Profile of Steve Daleiden, Supervisor of Focus Electric Powertrain Team

Background

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with all of the technology and features that have made Focus Electric America’s most fuel-efficient five-seat car – then again, maybe it does.

Enter Steve Daleiden – former rocket scientist/current supervisor of the team behind the advanced electric powertrain of the all-new Ford Focus Electric. Before joining Ford in 1994 he worked for NASA and TRW Space & Defense.

“Many of the practices applied to missiles and rockets can be transferred to vehicles,” said Daleiden. “Be it systems engineering work, statistical analysis or software and modeling, many of the same analytical practices apply.”

Daleiden’s personal life led him back to his roots in metro Detroit and the auto industry, which is how he became involved with Ford Motor Company. He hasn’t looked back.

“I worked at NASA and never got to fly the space shuttle. I worked on missiles and never got to launch one,” said Daleiden. “I drove a Taurus my first day at Ford. I like that we put a product into the hands of people and I never realized how good that felt until I worked at Ford.”

Daleiden – involved in various projects since joining Ford – has been involved with the Focus Electric since day one.

“I’ve really enjoyed watching this vehicle evolve from nothing more than an idea on paper to becoming America’s most fuel-efficient five-seat vehicle. It’s been very exciting and rewarding.”

His life and passion

• Daleiden, 51, graduated with a master’s degree in systems engineering/engineering management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also has a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan, and recently completed the Ford-sponsored Advanced Electric Vehicle program at U-D Mercy
• His hobbies include building Lego robots and playing baseball with his children, and playing soccer and guitar and writing short stories. Daleiden also has been to five performance driving schools
• Daleiden was born in Royal Oak, Mich., and lived in Scotland and England at different times growing up. As an adult he has lived in Alabama and California and now resides in York Township, Mich. He and his wife Julie have 10-year-old twins

What he does for Ford

• As supervisor of the Focus Electric powertrain team, Daleiden never has two work days that are the same. A typical day on the job could involve meetings with engineers and suppliers to discuss engineering issues and review test data, coordinating efforts and tasks between different teams or organizations that contribute to the electric powertrain's reliability and function, and driving vehicles to evaluate hardware and software improvements
• “At this point we are looking at every single thing from the customer’s perspective to make sure they receive a car that truly satisfies them,” said Daleiden. Production of the Focus Electric began in December 2011 and the car is currently being sold in three U.S. markets
• Daleiden joined Ford in 1994. His favorite project here has been the Focus Electric “because of the challenges in new technology, complex systems integration and fast-tomarket timing”