Manager, Infrastructure & Platform Engineering, Ford Energy

As the Manager of Hybrid Infrastructure & Hosting, you will be the primary architect and operator of the computer platforms that power our new Battery Energy Storage System BESS manufacturing facility. Reporting to the Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations, you will lead the "engine room" of Ford Energy-managing the delicate balance between high-performance local edge computing on the factory floor and our enterprise-scale Google Cloud Platform environment.

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.

On-Premises Infrastructure & Platform Engineering

• Local Data Center & Edge: Lead the physical and virtual design, rack layouts, power/cooling coordination, and lifecycle management for plant server rooms and low-latency edge compute clusters.
• Container & Platform Orchestration: Architect, deploy, and maintain enterprise Red Hat OpenShift and Kubernetes platforms to run real-time manufacturing and shop-floor workloads.
• Infrastructure Automation: Drive "Infrastructure as Code" principles across all local servers using Ansible and Python scripts to automate provisioning, configuration, and bare-metal deployments.

Operational Reliability, Observability & Security

• Systems Monitoring & Observability: Deploy end-to-end monitoring and alerting suites to maintain 24/7 visibility into Linux systems, host health, and container metrics.
• Business Continuity & Storage: Architect scalable, low-latency enterprise storage arrays for high-volume manufacturing datasets, backed by robust local backup and disaster recovery frameworks.
• System Hardening: Enforce strict Linux system security, access controls, and network integration policies in close coordination with cross-functional IT and OT security teams.

Project Execution & Vendor Management

• Plant Construction & Go-Live: Serve as the technical lead for infrastructure deployment during plant commissioning, ensuring host environments are fully operational for initial production lines.
• Hardware Sourcing: Collaborate with hardware vendors to specify, evaluate, and procure server chassis, storage arrays, and high-availability rack solutions.

Cloud Architecture & Management (GCP Focus)

• GCP Governance: Design, deploy, and manage Ford Energy's cloud environments.
• Cloud Economics: Monitor and optimize cloud consumption to ensure cost-effectiveness while maintaining high performance.
• Identity & Security: Implement and maintain robust Identity and Access Management policies and security configurations within the cloud environment.

On-Premises & Edge Infrastructure

• Physical Hosting: Lead the design and setup of the plant's local data center/server rooms, including rack layouts, power requirements, and cooling coordination.
• Edge Computing: Implement high-availability edge compute solutions to support real-time manufacturing data and low-latency production requirements.
• Virtualization: Manage the on-site virtualization layer to ensure maximum hardware utilization and resilience.

Operational Reliability & Data Integrity

• Business Continuity: Develop and test comprehensive backup and disaster recovery strategies that span both physical hardware and cloud workloads.
• Monitoring & Observability: Implement advanced monitoring tools to ensure 24/7 visibility into system health.
• Storage Management: Architect and manage scalable storage solutions for massive manufacturing datasets, ensuring data is available for analysis and long-term retention.

Project & Vendor Leadership

• Deployment: Lead the technical execution of infrastructure projects during the plant's construction and "go-live" phases.
• Hardware Sourcing: Work with vendors to specify and procure the physical infrastructure needed for the facility.