Design Fabricator
About the role
As a Design Fabricator, you'll bring Ford's most ambitious design concepts to life—transforming clay models, sketches, and digital data into precision physical forms that shape the vehicles of tomorrow. Working hands-on with cutting-edge tools, materials, and fabrication techniques, you'll be the critical link between imagination and reality, turning a designer's vision into tangible models that influence real product decisions. You'll collaborate closely with designers, engineers, and modelers in a fast-paced studio environment, applying craftsmanship across mold making, metal and wood working, composite lay-up, surfacing, and finishing to deliver exterior and interior design proposals with precision and quality.
Responsibilities
- Fabricate automotive design models—including molds, metal and wood components, composite lay-ups, surfacing, painting, trim, and assembly—for complete exterior and interior design proposals.
- Create experimental parts and ornamentation from clay models, sketches, engineering drawings, verbal direction, and math data to support the design organization.
- Safely operate a variety of hand tools, machinery, and fabrication equipment, with safety as a top priority on every project.
- Translate drawings, prints, and verbal concepts into precision fabricated forms, parts, and shapes.
- Confer with designers, engineers, and facility personnel to determine specifications and achieve project results.
- Collaborate with team members to make corrections and adjustments, ensuring projects are completed accurately and on time.
- Ensure all design projects conform to established design and quality standards.
- Develop new and innovative fabrication techniques to continuously improve the fabrication process.
- Manage multiple project timelines using strong personal organization skills to meet deadlines.
- Utilize computer systems as needed to support fabrication work.
- Participate in supplier site visits for offsite projects, when appropriate.
- Apply complex fabrication strategies to complete projects within allotted timeframes.
Requirements
- Bachelor's Degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
- 2 years of experience with machining and laser fabrication.
- High level of understanding the requirements for physical model development and clay modeling techniques.
- Ability to work in a dynamic work environment with continuous change and willingness to learn new skills.
- Proficient at creative problem solving.
- Ability to understand engineering requirements and incorporate into physical models.
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!
Benefits
- 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.
Pay
This position is a salary grade 6 and ranges from $74,300-$124,500. 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.