Rear Closures Design, Release Engineer

Ford Motor Company

Design Engineer creating innovative and efficient rear closures systems at Ford. Collaborating with internal and external customers to meet engineering specifications and deliverables.

Posted 4/29/2026full-timeDearborn • Missouri • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorLead💰 $99,100 - $166,200 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Assembly

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

The candidate will work with internal and external customers to develop competitive cost & weight efficient designs.
Additionally, the candidate will be responsible to engineer the required CAD and lead analytical and physical analysis to deliver a system that will meet all prescribed requirements.
As the program matures, responsibilities will shift to product testing, delivering PSW, and launching within one of Ford’s many assembly plants.

Requirements

What you’ll need

BS Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering or a related field
8+ years of professional experience in the Automotive or Aerospace industry (experience with hinged closures is preferred)
5+ years of experience on rear closures systems for forward model vehicles with direct ownership of part engineering, system engineering, and part release to meet cost, weight, quality, functional performance, studio appearance, craftmanship, test validation, manufacturing feasibility, and launch timing requirements (e.g. tailgates, liftgates, swing gates, side doors, cargo doors, moveable roof systems)
Experience with sheet metal body structures, closures, stamping, static and/or dynamic sealing, power/gas struts, power drive units/motors, and hinges
Hands-on experience with “in-house” engineering, design, and release, as well as managing full-service supplier commodities, with on-time delivery at cost & quality targets.
Design and Release/Product Development Engineer/ Closures Commodity Subject Matter Expert experience
Ability to work overtime & travel to support launches
The Product Development Engineer is responsible for managing product release CAD and BOM structures, including assembly positioning and mass attribute analysis. This role also includes facilitating supplier data integration and developing CAD studies to support and drive design improvements.
The Product Development Engineer is expected to understand and effectively utilize product check-in/check-out processes, version control, data release, and change management within Ford’s PLM ecosystem.
The Product Development Engineer will perform feasibility analyses using CAD tools, including draft angle analysis, undercut detection, minimum bend radius validation for sheet metal, and clearance checks to support manufacturing and machining requirements.

Benefits

Comp & perks

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.

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Hard Skills & Tools

CADanalytical analysisphysical analysisproduct testingpart engineeringsystem engineeringtest validationmass attribute analysisfeasibility analysisdraft angle analysis

Soft Skills

communicationteam collaborationproblem-solvingtime managementattention to detail

Certifications

BS Mechanical EngineeringBS Aerospace EngineeringBS Electro-Mechanical EngineeringBS Mechatronics Engineering