Mechanical Design Engineer, Thermal

Mechanical Design Engineer For Thermal Systems

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.

Ford's Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company's vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You'll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out.

Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

In this position... Join our dynamic and agile team pioneering Ford's EV future. As a Mechanical Design Engineer for Thermal Systems, you will own the physical design of thermal hardware across the entire system — coolant loops, refrigeration/heat-pump circuits, and HVAC/climate — turning thermal performance targets into robust, manufacturable components and assemblies. You will help design and package hardware that keep the battery, drive units, power electronics, and cabin within their thermal limits all the way from concept through production release.

What you'll do...

You will lead the mechanical design of thermal system hardware across one or more subsystems, translating performance and packaging requirements into detailed, manufacturable designs.

Component & Assembly Design:
Design thermal hardware across coolant, refrigeration, and HVAC/climate subsystems in 3D CAD from concept through production release.

System Packaging & Routing:
Package and route thermal hardware through the vehicle, resolving space, interface, and clearance constraints with adjacent systems (battery, drive unit, power electronics, IP, chassis, and body) and coordinating shared interfaces across subsystems.

Performance-Driven Design:
Translate thermal, hydraulic, and refrigerant performance targets from the system and subsystem engineers into physical geometry — flow paths, sealing, mounting, and heat-exchanger placement — that meets thermal, pressure, and flow requirements.

Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFM/DFA):
Develop designs optimized for their manufacturing processes (injection molding, brazing, stamping, extrusion, machining) and for high-volume assembly, working with full service and build to print suppliers on tooling and process feasibility to balance cost, mass, and quality.

Tolerance & GD&T:
Apply geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, perform tolerance stack-up analysis, and define critical dimensions to ensure fit, sealing, and function across the production range and across mating subsystems.

Design Analysis & Robustness:
Support structural, flow, thermal, and durability analysis (CFD/FEA in partnership with analysis teams), and use DFMEA to identify and mitigate various failure modes.

Engineering Documentation:
Create and release detailed part and assembly drawings, manage engineering changes, and maintain CAD data and bills of materials through the product development process.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Work closely with the system and subsystem engineers (who own performance targets), Controls Engineers (for actuator/valve strategy), test engineers (for validation), and suppliers (for tooling and build), supporting design reviews and readiness gates through launch.

You'll have...

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

3+ years of experience in mechanical design of automotive components or systems.

Proficiency in 3D CAD (CATIA, NX, or 3

DEXPERIENCE) for part and assembly modeling and detailing.

Working knowledge of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis.

Solid understanding of design for manufacture and assembly across multiple processes (e.g., molding, brazing,…