Senior Staff Inverter Test and Design Engineer

At Ford Motor Company, we believe freedom of movement drives human progress. We also believe in providing you with the freedom to define and realize your dreams! With our incredible plans for the future of mobility, we have a wide variety of opportunities for you to accelerate your career potential as you help us define tomorrow’s transportation.

Ford Model E is responsible for developing the key technologies and capabilities – such as EV platforms, batteries, e-motors, inverters, charging and recycling – to create ground-up, breakthrough electric vehicles. By joining the best software, engineering, design and UX talent, you will be a part of creating new technologies and concepts that can be applied across the Ford enterprise. Being on the Ford Model E team means building the future as Ford’s center of innovation and growth through electric and connected vehicles and services. 

The Design and Test Engineer will oversee requirements generation, cost optimization, design robustness, mechanical part ownership, and cross-functional optimization in automotive powertrain systems. You will innovating new processes for cost and manufacturing efficiency improvement, contributing to cutting-edge advancements in automotive technology components and systems.

What you’ll be able to do:

• Lead governance for requirements, testing, and FMA activities (DFMEA) for power conversion (inverter) devices
• Deliver inverter program quality in partnership with our existing quality partners
• Optimize costs from design to manufacturing and create robust designs for automotive applications
• Own mechanical parts for inverters, driving optimization for durability, efficiency, and performance
• Plan, coordinate and execute validation tests, covering various aspects such as system, safety, thermal, data, vehicle, NVH, dyno/bench, life, performance 
• Oversee inverter builds through “make like production” pilot lines, resolving issues and quality concerns
• Innovate new build processes for cost and manufacturing efficiency improvements
• Act as a liaison between inverter manufacturing and design teams
• Facilitate communications, planning, and task execution between engineering teams in Irvine and Dearborn
• Identify key system decisions for product architecture and collaborate with program systems teams for DFM
• Contribute to design reviews, test plans, and requirements reviews to optimize powertrain systems
• Enable effective communication with manufacturing, supply chain, and engineering teams
• Support presentations of concepts and status to senior management and internal personnel 

 

The minimum requirements we seek:

• Mechanical Engineering or Physics Degree
• Sound knowledge of power electronics, mechanical design, test and control principles
• Experience designing and optimizing of motor inverter, or similar mass produced automotive grade products
• 5+ years of experience designing, developing, and releasing products
• 3+ years’ experience using finite element methods for performance, durability, cost and NVH of power electronic components

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience of coding optimization algorithms, particularly in Matlab
• Strong power electronics background, particularly in motor drive applications, DCDC, and or chargers 
• Experience of electric drive and motor control concepts for permanent magnet AC machines
• Knowledge of fault tolerant machine topologies and optimization of inverters for sensorless control
• High level of expertise and proficiency with Catia, Enovia, or similar tools including drawing and modelling practices and methodologies
• Hands-on experience building and launching automotive products and prototyping powertrain systems
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Confluence, and Jira applications
• Experience with instrumentation and measurement of powertrain systems in a lab environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• An eagerness to work cross-functionally in a dynamic environment where you are part of a high performing team
• A system approach to design and development with the desire and curiosity to strive for exceptional delivery execution and continuous improvement

 

What you’ll receive in return:
As part of the Ford family, you’ll enjoy excellent compensation and a comprehensive benefits package that includes generous PTO, retirement, savings and stock investment plans, incentive compensation and much more. You’ll also experience exciting opportunities for professional and personal growth and recognition.

If you have what it takes to help us redefine the future of mobility, we’d love to have you joi