Product & Program Transition Leader

Ford Ford · Auto · Dearborn, MI +1 · Research and Advance Engineering

This role focuses on transforming Ford's product data landscape by applying advanced architectural principles and developing programmatic solutions for data processing. It involves analyzing existing product structures, defining future states, and executing large-scale data transformations.

What you'd actually do

  1. Conduct comprehensive analysis of existing product structures, identifying architectural patterns, data flows, and interdependencies.
  2. Decompose complex product structures into foundational data objects and elemental components (e.g., entities, business objects, relationships, data fields).
  3. Determine value-added vs. non-value-added entities within the current product data landscape, guiding optimization efforts.
  4. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define the desired future product structure, incorporating advanced architectural principles.
  5. Understand and define decomposed elemental datasets required for the future state product architecture.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, or a related highly analytical field.
  • 10-15 years of progressive experience in product architecture, complex data transformation, or related fields, with a significant emphasis on product structure definition and management.
  • Profound understanding and hands-on experience with product architectural elements, including homogeneous and modular architectures.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of platform engineering constructs, design structure metrics, associated product family design, and modular function deployment.
  • Expertise in mass customization concepts and the ability to define and implement strategies for managing product variety.
  • Proven capability to create indices to measure the cost of variety within product portfolios.
  • In-depth knowledge of product development processes and product data release frameworks.
  • Mastery of deep principles of rule engines used for defining and managing complex product configurations and relationships.
  • Extensive experience with and understanding of transformation logic for large-scale data translation and system integration.
  • Ability to architect how platforms, models, and products are structured and how configurations are created.
  • Exceptional ability to understand and define complex data elements and data architectures.
  • Experience with data strategy and transformational frameworks specific to product data.
  • Proven ability to build logical structures and constructs for intricate transformation logics.
  • Strong experience with data modeling and analysis, especially for product lifecycle management (PLM) data.
  • Comprehensive understanding of PLM systems and their integration with product definition processes.
  • Ability to interpret and utilize data generated from 3DX applications.
  • Track record of leading large-scale, complex digital transformation initiatives, particularly those involving core product data.
  • Ability to drive business adoption of large-scale transformation, plan for training and ensure smooth adoption of new tools
  • Proven ability to lead and manage cross-functional teams in a highly technical and analytical environment.
  • Excellent communication, collaboration, and advanced problem-solving skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly.
  • Exceptional abstract thinking and whiteboarding skills for conceptualizing and designing complex architectural solutions.
  • Significant experience in an engineering and manufacturing environment, ideally within a large-scale product development organization.

Nice to have

  • Direct experience within the automotive industry.
  • Experience with Product & Bill of Material (EBOM, MBOM, & BOP) structures and processes.
  • Master's degree in a relevant technical or engineering field.
  • Working knowledge of 3DX software.
  • Experience with change management and other business management initiatives related to large-scale transformations.

What the JD emphasized

  • product architectural elements
  • platform engineering constructs
  • design structure metrics
  • associated product family design
  • modular function deployment
  • mass customization concepts
  • indices to measure the cost of variety
  • product development processes
  • product data release frameworks
  • deep principles of rule engines
  • transformation logic
  • product data