Product Development Engineer - Handles, Locks & Mechanisms
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Before you apply
LocationDearborn, MI, United States
Typefull-time
SeniorityLead
Company size10,000+ people
First seenOct 18, 2026 · 2w ago
Verified live2d ago
At a glanceSummarised by Seekless from the posting.
Leads design, validation, release, and production implementation of closure hardware systems
Own complete product lifecycle from concept through production support
Establish and document compliance with performance, safety, durability, and quality targets
Work closely with cross-functional teams (Body Engineering, Design Studio, CAE, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, and supplier partners)
Balance competing constraints (styling, packaging, craftsmanship, manufacturing feasibility)
Drive continuous product improvement using warranty/field data
Skills
CAE
About the company
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.
About the role
In this position…
The HLM (Handles, Locks, and Mechanisms) Design and Release Engineer leads the design, validation, release, and production implementation of closure hardware systems — handles, latches, locks, strikers, hinges, door checks, and the manual and powered mechanisms used in hoods, front trunks (frunks), side doors, tailgates, liftgates, and decklids. These are safety-critical, high-cycle systems: they restrain occupants in a crash, resist theft and environmental attack, and must operate cleanly hundreds of thousands of times over a vehicle’s life.
Responsibilities
You will own the complete product lifecycle — concept development and design feasibility, Design Validation (DV), Product Validation (PV), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), manufacturing launch, and ongoing production support. Throughout, you will establish and document compliance with performance, safety, durability, and quality targets; with applicable global closure safety regulations; and with emerging emergency-egress expectations for electronic latch and flush handle systems on electrified and software-defined vehicles.
Working closely with Body Engineering, Design Studio, CAE, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, and supplier partners, you will resolve technical challenges, implement engineering changes, and deliver closure systems that meet program objectives for quality, cost, mass, and timing. You will balance competing constraints — styling intent, packaging envelopes, craftsmanship targets such as closing efforts and door-close sound quality, and manufacturing feasibility — to land a design that works in the studio, in the plant, and in the customer’s hands.
Beyond launch, you will drive continuous product improvement: analyzing warranty and field data, resolving customer-facing issues, increasing reliability and durability, and optimizing system cost and mass. Your decisions show up in Ford’s quality metrics, in assembly plant throughput, and ultimately in whether a customer’s door opens exactly the same way in year ten as it did on day one.