Visual + Motion Design Lead

Digital Product Design (DPD) at Ford is committed to envisioning and creating simple, thoughtful, enjoyable, and compelling product experiences that our customers need and love. We work in close partnership with product and engineering to deliver best-in-class interactions experiences that meet the needs of people today, and in the future. Our team is comprised of a dynamic group of product designers, researchers, visual designers, industrial designers, modelers, and project managers.

We are excited to lay the foundation for Ford's push towards a new automotive future. We aim to create digital products that improve over time, amplify mobility for all, and create a thrilling driving experience for our customers.

Our organization, Digital Product Design (DPD), is re-founding Ford's digital experience, evolving to experience-based product development that embraces vehicle exterior/interior, software, and service design and implementation.

In this position...

As a leader on Ford’s Digital Product Design Team, you'll be at the heart of designing products that drive this revolution - inspiring your peers and pushing the industry. You'll also be creating/working at scale. Every day, Ford's vehicles and services support millions of people worldwide. We're not just inventing the future; we're operationalizing it to help everyone improve their lives. The Visual + Motion Design Lead within our Design DNA team plays a vital role in this future state by helping our Digital Product Design team reimagine how people interface with Ford vehicles — through the visual design of the in-vehicle experience and connected devices and mobile applications. Grounded in understanding user needs, we will conceive, design, prototype, and launch experiences that bind physical products, digital services, and human interactions.

This position is located in Palo Alto, CA and is in office 4 days/week. 

What you'll do...
 

• Work cross-functionally with leadership and fellow designers within Digital Product Design to establish and codify the "Look and feel" of the Ford and Lincoln digital experiences
• Work to define, create, and guide standards for visual and motion design - including developing the visual and motion design guidelines/standards for Digital Product Design
• Problem-solve alongside UX designers to deliver high-quality, on-brand experiences to the digital space
• Lead the development of "exemplar" work product in visual design
• Work with design teams to up level presentation and prototyping through visual and motion execution
• Work with engineering teams to guide them towards visual and motion design execution at the highest standard, with consistency
• Participate in design reviews, supplying guidance and constructive feedback in service of delivering world-class products and experiences
• Manage communication with internal colleagues and stakeholders
• Utilize consumer research, benchmarking and knowledge of the automotive space to drive considered responses to evolving the visual design language

You’ll have...

• ·Bachelor's degree in graphic design, 3D animation, motion, digital product design or related field or a combination of education and equivalent experience
• Strong visual design skills and experience with motion design capabilities is a must
• 6+ years’ experience developing complex design languages for consumer-facing brands/products and software
• 6+ years’ experience within (product side or consultancy) highly collaborative creative teams
• A good attitude that inspires those around you while providing pertinent, actionable feedback

Even better, you may have...

• Experience of working closely with multi-disciplinary product teams comprised of researchers, designers, product managers and engineers
• Experience of utilizing design thinking and/or human-centered design
• Passionate about brand and digital product design
• Extensive experience designing digital design experiences for key touch points across the customer journey
• Extensive experience developing brand guidelines and/or standards for user interfaces; including color, typography, iconography, imagery, and all GUI (Graphical User Interfaces) elements
• Experience of developing digital services and bringing products or services to market
• Experience mentoring and/or managing others in the visual design field
• Passionate about automotive and transportation industry
• Strong verbal, written and visual presentation skills

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to ap