Computer Animation Jobs in Detroit, MI (NOW HIRING)

In this position...
The Software Product Engineer (SPE) is the feature delivery lead within in-vehicle infotainment responsible for translating product and design intent into executable software backlogs and driving delivery across the in-vehicle digital experience, supporting middleware/services, and vehicle integration. This role has broad organizational influence across Product Management, Digital Product Design, engineering scrum teams, and testing to ensure feature readiness, integration quality, and release outcomes. The SPE is accountable for cross-team alignment, dependency and risk management, and integrated validation from concept through launch. This leadership role drives predictable program execution, customer-ready feature quality, and on-time delivery to vehicle platforms.
In this role, the SPE will own the 3D Vehicle Avatar experience across all primary in-vehicle displays, including Driver Information (digital instrument cluster), the Right Panoramic display, and the Center Stack. The 3D Vehicle Avatar is a highly detailed, real-time model representing the customer's specific vehicle configuration. You will manage the engineering complexity of rendering diverse vehicle models, trim levels, wheel designs, and paint colors using Unreal Engine deployed on QNX and Android Automotive platforms. Working closely with our Digital Design Studio, you will bridge the gap between creative 3D assets and embedded software execution, ensuring high-fidelity visual quality while optimizing for strict hardware resource, memory, and storage constraints across all Ford vehicle programs
Responsibilities
What you'll do...

• Own the end-to-end integration and delivery of the Unreal Engine-based 3D Vehicle Avatar across all in-vehicle displays, ensuring consistent, high-fidelity rendering, state transitions, and interactive behaviors.
• Collaborate closely with the Digital Design Studio and Technical Artists to establish robust asset-handoff pipelines, translating creative 3D assets, materials, and animations into performant, production-ready Unreal Engine packages.
• Manage vehicle-configuration complexity by designing software logic that maps real-time vehicle signals (VIN, trim, paint code, wheel packages) to the correct on-screen 3D model representation.
• Drive asset optimization and memory footprint strategies, ensuring that 3D models, textures, and materials are dynamically managed and do not exceed strict localized storage, RAM, or GPU limitations on embedded hardware.
• Oversee the implementation of efficient asset deployment pipelines, defining how Unreal Engine assets are packaged, updated, and provisioned to the vehicle to support a scalable portfolio without bloating the initial factory software image.

Qualifications
You'll have...

• Experience: 5+ years (or equivalent) delivering complex, cross-functional software features in embedded, automotive, or adjacent domains; demonstrated ownership across multiple teams and releases.
• Backlog leadership: Proven ability to author high-quality epics and user stories (clear scope, testable acceptance criteria, dependency mapping) and drive Agile execution (grooming, PI planning, sprint delivery).
• Systems integration mindset: Ability to reason about end-to-end behavior across HMI ↔ middleware/services ↔ vehicle signal access (via API abstraction) and drive integration/validation outcomes.
• Technical proficiency: Strong technical depth to lead engineers-comfortable with architecture discussions, interface contracts, and failure-mode thinking.
• Diagnostics/triage: Experience leading defect triage using logs and traces (e.g., ADB/dev logs; CAN trace familiarity) and driving disciplined prioritization/closure.
• Tools: Proficiency with Jira and Confluence; comfortable creating traceability to requirements/design artifacts and managing dependencies.
• Communication/leadership: Strong cross-functional leadership skills-can drive decisions, align stakeholders, and communicate risks/status crisply to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Education: BS in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).

Even better, you may have...

• Direct, hands-on experience delivering production-grade HMI, UI, or real-time graphics experiences using Unreal Engine on embedded or mobile platforms.
• Deep understanding of QNX and Android Automotive (AAOS) operating systems, including performance tuning and graphics rendering pipelines on these platforms.
• Familiarity with 3D asset optimization pipelines (e.g., polygon reduction, texture compression, LOD management, shader optimization, and draw-call reduction) tailored for resource-constrained embedded systems.
• Proven track record of collaborating directly with technical artists, 3D modelers, and UX designers utilizing design tools like Figma alongside Unreal Engine's asset workflows.
• Familiarity with CAN-based feature behaviors and vehicle state modeling; exposure to tools such as CANalyzer/Wireshark (or similar).
• Knowledge of dynamic asset loading, runtime memory management, and remote asset-delivery strategies (e.g., modular software packaging or OTA updates).
• Knowledge of automotive program cadence and release gating (launch milestones, OTA readiness, in-field defect handling).

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 builder...or 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 Year's Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
This position is a salary grade 7-8 and ranges from $84,480- $162,120.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR
Visa sponsorship is not 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 1-888-336-0660.
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-LB1