Motorsports Program Engineer

Ford Ford · Auto · Allen Park, MI +1 · PD Operations and Quality

This role manages the execution of Ford Racing Off-Road Motorsports programs, overseeing program lifecycles for high-profile events. It involves collaborating with internal engineers and external partners to design, build, and race off-road vehicles, managing supplier relationships, and championing continuous improvement initiatives. The role also focuses on transferring racing technology into future production vehicles and supporting trackside operations.

What you'd actually do

  1. Program Leadership: Manage the execution of Ford Racing Off-Road Motorsports programs, overseeing program lifecycles for high-profile events including the Baja 1000, King of the Hammers, and Rebelle Rally.
  2. Team & Partner Management: Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of internal engineers and external racing partners to design, build, and race off-road vehicles
  3. Supplier Integration: Manage supplier relationships, negotiate deliverables, and oversee Bill of Materials (BoM), CAD integration, and critical parts procurement to guarantee on-time, high-quality delivery for builds, testing, and race events
  4. Continuous Vehicle Improvement: Champion continuous improvement initiatives, collaborating with suppliers and engineering teams to elevate vehicle speed, durability, and competitive edge based on trackside data and post-race teardowns
  5. Technology Transfer: Work with the Ford Racing production engineering team to share learnings and drive the transfer of off-road racing technology and methodologies into future production vehicles

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering field
  • 5+ years of automotive industry experience
  • 1+ years motorsports experience
  • Ability to support trackside operations under demanding schedules, including evenings, weekends, and extensive travel to remote test and race locations
  • Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills
  • experience managing external suppliers
  • resolving technical conflicts
  • aligning cross-functional teams toward a common goal
  • Demonstrated program management capability

Nice to have

  • 5+years of experience in motorsports or off-road motorsports
  • Previous participation in a Formula/Baja SAE or equivalent student competition programs
  • Experience in data acquisition and interpretation (e.g., vehicle telemetry, test logs, simulation results, or trackside data) to diagnose issues and make engineering decisions.
  • Knowledge of Ford systems and tools related to production vehicle engineering and release
  • Experience with CAD, Matlab, Minitab
  • Experience as a suspension/vehicle dynamics Release Engineer, with a track record of component ownership, supplier NDA management, and plant production coordination.
  • Strong hands-on hardware testing background paired with the professional business presence needed to interface directly with suppliers.

What the JD emphasized

  • off-road racing
  • off-road motorsports
  • trackside data
  • post-race teardowns
  • trackside engineering operations