Senior Creative Designer

Ford Motor Company

Senior Automotive Designer shaping innovative design solutions for Ford's advanced and production projects. Translating visionary concepts into tangible outputs including sketches, renderings, and 3D models.

Posted 5/4/2026full-timeMelbourne • 🇦🇺 AustraliaSeniorWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead Visionary Design Development: Spearhead the creation of compelling and innovative design experiences and overarching visions for a diverse range of design projects, pushing creative boundaries and setting new benchmarks for our future product lines.
Drive Human-Centered Design Exploration: Proactively explore and champion Human-Centered Design principles, leading deep dives into user needs, behaviours, and emotional connections. Emphasize a holistic approach to the vehicle, ensuring seamless integration across exterior, interior, UX/UI, and overall brand experience.
Coordinate and Mentor Design Teams: Provide leadership and guidance to other design personnel, coordinating their work to ensure cohesive and holistic design visions are achieved. Foster a collaborative environment, mentor junior designers, and maintain design integrity from initial concept through to execution.
Shape Future Brand Identity: Develop and articulate future brand-focused design visions, demonstrating strategic foresight by anticipating market trends and defining the visual and experiential language for upcoming product generations.
Solve Complex Mobility Challenges: Lead problem-solving efforts around critical topics such as advanced connectivity, evolving mobility solutions, and diverse consumer segments. This includes integrating new technologies and tailoring design experiences to meet the specific needs and aspirations of various user groups, often in collaboration with cross-functional teams.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in industrial or transportation design. A minimum of 5 years of global automotive or transportation design experience is required, including demonstrated success with final design product execution.
Design Acumen: Proven ability to translate customer needs and global trends into compelling, innovative designs.
Technical and Aesthetic Leadership: Strong technical aesthetic judgment, with the ability to work independently and guide other team members.
Design Skills: Expertise in both traditional design media (storyboarding, sketching) and advanced 2D/3D digital design software (e.g., Photoshop, Alias AutoStudio, Gravity Sketch, Maya, VRED, AI tools).
Form and Proportion: Exceptional ability to think three-dimensionally, translating 2D concepts to 3D with a strong emphasis on proportions and a refined sense of form.
Creative and Strategic Thinking: Exceptional design intuition, strong problem-solving skills, and a keen interest in design trends across various professions and global cultures (automotive, fashion, architectural, etc.).
Communication: Superior ability to visually communicate through sketches and renderings, combined with outstanding teamwork, leadership, visual, written, and verbal communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
Manufacturing and Materials Knowledge: Good understanding of exterior/interior manufacturing processes and material science.
Industry Passion: A deep passion for the automotive and mobility industry, global trends, innovation, and customer needs.
Collaborative Experience: Experience working effectively within creative cultures and/or large, corporate environments.
Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated experience managing multiple stakeholders across complex projects and presenting to executive audiences.
Cross-Functional Partnership: Proven ability to collaborate seamlessly with Engineering and other partners to drive design development.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Discounted lease car options.
Multiple Employee Resource Groups – Ford Pride, Women of Ford and Ford Empowering Diverse Abilities.
Flexible Work Arrangements.
Growth and development opportunities via internal and external training.
Paid parental leave from day 1.
Comprehensive Employee Assist Program.
Paid volunteer days.
Wellness Programs including Free Flu Vaccinations and Health Checks.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

industrial designtransportation designstoryboardingsketching2D design3D designPhotoshopAlias AutoStudioGravity SketchMaya

Soft Skills

leadershipmentoringproblem-solvingcreative thinkingstrategic thinkingvisual communicationteamworkcommunication