Design Program Manager

Digital Product Design 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.

Digital Product Design (DPD) at Ford is committed to envisioning and creating simple, thoughtful, enjoyable, and compelling product experiences that our customers need and love. We work in close partnership with product and engineering to deliver best-in-class interaction experiences that meet the needs of people today, and in the future. Our team is comprised of a dynamic group of product designers, researchers, visual designers, industrial designers, modelers, and project managers.

In this position...

You are a master planner and a flexible program manager who balances multiple projects in an innovative design environment. You provide program management and operational support throughout our team and across partner teams by increasing communication and connection points and streamlining processes. You'll work cross-functionally and collaborate with managers, designers, product, and engineering teams to plan projects, define milestones, assess risks, manage data, and help projects meet deadlines and deliverables. You will also manage project-related communications to team members, executives, and other stakeholders.

This is a hybrid (onsite 4 days per week) role in Palo Alto, CA or Dearborn, MI

Responsibilities

As a Design Program Manager you will...

• Collaborate with and support team leads in delivering the highest level of trust-building and strategic counsel through all project interactions
• Document and implement end-to-end repeatable processes that help the team plan, manage, and deliver
• Identify team needs with regards to process, tools, documentation, capacity, data and asset management, and educate leadership in order to bring changes to ensure designers and developers are working efficiently
• Act as a bridge across cross functional teams, connecting them and facilitating clear communication, ensuring interdependencies are understood and planned for
• Act as a design team advocate, working with Design Systems, Quality Assurance, and enterprise stakeholders to hold quality to the highest bar
• Communicate project status with team, stakeholders and senior management regularly (with visuals and data)
• Work with management and across teams to understand, coordinate, and prioritize initiatives
• Anticipate bottlenecks, provide escalation management, and articulate risks, trade-offs, and recommend prioritization based on a balance of business needs and constraints, capacity, and customer impact
• Guide design projects from pitch to completion by facilitating team productivity, advising on deadlines, managing expectations, and providing communication between teams and stakeholders
• Support design teams to scope new product initiatives, identify priorities, and deliver key projects, that have multiple stakeholders and moving parts
• Facilitate meetings to drive progress against goals and objectives, establishing clear next steps and owners, and resolving blocks that impede progress
• Proactively assess risk and resolve issues before they become problems for the larger teams
• Measure impact and operational efficiency of programs and initiatives both qualitatively and quantitatively
• Support the management team with effective team communication, proactive problem solving, data driven insights and information distribution

Qualifications

You'll have...

• Bachelors Degree in Engineering, Design or related field or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience
• 8+ years of successful experience as a Project or Program Manager, or similar role, in a creative environment
• 2+ years of experience leading large projects through their full life-cycle in a large, cross-functional team
• Experience working with global teams

Even better you'll have...

• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to present in a clear and concise manner to all levels within the enterprise
• Results oriented person with a proven track record of on-time project/program delivery for large, cross-functional projects with global stakeholders
• Experience working and contributing to project playbooks, building schedules, managing issues/risks, establishing communication plans and stakeholder management
• Experience with Agile and Lean methodologies, and with Jira
• Understanding of design and development processes. Experience working with design systems
• Ability to translate complex ideas and express them in concise, simple to understand ways
• Effectively using digital tools and platforms
• Experience working on multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines with changing priorities

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 8 and ranges from $115,000-$232,700.

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.

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 View phone number on click.appcast.io.

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.

#DesignTeam #LI-Hybrid

Job Info

• Job Identification 65870
• Job Category Enterprise Product Line Management
• Posting Date 06/20/2026, 01:23 AM
• Locations 3201 Hillview Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, US (Hybrid)