, structures, or related vehicle component engineering.
• Proven experience leading global, cross-regional, and cross-cultural engineering teams.
• Solid understanding of automotive regulatory and homologation requirements.
• Strong knowledge of structural engineering principles, CAE/CAD tools, and industrialization/manufacturing processes.

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.