Ford Energy is a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company
dedicated to accelerating U.S. energy independence. Leveraging Ford’s century of
manufacturing excellence and world-class battery energy storage systems (BESS)
technology, Ford Energy designs, manufactures, and services grid-scale and
commercial DC battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ford Energy is uniquely
positioned to capture the growing demand for reliable, US-built energy storage
systems. We are not just building batteries; we are building the infrastructure
for the next generation of the American grid.
Why Ford Energy?
At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse
with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading
technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including
performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape
the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands. Learn more at
https://fordenergy.com.
In this position...
The Ford Energy Supply Chain team is seeking a high-caliber Sr, Group Manager –
Direct Procurement to lead, scale, and manage the direct material procurement
department supporting Ford Energy battery energy storage systems. In this role,
you will be accountable for establishing the departmental sourcing strategy,
commercial governance, and supplier partnerships across multi-million-dollar
direct material portfolios spanning power electronics, thermal systems, battery
packs and modules, safety systems, structural enclosures, and balance-of-plant
components.
You will lead a team of procurement professionals, category managers, and
sourcing leads to build resilient, competitive, and scalable supply chains that
meet Ford Energy’s quality, cost, capacity, and aggressive industrialization
timelines.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What you'll do...
People Leadership & Departmental Management
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing department of procurement managers,
category leads, and experienced sourcing specialists who exercise significant
independence and latitude in their commodities.
Establish departmental operating rhythms, performance standards, KPIs, workload
balancing, and professional development roadmaps.
Define and manage departmental budgets, resource allocation, and operational
priorities to support rapid organizational scaling and aggressive program
milestones.
Procurement Strategy & Operating Policies
Define and drive the mid- to long-term direct procurement strategy, commodity
roadmaps, and sourcing policies across all major BESS subsystems.
Translate business goals into actionable category plans, localization
strategies, and multi-year cost-reduction roadmaps.
Establish and continuously improve procurement operating processes, governance
frameworks, and supplier risk-management protocols across the department.
Commercial Delivery, Cost & Financial Impact
Own overall commercial accountability and financial performance for direct
procurement spend, delivering competitive total cost of ownership (TCO) and
sustainable year-over-year cost improvements.
Lead high-stakes commercial negotiations for enterprise-critical supply
contracts, master service agreements, tooling commitments, capacity reservation
agreements, and intellectual property terms.
Develop should-cost modeling standards and financial business cases; evaluate
commercial trade-offs and make authoritative recommendations that protect
program profitability and schedule integrity.
Supplier Industrialization, Continuity & Risk Mitigation
Conduct rigorous stakeholder, market, and supply chain risk analyses to
safeguard against single-source bottlenecks, geopolitical constraints, and
capacity shortfalls.
Oversee supplier industrialization, launch readiness, and ramp execution in
close alignment with Manufacturing and Supplier Technical Assistance (STA),
ensuring suppliers achieve production part approval and volume commitments.
Serve as the senior escalation point for critical supplier disputes, commercial
claims, and supply continuity disruptions to prevent program delays.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Executive Engagement
Partner closely with peer leaders across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality,
Program Management, Finance, Legal, and Logistics to drive design-to-value,
make-vs.-buy evaluations, and technology roadmaps.
Synthesize complex commercial positions, market dynamics, and supplier
performance data into clear, actionable briefings and recommendations for
executive leadership.
Represent Ford Energy in senior-level external engagements, building strategic
relationships with C-suite and VP-level supplier leadership.
QUALIFICATIONS
You'll have...
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Business
Administration, Engineering.
10+ years of direct procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, or
supplier commercial experience.
3+ years of formal people leadership experience, successfully managing,
mentoring, and developing teams of procurement professionals, category
managers, or subordinate management.
3+ years of experience in automotive, battery energy storage systems (BESS),
power electronics, industrial equipment, or high-volume manufacturing
environments.
3+ years of commercial experience across complex commodities (e.g., power
electronics, inverters, thermal management, lithium-ion battery
cells/modules, fabricated structural enclosures, or high-voltage electrical
distribution).
25% Travel (Domestic and International).
Even better, you may have...
Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Business
Administration, Engineering.
Demonstrated ability to direct a functional department, set clear strategic
direction, manage performance, and foster a collaborative,
high-accountability team culture.
Proven track record of structuring and negotiating multi-million-dollar,
complex supply agreements covering commercial terms, warranties, tooling,
capacity, and risk-allocation mechanisms.
Deep command of should-cost modeling, total cost of ownership drivers,
design-to-cost principles, capital budgeting, and manufacturing cost
structures.
Strong capability to diagnose ambiguous supply chain challenges, conduct risk
assessments, and implement innovative mitigation strategies under fast-paced,
constrained timelines.
Exceptional communication skills with demonstrated success influencing peer
managers, cross-functional partners, executive leadership, and senior
external counterparts.
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 5 and ranges from $141,700-$268,300.
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/LL5 [https://fordcareers.co/LL5]
Visa sponsorship is not 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. 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.
Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy
Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to
transition to the subsidiary within one year.
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