Contract Software Engineering Manager Jobs in Detroit, MI

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.
At Ford, the Vehicle Engineering teams are using Design Thinking & User Experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that will delight our customers. Our employees are laser-focused on bringing innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. From autonomy and electrification to smart mobility technologies, our teams around the world are working together with excitement to make smart vehicles for a smart world.
In this position...
As the Vehicle Software Updates Systems Engineering Manager you will lead a highly skilled Systems Engineering team responsible for building and evolving Ford's industry-leading Vehicle Software Release and Over-the-Air (OTA) Update capabilities. As a technical leader at the intersection of embedded systems, cloud operations, and manufacturing, you'll shape the architecture and strategy behind how software moves from the factory floor to service bays to vehicles on the road. Driving the transformation of Ford's Software Factory into a modern, scalable, and resilient release pipeline. This is a high-visibility role for someone who thrives at the crossroads of deep technical expertise and cross-functional leadership, translating complex engineering challenges into clear strategy for both your team and executive stakeholders.
This role is hybrid in-office 4 days per week in Dearborn Michigan.
Responsibilities
What you'll do...

• Strategic Leadership: Lead the architectural design and evolution of Ford's next-generation Software Factory release and deploy pipeline. Defne the strategy for how software is released and deployed across the entire vehicle lifecycle from initial assembly in the plant to service diagnostics and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
• Team Management: Recruit, mentor, and develop a diverse team of Systems Engineers. Foster a culture of technical excellence, continuous improvement, and agile delivery, specifically focused on high-integrity software release practices.
• Technical Governance & Quality: Oversee the creation and standardization of system-level requirements and specifications. Establish rigorous quality gates and validation standards to ensure software integrity across all delivery channels (Plant, Service, and OTA).
• Operational Excellence: Optimize and automate processes for software release and deployment activities. Lead triaging and resolution efforts for complex integration and field issues.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Serve as the primary point of contact for Software Release and Deploy transformation at Ford (including SRP/VRP transformation) for senior leadership and global stakeholders across Manufacturing/Plant Operations, Service Engineering, Embedded ECU Development, and Cloud Operations.
• Release Pipeline Integration: Coordinate between multiple teams to ensure the "Software Factory" toolchain seamlessly integrates with vehicle hardware, ensuring a consistent and reliable pipeline to release high-quality Software Release Packages and Vehicle Release Packages while managing migration of legacy systems to the modernized systems.
• Risk Mitigation & Launch Support: Drive "War Room" sessions and executive reviews to resolve critical path blockers for vehicle launches (Job 1) and major software feature rollouts, ensuring zero-defect delivery.

Qualifications
What you'll have...
Education

• Minimum: Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, systems engineering, computer science, or a related technical field.
• Preferred: Master's degree in engineering or business administration (MBA).

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or Embedded Systems Development or related fields.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a formal or informal leadership or management role, leading cross-functional technical teams through complex product lifecycles.
• Deep understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Software Factory toolchains (e.g., GitHub, GCP, Jenkins).
• Proven ability to translate complex business requirements into technical system-level architectures for both Embedded and Cloud domains.

Even better you'll have...

• Direct experience in Automotive OTA (Over-the-Air) update technology or large-scale distributed systems.
• Familiarity with the Ford in-house IVS/SWCM/SRP/VRP systems to drive Software Release transformation
• Technical mastery of automotive communication protocols (CAN, Ethernet/SomeIP) and cybersecurity principles for software deployment.
• Exceptional communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to abstract technical material for executive-level presentations (LL5+).
• Experience creating and managing big picture roadmaps across complex projects and multiple development teams to drive Macro-level project progress across cross-functional domains.
• Background in the Aerospace, Defense, or Automotive industries with a focus on safety-critical software integration.
• Demonstrated "Product Mindset" with ownership of the end-to-end product lifecycle (strategy, development, launch, and post-launch support).

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 leadership level 5 and ranges from $141,700-$268,300.
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: https://fordcareers.co/LL5
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.
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-LS1