Ford considers you the Face of Ford, but there are also enthusiasts behind the scenes, what you might call the internal Faces of Ford – the employees responsible for the technology, innovative ideas and cool vehicles that refuse to conform with the norm and who allow Ford to stay ahead of the competition. Design, engineering, environmental friendliness, fuel economy, social media, assembly…the Blue Oval not only explores the future, but makes it a reality in the present, thanks to this group of forward-thinkers.

Meet the people who might just have the best jobs in the world: making your Ford and creating the unique Ford experience.

Mary Ellen Abraham, Ford Experimental Marketing Manager: It can be challenging for any brand to connect to the younger enthusiasts, but thanks to Mary Ellen and her team, it’s a lot easier, because they “get” that crowd. Look no further than Octane Academy as an example – an action sports reality series, tying the passion for vehicles to the adrenaline rush of motorsports. Click here to read an exclusive interview with Mary Ellen.

Dan Badger, Ford Powertrain Integration Supervisor: You think it’s cold where you are? Dan does testing in temperatures so cold, he can’t feel his fingers. But thanks to the work done by him and his team, the EcoBoost® engine has been properly calibrated to perform in the worst-case weather scenarios, even if your own fingers think otherwise. Click here to read more about the work Dan Badger does.

John Davis, Ford C-MAX Nameplate Engineer: We all have hectic lives, so vehicles today need to be flexible. John is one of the Faces of Ford who helped make the new 2013 C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi a fun-to-drive vehicle with ample seating and space, along with impressive fuel economy.

Phil Fabien, Ford V6 Engine Specialist: The goal Phil and his team set was far from simple: Build the V6 EcoBoost® engine to have the fuel economy, torque, towing and payload truck owners desired in a V8 engine. While it may have been a pressure-filled goal, at least it was fun to reach—the development process included a 24-hour endurance tow test then putting that same engine through the Baja 1000.

Elizabeth Foley, Ford Customer Service Social Media Program Manager: Sometimes the Face of Ford hides in plain sight, like Liz and her fellow social media agents, who read message boards, enthusiast websites, Ford Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and more, helping customers resolve issues and to answer their questions, allowing Ford to provide them with quick feedback. Click here to read more about the work that Elizabeth Foley does.

Chris Hamilton, Chief Designer, Ford Fusion: The Fusion was engineered to reflect advanced technology—but that also meant its looks had to be as cutting-edge. Chris and his fellow designers clearly succeeded, creating a head-turner worthy of the beauty that lies beneath. Check out this fun video of Chris’ team.

Andy Hobbs, Director, Ford Environmental Quality Office: Andy and his team have been busy figuring out ways to reduce waste to the landfill and also convert waste to electricity. For example, leftover residue from painting cars creates waste, so testing revealed it could be used as a fuel for helping to generate electricity. Click here to read more about about the work that Andy does at Ford.

Mike Interian, Ford Vehicle Integration Engineer: Ford has another customer base: law enforcement. So Mike and his team set out to ensure police officers would have a vehicle engineered exactly as they needed it to be to get their job done safely and efficiently, and that included gathering feedback from officers themselves when it came to developing the 2013 Ford Police Interceptor®.

Mike Kolich, Seat Comfort Engineer: Mike and his team studied lawn chairs. And high-end office chairs. And a mannequin in a seat carousel. Just another day in the office when it came to creating the slimmer, lightweight seats used in the 2013 Escape. Not only did the seats need to meet safety standards, they needed to be functional and comfortable as well as meet the requirements of global platforms. This was not a deed they took sitting down. Or did they? Click here to read more about Mike’s work.

Ming Kuang, Technical Leader, Ford Electrification Research and Advanced Engineering: Ford innovations have led to nearly 500 hybrid patents in the past dozen years, and Ming’s name is on more than 40 of them. The third generation of his Ford powersplit architecture system appears in the 2013 Fusion and C-MAX.

Eric Kuehn, Chief Engineer, Ford Global Electrified Programs: Eric had no easy task ahead of him when it came to the 2013 Fusion, but he managed to pull it off: He has provided customers with the option of a normal gas engine, two EcoBoost engines, a hybrid electric and a plug-in hybrid electric, ensuring the vehicle would have enough choices to suit any buyer’s needs. Click here to see what Eric has to say about the power of choice.

Jeff Ostrowski, Supervisor, SYNC® Gen 2 Software: How do you make something great even better? Not easy, but Jeff and his team managed to develop a performance upgrade for the MyFord Touch® that improves almost every function of the system, becoming more intuitive and easier to read. And they managed to make it simple for owners of the original system to do the upgrade.

Venkatesh Prasad, Group and Senior Technical Leader of Open Innovation: How do you integrate intelligence into a vehicle? You ask Venkatesh and his groups, who do so by working with unexpected partners, like the tech industry or aircraft manufacturers to develop apps and systems, such as SYNC. Click here to read more about Venkatesh’s work at Ford.

Laura Sinclair, Ford Materials Engineer: The quest to find new and different ways to help Ford enhance its sustainability blueprint often means using earth-friendly materials that can be recycled. Laura and her team figured out how to do things like make the floor carpet in the 2013 Escape 100 percent recycled polyester fibers from plastic bottles, and there’s also soy-based foam and scrap cotton from denim manufacturers. Click here to learn more about the work that Laura does.

Jim Tetreault, Ford Vice President of North America Manufacturing: The Ford Michigan Assembly Plant was named Assembly Plant of the Year by ASSEMBLY Magazine, the first time an automaker earned the honor. Jim points to a highly trained work force building fuel-efficient vehicles in an environmentally friendly manner as how the state-of-the-art facility nabbed the title.

Kelly Zechel, MyFord Mobile Product Manager: When you think, “The MyFord Mobile app made it easy to drive my all-electric vehicle and not exceed my maximum range,” think of Kelly and her team. When you wonder where charging stations are and your Ford is able to tell you, think of Kelly and her team. When the app gives you an efficient route via the trip builder, think of them.