Director, System Architecture

About Ford
Come help build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. Ford Motor Company was built on the belief that freedom of movement drives human progress. It’s a belief that has fueled our passion to create great cars and trucks. And today, it drives our commitment to become the world’s most trusted mobility company, designing vehicles for a smart world that helps people move more safely, confidently, and freely. Ford is experiencing significant business transformation in an ever-changing propulsion and digital world, and we are looking for exceptional talent to join us on this journey.

About EVDD
Ford is redefining how it will build a better world for the future by creating a culture and opportunities where employees will capitalize on Ford’s excellence in designing and building the most iconic products while also helping develop the future of world-class connected EVs. Ford is transforming our global automotive business to scale EVs, strengthen operations, and unlock value. We will deliver the speed of a startup, with the deep expertise of high-volume production. 

As part of the future, we have the EVDD function. Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design leadership – driving the future of the digital technologies.

The Opportunity

The Director, System Architecture, reporting to the Executive Director of Platform Architecture and Prototyping, is responsible for the following:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a strategic vision for platform architecture, driving innovation and differentiation in our automotive products.​
• Team Management: Lead and mentor a team of architects and engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning.​
• Platform Architecture: Define and maintain the architecture for our automotive platforms, including electrical, software, and communication systems.​
• Technology Roadmap: Establish a technology roadmap for platform architecture, identifying emerging trends and opportunities for integration into our products.​
• System Integration: Drive integration efforts across vehicle systems, ensuring seamless communication and interoperability between hardware and software components.​
• Performance Optimization: Define and implement strategies for optimizing the performance and efficiency of platform architectures, balancing competing requirements and constraints.​
• Security and Reliability: Establish robust security and reliability mechanisms for automotive platforms, protecting against cyber threats and ensuring system uptime and integrity.​
• Vendor Management: Manage relationships with third-party vendors and technology partners, ensuring alignment with our platform architecture requirements and quality standards.​
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements related to automotive platform architecture, including safety and cybersecurity standards.​
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with other engineering teams, product management, and external stakeholders to ensure alignment and integration of platform architecture initiatives with broader company objectives.

Functional & Technical Knowledge 

The minimum requirements we seek

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.​
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in embedded systems architecture, with a focus on automotive or related industry.​
• Proven track record of leadership in architecture design, with experience managing large-scale engineering teams and complex projects.​
• Expert in connected software-defined systems with safety critical use-cases​.
• Deep technical expertise in system design principles, including hardware/software integration, automotive communication protocols, and real-time operating systems.​
• Strong understanding of automotive industry trends, including electrification, connectivity, and autonomous driving.​
• Experience working in an agile development environment, with a strong emphasis on iterative development and continuous improvement.

Our preferred requirements

• Masters degree preferred.
• Experience in implementing embedded systems including for safety critical embedded systems.
• Experience of embedded Linux, RTOS and related DevOps systems.
• Demonstrated time in role leading a large multi-disciplined organization focused on delivering development efficiency.
• Excellent communication skills both up and down the organization to achieve