Product Development Engineer-Brake Core NVH and Dynamometers
Employer not yet confirmed · Livonia, Michigan, United States · hybrid
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.
Product Development uses design thinking & user experience methods to deliver breakthrough products and services that delight our customers. We bring innovative, exciting, and sustainable ideas to life. We have opportunities around the world for you to contribute to advancements in autonomy, electrification, smart mobility technologies, and more!
In this position...
The Brake NVH Core Engineer is a technical and operational leadership role in Underbody Systems. It requires deep expertise in brake noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH), friction-pair behavior, system integration, and vehicle-level performance. It also requires practical command of brake dynamometer operations.
The role has two connected parts. On the engineering side, you own brake NVH methods, author system and component requirements, and use model-based systems engineering to link customer attributes to design decisions and verification evidence. You are the technical lead with CAE and lead the peer network of brake NVH champions. You also support program-level NVH work, including dyno noise signoff, cold-room and low-frequency vehicle testing, electric parking brake (EPB) sound quality, and vehicle-level subjective and objective evaluation.
On the operations side, you are the single point of ownership for brake dyno testing. Ford-operated dynos at Building 4 and leased dynos at LTL run in parallel, and the machines differ widely in capability. You decide which tests run where and when. You also oversee an annual operating budget in the millions of dollars and manage the working relationships among Ford engineering, facilities (VEV), the Ford skilled trades, and the test-lab operators and suppliers (LINK, MSC) who make testing possible.
This is a high-visibility role. Programs compete for scarce test capacity, and you will need to make firm, well-explained prioritization decisions. Your work directly affects program timing, launch quality, warranty performance, and customer satisfaction.
What you'll do...
Brake NVH engineering and technical leadership
- Develop, document, and maintain brake NVH test and analysis methods. Turn analytical and physical learnings into design guidance and reusable standards.
- Author and maintain system and component NVH requirements. Use model-based systems engineering to keep traceability from customer needs through CAE, test methods, and verification evidence.
- Serve as the key technical lead with CAE. Align modeling priorities and drive model-to-test correlation.
- Lead the peer network of brake NVH champions. Provide coaching, common methods, escalation support, and cross-program alignment.
- Define dyno and vehicle-level test strategies. Interpret acoustic, vibration, thermal, and dyno data, and support supplier signoff testing.
- Support program NVH deliverables such as dyno noise signoff, cold-room and low-frequency noise vehicle tests, EPB sound quality, and low-speed vehicle tests.
- Lead root-cause investigations of squeal, judder, roughness, moan, and groan. Confirm that corrective actions work under representative conditions. Explain differences between Ford and supplier test results.
Test request intake and scheduling
- Receive and reconcile every dyno test request. Confirm that none were missed.
- Lead the weekly dyno scheduling meeting. Review the operational status of the dynos and the status of fixture builds, parts, and supplier signoffs.
- Assign tests to the right dyno based on capability: heavy-duty, drag, EMB, EPB, speed, inertia, torque, pressure, and fixture size. Use simpler machines where appropriate to maximize total capacity.
- Schedule tests only when parts have arrived and signoff photos are approved. Set priorities across competing programs, and explain decisions clearly to stakeholders who may disagree.
- Serve as the escalation point for dyno problems, including breakdowns, machine malfunctions, late reports, no-show supplier signoffs, and urgent test starts. Be available outside normal hours when needed.
- Plan holiday coverage, including lab staffing and moving fixtures and parts between buildings.
Budget and spending
- Manage the annual dyno operating budget. Authorize normal operations spending, and forecast monthly spend and burn rate against planned fixture builds, emissions testing, and other purchases.
- Decide when and how many leased dynos to fund, based on workload and availability. Reduce capacity when it isn't needed.
- Audit the monthly operating invoice in detail. Check every dyno charge, fixture build, script update, canceled-test charge, and software development charge. Resolve discrepancies with the lab operator before recommending payment.
- Schedule and approve dyno and capacitance-probe rack calibrations. Approve fixture and driver builds (quantity, design, timing). Order spare hardware such as shafts, bearings, and seals.
- Support the annual budget process with workload inputs. Work with Ford facilities leadership to rank and fund dyno repairs and upgrades.
Operations efficiency and reliability
- Run the biweekly operations efficiency review. Update metrics and run charts from the lab operator's data, and prepare agendas covering downtime and open issues.
- Review each dyno breakdown and repair: duration, root cause, lessons learned, and missed preventive maintenance. Look past symptoms such as blown fuses to underlying causes.
- Track downtime waiting for engineering and for technicians, and track test-lab uptime against contractual commitments. Use any make-up time to fund additional test capacity.
- Identify hidden losses, such as tests that take much longer than expected. Add and monitor metrics such as report-generation timing.
- Monitor recurring failure modes in the environmental control units, refrigerant systems, cooling-water systems, and main drive systems. Push for effective preventive maintenance.
- Establish and run similar oversight for the vehicle chassis dyno at the leased facility. Track uptime and root causes, and evaluate long-term options such as a new chassis dyno with EMB capability.
Dyno hardware and software upgrades
- Lead upgrade planning for evolving test needs. Obtain quotes, define scope, and agree on who funds what.
- Drive current and upcoming projects, including EMB-compatible noise scripts and servo control updates, higher-voltage and higher-amperage power supplies for EMB and EPB testing, and EMB updates to the highest-inertia dyno.
- Secure a replacement corrosion-chamber capability as existing facilities are retired.
- Coordinate across engineering, facilities, the skilled trades, and the lab operators and software specialists.
Process, fixtures, and parts management
- Audit, enforce, and update operating procedures, including test request flow, supplier signoff guidelines, and pre-test dyno setup checks to company standards.
- Maintain the fixture inventory. Manage fixture storage and scrapping guidelines, and post-test part retention (NVH and performance tests follow different processes).
- Host professional lab tours for audiences from interns to executives.
Relationships and collaboration
- Manage the working relationships among Ford engineering, Ford facilities, skilled trades, the contracted lab operators and software specialists, and the chassis-dyno lab.
- Know who is responsible for what: facilities own the Building 4 dynos, repairs, and building services, and the lab operators run the dynos. Escalate through the right channel to get repairs and upgrades done.
- Communicate test status, risks, and results clearly to technical and leadership audiences.
You'll have...
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Automotive, Aerospace, or a related enginee