Apple Car Lead Doug Field Heads (Back) To Ford

Ford just announced Doug Field as their new Advanced Technology and Embedded Systems Officer. Field most recently worked at Apple as Vice President of Special Products. Field worked with Apple in this position for just a bit over 3 years. Field also worked with Tesla Motors, Segway, DEKA, Johnson & Johnson Medical Inc., and Ford.

Field started his career at Ford as a Development Engineer, working there from 1987 to 1993. He went on to be a Process Development Manager for Johnson & Johnson Medical Inc. for 3 years, then Chief Engineer of the IBOT Program at DEKA Research & Development Corporation for 2 years. He spent a total of 9 years at Segway as VP of Design & Engineering. That's been the longest he's spent at any one job over the past few decades.

Starting in 2008, Field worked at Apple as Product Design VP, then Mac Hardware Engineering VP. After 5 years and 3 months, Field went on to work with Tesla Motors as Vehicle Programs VP, then Senior VP of Engineering, for a total of 5 years. Fields led development of the Tesla Model 3.

In August of 2018, Field once again went to Apple where he was Vice President of Special Products for 3 years and 2 months.

It was rumored that Doug Field was daily operations lead with Project Titan at Apple. That is the company's AI car project that has likely been in the works for a couple of years short of a decade.

Now Field will lead Ford's Embedded Software and Hardware organization. Ford says this part of the brand includes Vehicle Controls, Enterprise Connectivity, Features, Integration & Validation, Architecture & Platform, Driver Assistance Technology, and Digital Engineering Tools.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Ford as it embraces a transition to a new, complex and fascinating period in the auto industry," said Field. "It will be a privilege to help Ford deliver a new generation of experiences built on the shift to electrification, software and digital experiences, and autonomy"