Ford announced that the company hired Doug Field for a critical position at Ford Motor Company. Field previously was Vice President of Special Projects at Apple, leading the company’s Apple Car project.
Previous to that, he was Vice President of Engineering at Tesla, where he led the Model 3 development.
The departure could be seen as a setback for the long-awaited Apple Car project. Some projections earlier this year indicated the Apple Car wouldn’t launch until at least 2024, but that date could be even further delayed with Field’s vacated seat.
His new position at Ford is titled Chief Advanced Technology and Embedded Systems Officer. He will work with Hau Thai-Tang, the Chief Product Platform and Operations Officer, on some upcoming products. Field’s new position reports directly to Ford CEO Jim Farley.
According to the release, Field will lead Ford’s embedded software and hardware organization. In addition, he will drive the design, development and implementation of the Blue Oval Intelligence tech stack for the company.
This is the not the first stop for Field at Ford in Detroit. In fact, he began his career as a development engineer at an Detroit-based auto manufacturer from 1987 to 1993. In between Ford and Tesla, Field was the first employee and Vice President of Design and Engineering at Segway.
