Validation Manager Jobs in Troy, MI (NOW HIRING)

Ford's Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company's 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. You'll 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 changes by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

This position... 

• Leads the Software Vehicle Validation team to deliver vehiclelevel software validation across Full DV, Mini DV, and UAT to meet GPDS milestones and FAP expectations. 

• Owns validation strategy and execution planning, ensures traceable/auditable test evidence, drives early defect discovery and defectescape reduction through crossfunctional triage, and provides readiness assessments for gate/release decisions. 

• Builds team capability through training, standard work, coaching, and reports results and KPIs to drive continuous improvement while ensuring compliance and governance.

You'll have...

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering or related field

• 7+ years of vehicle testing experience, with the following experience including software

• 2+ years of experience with standards and regulations Functional Safety (ISO26262)

• Ability to effectively manage cross-team capabilities and contribute to your peers' success

• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, Jira task management, and ALM test management

• Clear communication

Even better, you may have...

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering or related field

• Automotive Industry, OEM or consulting experience

• 2+ years of experience with standards and regulations FMVSS

• 2+ years of experience with people management and SOW management

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 6 and ranges from $115,500-$218,100.     

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/LL6

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-MG3

What you'll do...

1. Vehicle Level Validation Strategy (DV + UAT)

• Define and own the vehicle level validation strategy across Full DV, Mini DV, and UAT

• Full DV - complete requirement-based validation for GPDS milestones

• Mini DV - targeted validation for changes, fixes, and interim releases

• UAT - customer centric, end to end validation of real-world journeys

• Align plans to GPDS milestones and CVS quality objectives

• Partner with Feature Assurance (FA) to define test plans, coverage expectations, and FAP aligned acceptance criteria

2. Full DV & Mini DV Execution (Requirement Based Testing for GPDS)

• Lead Full DV planning/execution to demonstrate requirements coverage before major GPDS milestones

• Set Mini DV scope/criteria to validate changes and fixes without rerunning Full DV unnecessarily

• Ensure traceable, auditable evidence (requirements tests results defects)

• Provide DV readiness assessments for signoff

3. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for Customer Quality

• Make UAT a core validation pillar alongside Full DV and Mini DV

• Validate customer critical workflows, end to end behavior, and real-world usability expectations

• Coordinate UAT on vehicles/fleets and include results in FAP ready milestone evidence

• Use UAT findings as leading indicators of customer impacting risk

4. Defect Escape Reduction & Quality Ownership

• Drive early defect discovery through balanced Full DV, Mini DV, and UAT execution

• Lead defect triage with Feature Assurance and feature teams, prioritizing requirement violations and customer impact

• Track defect aging/closure and escape trends across GPDS milestones

• Drive prevent recurrence actions for systemic vehicle test gaps

5. Test Planning, Readiness & Cross Functional Alignment

• Lead integrated vehicle test planning and execution cadence across programs

• Coordinate readiness for vehicles/fleets, software builds/configurations, and tools/environments (accounts, data, logging)

• Serve as the vehicle validation interface to Feature Assurance, Feature Systems Engineering, labs, and fleet operations

6. Team Leadership, Training & Capability Development

• Manage and develop validation teams (vehicle test, DV, and UAT) with clear roles, cadence, and performance expectations

• Train teams on requirement-based testing, scenario driven UAT, and FAP/GPDS readiness expectations

• Coach and continuously improve team execution through standard work and feedback

7. Metrics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Report out test results and KPIs aligned to CVS (DV progress/coverage, UAT trends, defect leakage/escapes, retest efficiency)

• Use metrics to drive continuous improvement in tools and standard work

8. Governance, Compliance & Standard Work

• Ensure validation complies with safety, IP, and prototype handling requirements

• Deliver audit ready validation evidence for GPDS and FAP reviews

• Own validation standard work, lessons learned, and prevent recurrence documentation