Lead Software Test Engineer
Ford Motor Company· enterprise· Automotive· Sep 15, 2026 · 1mo ago
Dearborn, MI, United States
In office
Full-time
Lead/Staff
$148K–$190K est.
8+ years exp
Job description
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.
Enterprise Technology plays a critical part in shaping the future of mobility. If you’re looking for the chance to leverage advanced technology to redefine the transportation landscape, enhance the customer experience and improve people’s lives, this is the opportunity for you. Join us and challenge your IT expertise and analytical skills to help create vehicles that are as smart as you are.
In this position...
We are seeking an experienced Lead Software Test Engineer to govern, coordinate, and accelerate testing and release cycles across our enterprise programs. In this role, you will be the core driver of release readiness, acting as the bridge between Product Driven Organizations (PDOs), quality teams, and leadership to ensure smooth, predictable software deliveries.
You will bring a solid background in Software Quality Assurance/Testing and Release Management, paired with working knowledge of test automation frameworks (any modern tool). Crucially, you possess an innovative mindset: you will leverage AI capabilities and workflow automation to identify bottlenecks, eliminate process waste, optimize phase gates, and drive continuous improvement across our end-to-end delivery lifecycle.
What you'll do...
Release Governance & Phase-Gate Management:
• Define, enforce, and govern entrance and exit criteria across all critical testing cycles: System Integration Testing (SIT), Regression, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Load & Performance (L&P), and Release Dry Runs.
• Serve as the quality gatekeeper, assessing release health and providing data-driven go/no-go recommendations to leadership.
Test Cycle Preparation & PDO Coordination:
• Lead end-to-end release preparation and execution coordination across multiple cross-functional Product Driven Organizations (PDOs).
• Partner closely with product, engineering, and vendor test teams to align schedules, scope, environment availability, and dependencies.
Drive Workflow Automation & AI-Driven Process Optimization:
• Proactively analyze the release lifecycle to identify bottlenecks, redundant steps, and process waste.
• Identify opportunities to introduce AI tools, GenAI, and process automation to streamline release workflows, optimize regression scoping, automate status tracking, and speed up cycle turnarounds.
Environment, Data & Blocker Management:
• Facilitate daily triage meetings, track critical defects, and resolve blockers related to test environments and test data management (TDM) to keep test cycles on track.
• Manage and escalate cross-team risks and release dependencies before they impact delivery timelines.
Quality Metrics, Dashboards & Leadership Visibility:
• Design, track, and maintain centralized release metrics (e.g., test execution velocity, defect aging, leakage, pass/fail trends, and release risk profiles).
• Provide clear, executive-ready visibility into release readiness and operational risks to senior stakeholders.
Tool Evaluations & Compliance PoCs:
• Evaluate and run Proof of Concepts (PoCs) for emerging release coordination, quality governance, and workflow automation tools.
• Navigate corporate governance, security, and architecture review processes to get tools approved for enterprise adoption.
You'll have...
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of total experience in Software Quality Assurance/Testing, with 3+ years leading Release Management or Test Delivery Coordination across complex enterprise programs.
• Testing & Automation Foundations: Hands-on or solid foundational experience with automated testing frameworks and tools (experience with tool such as Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Tricentis Tosca, Worksoft, Postman, etc.).
• Demonstrated track record managing multi-phase testing cycles (SIT, Regression, UAT, Performance, Dry Runs) and enforcing strict quality gates.
• Functional or technical familiarity with the SAP ecosystem (SAP GUI, Fiori, S/4HANA) or large-scale ERP enterprise architectures.
• Experience running Proof of Concepts (PoCs) or piloting new tools through internal enterprise governance and security clearance processes.
Even better, you may have...
• Experience or strong interest in leveraging AI/GenAI tools and automation (e.g., AI impact analysis, smart test scoping, automated release notes/dashboards, workflow bots) to eliminate waste and optimize delivery cycles.
• Experience with CI/CD delivery models and release orchestration pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Tekton, Jenkins).
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
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 5 – salary grade 8 and ranges from $65,100-$166,200.
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.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: New Hire Benefits
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 1-888-336-0660.
This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid #LI-MG1
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Benefits
Benefits detected in the listing.
Dental
Vision
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave