Visual Product Designer

Ford - Springfield, IL

Full-time - Mid Level

Springfield, IL

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

At Ford Motor Company, we believe freedom of movement drives human progress. We also believe in providing you with the freedom to define and realize your dreams. With our incredible plans for the future of mobility, we have a wide variety of opportunities for you to accelerate your career potential as you help us define tomorrow's transportation. We are amid the biggest change the automotive industry has ever seen. Just as cars changed the world over the last century, recent technologies such as self-driving cars, electric powertrains, and connected vehicles will radically reshape how we live, work, and play in the next hundred years. We want to create digital products that get better each day on a global scale. We want to do this while contributing to the sustainability of our planet. We are re-founding Ford from Ford 1.0 to Ford 2.0 where we evolve from appearance-based product development to experience-based product development that embraces the holistic vehicle experience—interior, exterior, and beyond. Digital Product Design (DPD) at Ford is committed to envisioning and creating simple, thoughtful, enjoyable, and compelling product experiences that our customers need and love. We work in close partnership with product and engineering to deliver best-in-class interactions experiences that meet the needs of people today, and in the future. Our team is comprised of a dynamic group of product designers, researchers, visual designers, industrial designers, modelers, and project managers. In this role, you must be able to envision the big picture while also rolling up your sleeves to perfect the smallest project details. You will create compelling and thoughtful in-vehicle user experiences with a focus on clean and artful design and where it seamlessly integrates with in-vehicle hardware technology.

Responsibilities

• Leading the design of features and improvements of our products ensuring they align with business objectives and user needs.
• Using Figma and UX tools to develop vehicle features and compelling user experiences.
• Taking ownership of independent tracks of design work and managing timelines and deliverables.
• Developing and iterating user flows, mock-ups and prototypes to effectively communicate design ideas.
• Using data driven insights to inform design decisions and measure the impact of design changes.
• Expressing our brand vision through user interface design for in-vehicle experiences.
• Executing designs with a keen sensibility to layout, color, typography and interactive behavior.
• Exhibiting a passion for emerging hardware and software technologies, new interaction models, product design, and excellence in visual design.
• Collaborating closely with Product Management, Engineering and Feature Teams to ensure a seamless transition from concept to implementation.
• Employing a systematic approach to solving large, complex design challenges.
• Presenting creative work early and often to key stakeholders in design reviews.
• Creating wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups to effectively communicate design ideas and interactions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or a combination of education and equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of experience in UX/UI product design.
• Exceptional visual design skills.
• Mastery of bringing complex visual concepts to life.
• Mastery of Photoshop and Figma.
• High performing prototyping abilities (e.g. Figma, Protopie or similar).
• Strong portfolio showcasing a range of design projects, demonstrating a deep understanding of user experience principles and design processes.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and inspire team members and stakeholders.

Nice-to-haves

• Sensitivity to intelligent system interactions.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies.
• Proficiency in human-centered design approaches, techniques and philosophy.
• Automotive UI/HMI experience is a plus.
• Background in digital product design solutions.
• Excellent concepting, written, oral, and visual communication abilities.
• In-depth knowledge of the latest UI trends, techniques, and technologies.
• Background working through iterative product design cycles.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Delivered several mobile app experiences through production and in-market.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care 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.