Director, Central Transformation

As the Director, Central Transformation, you are the primary architect of the technical vision and architectural roadmap for Ford's enterprise-wide transformation. Reporting into the Product Creation & Industrialization leadership, you will bridge the gap between high-level strategy and technical execution. You will drive the adoption of advanced methodologies and digital technologies to achieve scalable improvements, fostering a world-class culture of technical innovation and engineering excellence.

Responsibilities:

• Define the long-term technical roadmap and establish the 'Gold Standard' for process engineering, automation, and digital transformation frameworks across all business units.
• Strategically oversee the transformation portfolio and 'Waste Inventory,' driving decisions on resource distribution and investment allocation to maximize enterprise ROI.
• Provide expert architectural review and guidance to central and dedicated teams, ensuring technical rigor, innovative solution design, and adherence to established standards.
• Lead the technical design of complex, cross-functional programs, partnering with IT and GDIA to ensure seamless integration with existing enterprise systems.
• Champion a culture of technical excellence by driving enterprise-wide skill development, knowledge sharing, and a 'first-principles' approach to problem-solving.
• Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate architectural and systemic risks associated with large-scale integrations and complex transformation efforts.
• Define and track sophisticated KPIs to measure the effectiveness of implemented solutions, utilizing data-driven insights to fuel continuous optimization.

Qualifications:

• Visionary technical leadership: Ability to define enterprise-level technical standards and drive long-term architectural coherence across a global organization.
• Executive leadership & talent development: Proven experience in leading, inspiring, and coaching high-performing technical teams toward a shared vision of innovation.
• Strategic change management: Expertise in driving organizational adoption, managing resistance, and leading teams through large-scale technical transitions.
• Complex problem solving: Deep mastery of Lean Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping, and other continuous improvement frameworks to solve intricate technical challenges at scale.
• Communication & influence: Superior ability to translate complex technical roadmaps into clear business value for executive leadership and diverse technical stakeholders.
• Program & portfolio execution: Strong capabilities in overseeing the technical lifecycle of complex transformation programs from design to enterprise-wide rollout.
• Financial & business acumen: Deep understanding of the technical cost implications, ROI, and long-term financial benefits associated with transformation investments.
• Navigating ambiguity: The resilience to lead effectively through uncertainty, providing clear direction and structured solutions in rapidly changing environments.
• Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering (Industrial, Software, Systems), Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience: 10+ years of progressive technical leadership in operational excellence or business transformation, with a heavy emphasis on technology-driven solutions.
• Strategic track record: Proven experience defining and implementing enterprise-wide technical strategies and architectures.
• Certifications: Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt or equivalent highly desirable.