Sustainable Polymer Specialist

Job Description

In this position…

Ford's Materials, Process, Structures & Safety team within Ford's Research and Advanced Polymer Technology Department. The department's focus is to anticipate and innovate for current and future plastics and polymer needs to support Ford Motor Company at all levels. The group comprises a multidisciplinary team of researchers in mechanical engineering, material science, chemical engineering, and polymer chemistry from PhD level experts to laboratory technicians.

This role is focused on development and implementation of sustainable polymer technologies to deliver enhanced features and performance while improving cost and quality for our vehicles.

Responsibilities

What you'll do…

• Execute and maintain polymer sustainability strategic roadmap.
• Drive implementation of critical sustainable polymer technologies into vehicle programs.
• Interface with PD, Purchasing, Materials Engineering, and Suppliers to identify gaps and prioritize applications with opportunities to deliver sustainable solutions.
• Collaborate with internal Polymers team to align research project portfolio to address now, near, and far needs.
• Develop database and utilize modeling techniques to identify separation and recycling technologies that maximize environmental benefits while minimizing cost levels.
• Develop internal workflow with digital tracking tools for LCA and product carbon footprint.
• Collaborate and align with Ford’s Environmental & Sustainability organization on corporate sustainability target setting and tracking.
• Maintain global benchmarking related to sustainability strategies of other OEMs.
• Partner with external suppliers and consortia to create value chain infrastructure for polymer waste collection, separation, recycling, and recovery.
• Communicate and present polymer research sustainability goals and accomplishments to internal and external audiences that are dedicated to the global automotive sustainability initiative.
  
  
  

Qualifications

You'll have…

• Bachelors degree in chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, polymer chemistry, or related field
• 8+ years experience in polymer materials development
• Knowledge and experience in circular economy concepts and implementation of sustainable polymer technologies
• Knowledge of polymer processing, including some or all of the following: polyurethane foam molding, injection molding, blow molding, compression molding [BR(1] , compounding, extrusion/pultrusion, lamination, thermoplastic welding
• Experience in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies
  
  
  

Even better, you may have…

• Masters and/or Ph.D in chemical engineering, material science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, polymer chemistry, or related field
• Automotive industry experience, including cross-functional work experience in plastics and polymer processing
• Knowledge of end-of-life value chain
• Experience leading cross-functional teams
• Knowledge of plastics recycling including mechanical recycling and chemical recycling/mass balance
• Good communication and presentation skills
• Good analytical and critical thinking skills
• Passion to keep technologies moving
• Bias for action
  
  
  

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 range of salary grades 6-8.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSRnon-HTHD

Visa sponsorship is 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 committed to a culturally diverse workforce. 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.