Staff Platform Software Engineer

Ford is a global technology leader where data is the engine of our transformation. We are a data-centric organization that makes data-driven decisions at every level, leveraging the power of AI to solve complex cost and quality challenges at a massive scale. Within the Enterprise Data Platform (EDP), we aren't just managing data; we are building intelligent systems that will define the future of mobility. If you want to work in an environment where your code directly impacts the efficiency and quality of millions of vehicles, Ford is the place for you.

We are seeking a Staff Platform Software Engineer who is both a visionary thought leader and a battle-tested, hands-on technologist. In this role, you will be the technical cornerstone of our Governance and Services portfolio, solving our most significant data platform challenges. You will serve as a "technical multiplier" – not only delivering elite-level architecture and code but also raising the collective bar of the organization by teaching, guiding, and providing technical performance feedback to people leaders.

This role is for a practitioner who remains at the forefront of industry trends, possessing the intellectual agility to rapidly bridge knowledge gaps and establish subject matter expertise in emerging domains whenever the mission requires it.

• Engineering Excellence: Define and evangelize industry-standard best practices for Java/Python backends and Angular/React frontends. You will oversee code bases, branching strategies, and AI-enabled test harnesses to ensure seamless, high-quality delivery and maximum developer velocity.
• Architectural Leadership: Drive the design and evolution of solution and application architectures across the Governance and Services portfolio. Ensure systems are agnostically designed to leverage the best of public cloud while maintaining high portability and performance.
• Petabyte-scale Engineering & Parallelism: Solve complex data challenges by maximizing distributed cloud parallelism. You will be a hands-on expert in BigQuery and SQL, optimizing large-scale data processing and ensuring the platform can handle Ford’s massive data requirements with elite efficiency.
• AI Enablement & Acceleration: Act as the organization’s AI champion. Drive developer velocity through AI-assisted requirements-driven development using modern AI Coding Assistants, and lead AI-assisted ideation and problem-solving using advanced models such as Claude and Gemini.
• Agentic Experience Development: Lead the development of agentic capabilities, leveraging current and future data platform features to create autonomous, intelligent system behaviors and automated data workflows.
• Platform Engineering & Automation: Use Terraform to drive Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and sophisticated CI/CD pipelines. You will focus on reducing developer friction through platform engineering principles and automated DevSecOps workflows.
• Mentorship & Influence: Lead by doing, showing, and teaching. You will work alongside engineering teams to elevate their skills while collaborating with people leaders to provide objective feedback on engineering excellence and velocity.
• Cloud FinOps & Infrastructure Optimization: Act as a champion for right-sized and appropriate infrastructure. You will analyze the cost and performance implications of technology choices at scale, ensuring that our architectural decisions are as fiscally responsible as they are technically sound.
• Strategic Communication: Build deep relationships with engineers and senior leadership alike, distilling high-level technical complexity into palatable, actionable language for all stakeholders regardless of their technical depth.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with significant experience in a Staff or Principal level role.
• Expertise in Java and Python (backend) and Angular or React (frontend).
• Deep proficiency in Big Data technologies, specifically BigQuery and advanced SQL.
• Proven experience with Terraform for infrastructure automation and CI/CD pipeline development.
• Demonstrated experience with the GCP Data Stack or equivalent transferable public cloud experience.
• Strong command of modern branching strategies, DevSecOps workflows, and platform engineering principles.

Preferred Skills and Abilities (Nice to Have)

• Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field.
• Certification or proven experience in Cloud FinOps, focusing on cloud cost management and performance tuning at scale.
• Expertise in leveraging AI Coding Assistants and large language models (Claude, Gemini) for accelerating the SDLC and creating AI-enabled test harnesses.
• Experience in Agentic development, building autonomous agents that interact with complex data platform capabilities.
• Deep knowledge of data governance frameworks and compliance standards (e.g., SOX, GDPR, CPRA).
• A track record of "teaching the teacher"—growing senior engineers into staff-level contributors and staying ahead of industry trends.

• Exceptional ability to influence without authority across a matrixed, enterprise organization.

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 childcare 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 $132,800-$250,800.
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.

Domestic relocation is 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. 

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