Thermal Technical Program Manager

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.

Product Creation and Industrialization (PC&I) brings together Ford's vehicle, electric, digital and design teams with our global manufacturing system. Working as one end-to-end organization, we turn ideas into high-quality vehicles, software and experiences across gas, hybrid and electric, designed around what customers need.

In this position...

Join our dynamic and agile team pioneering Ford's EV future. As the Thermal Technical Program Manager, you will lead the planning and delivery of the thermal management system for our next-generation electric vehicles, across the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems. You will drive cross-functional alignment, manage project execution, and ensure our thermal solutions meet aggressive performance, cost, and timing targets.

Be the person who gets the thermal system to launch. Your leadership will turn great engineering into on-time delivery, directly shaping the performance, range, and comfort of Ford's future EVs and the sustainable mobility landscape.

What you'll do...

You will own the thermal program plan and drive it to delivery, partnering with the Thermal Engineering Manager and the subsystem owners.

• Program Leadership: Develop, manage, and execute comprehensive program plans for the EV thermal management system, covering the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems from concept through launch.
• Milestone & Critical-Path Management: Track thermal deliverables against vehicle program milestones and gateways, maintain the critical path, and escalate early when key dates are at risk.
• Stakeholder Management: Serve as the primary interface between the Thermal team and vehicle program management, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and supply chain teams.
• Supplier & Industrialization Coordination: Work with Design & Release Engineers and supply chain managers to manage supplier timing, quotes, prototype deliveries, and industrialization activities, so hardware is ready for each build and test phase.
• Build & Test Readiness: Partner with Thermal Test Engineers and build planners to align prototype builds, test vehicles, and facility time with the program schedule.
• Resource & Budget Management: Oversee project budgets, resource allocation, and timeline adherence, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify technical, schedule, and resource risks, develop and implement mitigation strategies, and drive open issues to closure.
• Communication & Reporting: Establish clear communication channels and provide regular, transparent updates on program status, key decisions, and critical-path items to all stakeholders, including leadership reviews.
• Decision Facilitation: Facilitate critical technical and strategic decisions by ensuring the relevant data, options, and perspectives from engineering leads are presented clearly.
• Process Improvement: Champion program management best practices and contribute to the continuous improvement of development processes within the thermal engineering organization.

What you'll do...

You will own the thermal program plan and drive it to delivery, partnering with the Thermal Engineering Manager and the subsystem owners.

• Program Leadership: Develop, manage, and execute comprehensive program plans for the EV thermal management system, covering the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems from concept through launch.
• Milestone & Critical-Path Management: Track thermal deliverables against vehicle program milestones and gateways, maintain the critical path, and escalate early when key dates are at risk.
• Stakeholder Management: Serve as the primary interface between the Thermal team and vehicle program management, product development, manufacturing, purchasing, and supply chain teams.
• Supplier & Industrialization Coordination: Work with Design & Release Engineers and supply chain managers to manage supplier timing, quotes, prototype deliveries, and industrialization activities, so hardware is ready for each build and test phase.
• Build & Test Readiness: Partner with Thermal Test Engineers and build planners to align prototype builds, test vehicles, and facility time with the program schedule.
• Resource & Budget Management: Oversee project budgets, resource allocation, and timeline adherence, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Risk & Issue Management: Proactively identify technical, schedule, and resource risks, develop and implement mitigation strategies, and drive open issues to closure.
• Communication & Reporting: Establish clear communication channels and provide regular, transparent updates on program status, key decisions, and critical-path items to all stakeholders, including leadership reviews.
• Decision Facilitation: Facilitate critical technical and strategic decisions by ensuring the relevant data, options, and perspectives from engineering leads are presented clearly.
• Process Improvement: Champion program management best practices and contribute to the continuous improvement of development processes within the thermal engineering organization.