
Field Quality Engineer
Ford · Dearborn, MI
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Quality
- Travel
- 50%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 3+ years
- Industry
- Automotive
- Posted
- 28 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level quality role at Ford (automotive) in Dearborn, MI.
- They ask for
- 3+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Root cause, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ)
- Day to day
- about 50% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in Michigan: typical posted base $78k–$149k.
Median of the low and high ends of 19 live postings that list pay, out of 57 quality engineer openings in Michigan, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Michigan plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 56 other live quality postings in Michigan.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (3+ vs 4+)
Typical $78k–$149k, from 19 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 4+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 70%
- FMEA 53%
- PPAP 49%
- SPC 46%
- Control plans 44%
- Six Sigma 40%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Quality team at Ford
We found 9 people at this company and state: 7 in this kind of role, 2 leaders, plus 1 likely hiring manager. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Matt → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- The posting says about 50% travel. Between which sites?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Ford in Dearborn
32 other open roles at this site · 9 people we found in quality roles at Ford.
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- Manufacturing Quality Engineer · Quality
- Manufacturing Engineer-Body Shop · Manufacturing
- Powertrain Manufacturing Engineer · Manufacturing
- ADAS Verification and Validation Engineer · Quality
- Lean Strategist · Lean / CI · Specialist
Full description from FordAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
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.
At Ford, the Vehicle Hardware Engineering teams are using Design Thinking & User Experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that will delight our customers. Our employees are laser-focused on bringing innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. From autonomy and electrification to smart mobility technologies, our teams around the world are working together with excitement to make smart vehicles for a smart world.
Within Product Development (PD) , the Field Quality Engineering (FQE) team plays a critical role connecting real-world customer experiences with engineering solutions. This team operates at the intersection of customers, dealers, and engineering—ensuring that emerging issues are rapidly identified, accurately understood, and resolved at their root cause.
We are seeking highly technical, hands-on engineers who thrive in dynamic environments and are passionate about solving real-world problems to build this new team.
Location Strategy
These roles will be deployed in close proximity to key Ford manufacturing facilities across Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri . Positioning Field Quality Engineers near these hubs enables rapid response to dealer-reported concerns in regions with strong Ford vehicle population, while also providing direct exposure to manufacturing processes. This proximity is critical to accelerating issue resolution, strengthening collaboration between field and plant teams, and ensuring engineers develop a deep understanding of how
In this position...
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Field Investigation & Technical Validation
- •Travel to dealerships, fleet locations, and customer sites to investigate vehicle concerns firsthand (GEMBA)
- •Validate customer concerns by observing real-world conditions and confirming failure modes prior to repair or part replacement
- •Capture operating environments, usage patterns, and contributing factors impacting vehicle performance
Technical Data Collection & Reporting
- •Collect and document detailed technical data, including photos, videos, and service observations.
- •Vehicle data logs (CAN, diagnostics, system data) and information from dealer equipment (alignment, tester data, etc).
- •Physical parts when required
- •Develop formal technical reports that clearly describe: Failure conditions, Reproduction steps, Environmental and usage factors, Initial observations and engineering hypotheses.
- •Provide clear and actionable inputs to Product Development engineering teams
Engineering Collaboration & Problem Solving
- •Partner directly with PD engineering teams to support: Root cause investigation, Failure replication with first hand insights into field conditions
- •Development of corrective actions
- •Support structured problem solving (8D / 14D) by supplying high-quality field data and evidence
- •Accelerate issue resolution by bridging the gap between data signals and real-world validation
Issue Identification & Prioritization
- •Utilize outputs from Ford systems (warranty triggers, VOQ trends, and internal analytics tools) to:
- •Identify issues requiring deep technical investigation
- •Support prioritization of emerging concerns
Dealer & Customer Engagement
- •Work closely with: Dealer technicians and service managers, Customers and fleet operators.
- •Collect Voice of Customer (VOC) insights and ensure accurate problem definition
- •Product Feedback & Continuous Improvement
- •Provide real-time feedback to Product Development regarding: Emerging quality issues, Gaps in validation or test conditions, Customer usage differences vs design assumptions
- •Influence improvements to: Design robustness and recurrence prevention, validation strategies, Design standards, Customer experience
You'll have...
- •Bachelor’s degree in: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Computer or Software Engineering, or related technical field
- •3+ years of strong technical experience in vehicle systems and diagnostics
- •Ability to travel regularly (50%+ to dealer, fleet, customer visits)
- •Dealership service or vehicle testing environments
- •Strong problem-solving skills and experience with structured methods (8D / 14D), Red X or similar training / certification
- •Excellent technical communication and report writing skills
- •Valid driver’s license
Even better, you may have...
- •Experience with embedded automotive software systems and ECU architectures
- •Ability to capture and analyze vehicle network data (CAN, Ethernet)
- •Experience using diagnostic and data acquisition tools (e.g., CANalyzer, CANoe)
- •Understanding of software-driven vehicle behavior (ADAS, infotainment, connectivity, controls)
- •Ability to differentiate between software, hardware, and integration-related issues.
- •Basic scripting or data analysis (Python, MATLAB) preferred
- •Familiarity with: OTA updates, Diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), Calibration and software validation processes
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 prog
