Industrial Design Director Jobs

The D-Ford Team is responsible for the end-to-end experience, including digital and physical design of new businesses, new products, and new services. We are looking for creative individuals to join us and help further the vision and mission of D-Ford’s team. We are committed to envisioning and crafting simple, thoughtful, enjoyable, and compelling products and services for customers!

The Industrial Design Director position requires demonstrable expertise leading teams in the development of physical product solutions, backed by a history of strong visual design work, design sensibility, and articulate storytelling.

You’ll be responsible for leading a team of Industrial Designers through concepting and sketching, design of low to high fidelity design prototypes, leading workshops, and managing asset production through the life cycle of assigned projects, pilots, and research initiatives.

The minimum requirements we seek:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design, Transportation Design or related field
• Senior Designer level experience in a consumer product industry, transportation sector or supplier, design consultancy, or similar field
• Proficiency in relevant presentation applications (PowerPoint, Keynote, or similar)
• 5+ years of experience leading highly collaborative teams in a human-centered design environment
• Proficiency with at least one 3D modeling software application (Alias AutoStudio, Rhino, or Blender)
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite design tools
• 8+ years of Industrial Design or related studio work experience

Our preferred requirements:

• Passionate about transforming the automotive and mobility industries
• Exceptional leadership in 2D and 3D design development
• Exceptional ability to translate customer and research inputs into relevant, highly desirable, and feasible product solutions
• Demonstrated ability to develop design proposals from concept to production
• Established team leadership experience with responsibility for multiple direct reports
• Exceptional communication skills through presentation and storytelling
• Established capacity to lead projects in a multidisciplinary team environment
• Experience working closely with engineering teams on product design and digital service delivery in an operational business environment
• Ability to plan effective application of both low and high-fidelity prototypes, along with an understanding of production methods and prototyping processes.
• Experience building inclusive and accessible design solutions
• Experience utilizing design thinking and/or human-centered design in a formal, in-person setting
• Demonstrated aptitude at effectively communicating a design vision through creative use of contemporary presentation applications
• Exceptional creativity, aesthetic sensibility, and demonstrated inventiveness towards product design, features, and functional solutions

What you’ll receive in return:

As part of the Ford family, you’ll enjoy excellent compensation and a comprehensive benefits package that includes generous PTO, retirement, savings and stock investment plans, incentive compensation and much more. You’ll also experience exciting opportunities for professional and personal growth and recognition.

If you have what it takes to help us redefine the future of mobility, we’d love to have you join us.

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. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. 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.

At Ford, the health and safety of our employees is our top priority. Vaccination has been proven to play a critical role in combatting COVID-19. As a result, Ford has made the decision to require U.S. salaried employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless employees require an accommodation for religious or medical reasons. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or an approved medical or religious exemption.

Ford_Motor_Company_2022 New Hire Benefits Summary LL5_PLAN_3

As Industrial Design Director you will...

• Participate in design critiques with teams, providing guidance, coaching and constructive feedback in service of delivering world-class design solutions.
• Collaborate on designing, making, and testing new solutions through experiments and prototypes at varying levels of fidelity–from sketches, renderings, CAD models and animations to functional prototypes and build-ready assets.
• Inspire your team to conceive, design, develop, test, and launch impactful new products and services, applying systems thinking to experience design that seamlessly engages people.
• Bring clarity and focus by effectively managing communication and building relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners while advocating for your team in an advanced product development environment.
• Apply systems thinking to physical experience design that seamlessly engages people through touchpoints along a service journey for consumer and business applications.
• Be curious, courageous, creative, and capable by asking questions, experimenting, and sharing ideas to solve problems and create designs that address real customer needs.
• Identify design opportunities and actionable concepts that align with user and business needs, design principles, and technical capabilities.
• Push and inspire your team in the use of new methods for human centered industrial design as a passionate Subject Matter Leader demonstrating management-level expertise in the relevant fundamentals and tools.
• Demonstrate leadership throughout the entire design process from inspiration and research to building prototypes and communicating a vision - bringing to life integrated digital-physical experiences through brand, products, and services.
• Define and guide teams in standards for design communication and execution
• Maintain constant awareness of emerging talent needs in the craft of Industrial Design and work with the lab talent to fulfill those needs
• Collaborate and partner cross-functionally with Experience Design, Corporate Design, Program Management, and Customer Research teams to steward excellent outcome delivery.
• Work with teams to synthesize designs combining physical and digital solutions, in collaboration with engineering and prototyping partners, to help lead the development of relevant, actionable, and clearly defined customer solutions.