Lead Software Test Engineer

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.

Enterprise Technology plays a critical part in shaping the future of mobility.

If you’re looking for the chance to leverage advanced technology to redefine the

transportation landscape, enhance the customer experience and improve people’s

lives, this is the opportunity for you. Join us and challenge your IT expertise

and analytical skills to help create vehicles that are as smart as you are.

In this position...

We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Test Engineer to govern, coordinate,

and accelerate testing and release cycles across our enterprise programs. In

this role, you will be the core driver of release readiness, acting as the

bridge between Product Driven Organizations (PDOs), quality teams, and

leadership to ensure smooth, predictable software deliveries.

You will bring a solid background in Software Quality Assurance/Testing and

Release Management, paired with working knowledge of test automation frameworks

(any modern tool). Crucially, you possess an innovative mindset: you will

leverage AI capabilities and workflow automation to identify bottlenecks,

eliminate process waste, optimize phase gates, and drive continuous improvement

across our end-to-end delivery lifecycle.

What you'll do...

Release Governance & Phase-Gate Management:

* Define, enforce, and govern entrance and exit criteria across all critical

testing cycles: System Integration Testing (SIT), Regression, User Acceptance

Testing (UAT), Load & Performance (L&P), and Release Dry Runs.

* Serve as the quality gatekeeper, assessing release health and providing

data-driven go/no-go recommendations to leadership.

Test Cycle Preparation & PDO Coordination:

* Lead end-to-end release preparation and execution coordination across

multiple cross-functional Product Driven Organizations (PDOs).

* Partner closely with product, engineering, and vendor test teams to align

schedules, scope, environment availability, and dependencies.

Drive Workflow Automation & AI-Driven Process Optimization:

* Proactively analyze the release lifecycle to identify bottlenecks, redundant

steps, and process waste.

* Identify opportunities to introduce AI tools, GenAI, and process automation

to streamline release workflows, optimize regression scoping, automate status

tracking, and speed up cycle turnarounds.

Environment, Data & Blocker Management:

* Facilitate daily triage meetings, track critical defects, and resolve

blockers related to test environments and test data management (TDM) to keep

test cycles on track.

* Manage and escalate cross-team risks and release dependencies before they

impact delivery timelines.

Quality Metrics, Dashboards & Leadership Visibility:

* Design, track, and maintain centralized release metrics (e.g., test execution

velocity, defect aging, leakage, pass/fail trends, and release risk

profiles).

* Provide clear, executive-ready visibility into release readiness and

operational risks to senior stakeholders.

Tool Evaluations & Compliance PoCs:

* Evaluate and run Proof of Concepts (PoCs) for emerging release coordination,

quality governance, and workflow automation tools.

* Navigate corporate governance, security, and architecture review processes to

get tools approved for enterprise adoption.

You'll have...

* Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

* 8+ years of total experience in Software Quality Assurance/Testing, with 3+

years leading Release Management or Test Delivery Coordination across complex

enterprise programs.

* Testing & Automation Foundations: Hands-on or solid foundational experience

with automated testing frameworks and tools (experience with tool such as

Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Tricentis Tosca, Worksoft, Postman, etc.).

* Demonstrated track record managing multi-phase testing cycles (SIT,

Regression, UAT, Performance, Dry Runs) and enforcing strict quality gates.

* Functional or technical familiarity with the SAP ecosystem (SAP GUI, Fiori,

S/4HANA) or large-scale ERP enterprise architectures.

* Experience running Proof of Concepts (PoCs) or piloting new tools through

internal enterprise governance and security clearance processes.

Even better, you may have...

* Experience or strong interest in leveraging AI/GenAI tools and automation

(e.g., AI impact analysis, smart test scoping, automated release

notes/dashboards, workflow bots) to eliminate waste and optimize delivery

cycles.

* Experience with CI/CD delivery models and release orchestration pipelines

(e.g., GitHub Actions, Tekton, Jenkins).

* Exceptional communication, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership

skills.

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 a salary grade 5 – salary grade 8 and ranges from

$65,100-$166,200.

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: New Hire Benefits

[https://fordcareers.co/GSR]

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 with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per

week. #LI-Hybrid #LI-MG1