Staff Sensory Engineer

  • Ford
  • Long Beach, California
  • Full Time

We made history and now we work to transform the future for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

Fords Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the companys vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. Youll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

In this position...
This position will use your expertise to expand the scope of Craftsmanship and Sensory Experience (CSx) into new disciplines and across the entire vehicle development timeline. You will act as the voice of the customer for Color and Materials and Illumination attributes from product concept to production. The role will fuse Consumer Science, Engineering, Marketing and Attributes with established design, prototyping and production quality techniques to deliver a world beating product and you will be at the heart of it.

The mission of our team is to overdeliver on every aspect of the customer experience. You will be instrumental in achieving this goal for CSx and will be fully empowered by the Ford Advanced EV organization to achieve the best possible results. This role will exposure to the highest levels of leadership within the organization and present many opportunities for development.

Within CSx our objective is to curate the sensory handshake which bonds customer to product via emotional connection. In achieving this goal you will get involved in all aspects of the color and materials and illumination development processes, from initial scoping - benchmarking / target setting and content alignment, leading documentation and change management deliverables, driving physical mockups and prototypes. Through to production part and assembly quality maturation, acting as the voice of the customer for final product execution, identifying and resolving product / component disconnects related to materials and illumination.

RESPONSIBILITIES

What you'll do...

You will lead Perceived Quality evaluations for Color and Materials plus vehicle Illumination, assessing customer insight data, trends analysis, completing benchmarking and market spec assessments and generating targets and requirements to support your attribute,

You will be responsible for developing the process for alignment of the Color and Material / Illumination specification on our vehicle projects, coordinating inputs from Color and Material Design, Studio Design, Marketing, Engineering and Programme, whilst also yourself acting as the voice of the customer for Perceived Quality. You will own the formal specification documentation which the whole team will use to understand the project intent.

You will lead the virtual phase development team to build in Sensory Quality, ensuring that design solutions deliver best in class execution capability for all components including injection moldings, cut and sew, paint and films.

Entering the launch phase you will be responsible for setting the bar with respect to quality standards and requirements for Sensory Quality, ensuring that supplier sourced and internally produced components and assemblies meet the highest levels of competitiveness and meet world class standards.

As components are nearing approval you will engage closely with the color harmony process, defining and verifying requirements for our products, and collaborating with the Core Development and Manufacturing teams to uphold exacting standards of execution throughout production.

QUALIFICATIONS

You'll have...

  • Bachelor's in Engineering, Product / Industrial / CMF / Automotive Design or technical discipline or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
  • 5+ years' experience with Automotive Lighting, Design Quality, Mastering, Craftsmanship or Perceived Quality Standards at a global Automotive company
  • Strong understanding of material and illumination impact on overall craftsmanship and perceived quality
  • Proven technical knowledge and ability to collaborate with engineering, design, manufacturing, and suppliers
  • Knowledge of various materials and decoration techniques (plastic, paint, leather/vinyl/fabrics, etc.)
  • Knowledge of various lighting technologies used in automotive applications.
  • Knowledge of texturing processes and applications
  • Knowledge of automotive components (interior/exterior) and relevant terminology
  • Must be willing to travel 10-20%

Even better, you may have...

  • Experience with Automotive product Marketing or Consumer Research
  • Experience working in a manufacturing/production environment

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 apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builderor all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
Tuition assistance
Established and active employee resource groups
Paid time off for individual and team community service
A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Years Day
Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a leadership level 6 and ranges from $150,200-$283,500.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here:

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call ....

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid

LI-BB1

Job ID: 522793866
Originally Posted on: 5/28/2026

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