PLM Engineering Manager

Job description

We are seeking an experienced PLM Engineering Manager to lead 3DEXPERIENCE customization, development, and high level escalation support. This pivotal leadership role will guide a team of 3DX developers, platform engineers, and release engineers. It will also connect Ford's business and engineering stakeholders with the hosting and infrastructure teams and with Dassault Systèmes. The ideal candidate is a hands-on technical leader who understands the full 3DX architecture, from 3DPassport and 3DSpace through 3DSearch and FCS down to the database.

You are equally comfortable reviewing a developer's trigger logic, analyzing a JVM thread dump during an outage, pushing a Dassault Systèmes Service Request up to R&D, and explaining the root cause to senior leadership in plain business terms. You set the engineering standards that keep Ford's heavily customized platform stable and upgrade-ready. A natural collaborator, you build trust across development, hosting, and business teams, and you thrive in a fast-paced environment where both delivery and accountability matter.

This role is a people leader position but also highly technical.

Responsibilities

Platform Customization & Development Customization Ownership

Lead the design, development, and delivery of all 3DX customizations, including data model extensions (type and attribute specialization, Unified Typing, policies, lifecycles), triggers, JPOs, MQL/TCL scripts, and EKL logic, using Dassault-supported methods.

UI & Widget Development

Guide the development of 3DDashboard widgets (JavaScript/UWA), web forms, tables, commands, and menus that improve the engineering user experience.

Integrations & Web Services

Own the technical design and support of integrations between 3DX and Ford enterprise systems, using 3DSpace REST APIs, custom web services, and middleware.

Security Model

Oversee People & Organization (P&O) configuration, including collaborative spaces, organizations, roles, security contexts, and access rules.

Engineering Standards

Define and enforce coding standards, code review practices, and source control for all 3DX development, so customizations stay upgrade-safe and technical debt stays low.

Requirements

Intake: Partner with engineering, manufacturing, and program teams to turn business requirements into sound technical designs. Advise on "out-of-the-box vs. customize" decisions. Level 3 Escalation & Incident Resolution Final Escalation Point: Serve as the highest internal escalation point for critical (P1/P2) and complex incidents across the 3DX suite, including 3DSpace, 3DPassport, 3DDashboard, 3DSearch/3DIndex, FCS, 3DSwym, and native app (CATIA/DELMIA) platform interactions.

Root Cause Analysis

Lead deep diagnostics using application logs, MQL traces, JVM thread and heap dumps, database query analysis, and HTTP/network tracing to find the true root cause of failures across components.

Vendor Escalation

Own the relationship with Dassault Systèmes Support and R&D. Drive Service Requests to resolution, make sure reproducible test cases are provided, and validate the hotfixes Dassault delivers.

Incident Leadership

Serve as technical lead on incident bridges during 3DX platform outages. Coordinate rapid response across hosting, development, and supplier teams, and give clear, timely status to business stakeholders.

Problem Management

Own root cause reports and problem records, and drive permanent corrective actions so the same issues do not come back.

Shift-Left Enablement

Turn recurring L3 issues into knowledge articles, runbooks, and automated fixes so L1/L2 can resolve more issues and fewer reach L3.

Platform Stability & Lifecycle Management Performance Optimization

Oversee platform performance tuning across JVM/TomEE configuration, database (Oracle/SQL Server), indexing, caching, and FCS file throughput.

Upgrade Readiness

Own the technical impact analysis of customizations for full upgrades, Functional Deliveries (FDs), and hotfixes. Lead regression testing and support cutover execution.

Change Management

Make sure all customizations and platform changes follow ITIL-aligned change management processes, are properly documented, and carry appropriate approvals before promotion through Dev, Test, QA, and Prod.

Automation

Drive the adoption of automation for deployments, bulk data operations, and platform health checks, fitting into the team's Ansible and CI/CD pipelines.

Capacity Planning & Team Leadership People Leadership

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 3DX developers and escalation engineers, including hiring, performance management, and technical career growth.

Resource Management

Lead capacity planning efforts, using Jira to track team bandwidth, forecast constraints, and assign resources against business priorities and escalation demand.

Knowledge Transfer

Build technical depth across the L1/L2 support organization through training, code reviews, and hands-on troubleshooting coaching.

Audit Support

Provide technical leadership and evidence for IT audits, ensuring 3DX customizations and changes comply with GRC, IFAR, and ASAR requirements.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• 8+ years of experience with Dassault Systèmes ENOVIA / 3DEXPERIENCE, including platform customization, development, and administration
• 5+ years in software development, software engineering, and scripting with 3DX customizations including EKL, JPO, JAR, YAML, & supporting automation/pipelines. 3+ years in a Level 3, escalation, or production support role for enterprise Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems
• 3+ years leading or managing technical teams in an enterprise environment
• Proven experience managing vendor support escalations with Dassault Systèmes or comparable enterprise software vendors Experience working in a fast-paced, flexible industrial systems team like Ford Motor Company Expert-level experience using large language models and artificial intelligence Technical Skills: 3DX Customization: Expert-level knowledge of MQL, TCL, JPO/Java, triggers, and EKL, with a strong understanding of the 3DX data model (types, relationships, policies, P&O security) and Unified Typing.

DevOps Tooling

Familiarity with Git/GitHub, CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, Tekton, GitHub Actions), and Infrastructure-as-Code (Ansible/Terraform).

Scripting Knowledge

Proficiency in scripting languages (Python, PowerShell, Bash) for automation tasks.

Web & Integration Development

Proficiency in JavaScript, 3DDashboard widget (UWA) development, and REST API/web service integration.

Platform Architecture

Deep knowledge of 3DX components (3DSpace, 3DPassport, 3DDashboard, 3DSearch/Exalead, FCS) and how they interact.

Diagnostics

Advanced skills in log analysis, JVM thread and heap dump analysis, and SQL performance analysis (Oracle and/or SQL Server).

Infrastructure Proficiency

Strong understanding of server operations (Linux/Windows), OS patching cycles, and network security (SSL/Firewalls).

Project Management Tools

Expert-level proficiency in Jira for backlog management, capacity planning, and reporting. Working knowledge of ServiceNow for incident, problem, and change management.

Preferred

CAA (C++/Java) development, SSO/SAML identity integration, and knowledge of automotive product development processes (BOM, engineering change, variant/configuration management).

Leadership Skills

Technical Leadership: Proven ability to set engineering standards, guide design decisions, and raise the technical capability of a development and support team.

Strategic Communication

Proven ability to translate technical root causes and constraints into business impacts for senior leadership.

Process Rigor

Deep understanding of ITIL incident, problem, and change management principles and audit compliance (GRC/SOX).

Problem Solving

Excellent troubleshooting skills with a focus on root cause analysis and preventative measures.

Composure Under Pressure

Demonstrated ability to lead calmly and decisively during production outages and high-visibility escalations.

Collaboration

Demonstrated success building relationships across Development, Infrastructure, Hosting, Business, and vendor teams to deliver under aggressive timelines.

Licenses and Certifications

Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Certification (Preferred) ITIL Certification (Preferred) SAFe / Agile Certification (Preferred) 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 leadership level 6 and ranges from $132,800-$250,800. 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: https://fordcareers.co/LL6 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. #LI-OnSite #LI-DS2