Phillips, who left IndyCar in the 2015/’16 offseason, was drafted into SCCA Pro Racing by then-president Derrick Walker as technical delegate in the Formula 4 US championship for the series’ start-up season.

Before his five-year stint as IndyCar’s VP of technology, Phillips race engineered for drivers such as Ryan Hunter-Reay and Danny Sullivan, was engineering director at Highcroft Racing in the American Le Mans Series, and also designed the last ever Reynard sportscar, the 02S.

In IndyCar, he oversaw the transition from the IRL Dallaras to the DW12, and also the implementation of the manufacturer aerokits.

Motorsport.com has learned that Phillips’ return to IndyCar racing will see him serve as race engineer for Carlos Munoz, on Foyt’s #14 entry.

Daniele Cucchiaroni, who engineered for Jack Hawksworth last year, remains at Foyt team to run Conor Daly’s #4 car.

“It is a privilege to join one of the most iconic teams in the IndyCar Series,” Phillips said. “I have missed the competition and as such am looking forward to being back on the frontline. The depth of talent in the team is impressive and I look forward to working with them and helping create a cohesive engineering group to support Carlos and Conor.”

Larry Foyt commented: “I've enjoyed getting to know Will Phillips. In our initial meetings, I liked his approach and demeanor, and felt it would be a great fit and benefit to our current young driver and engineer lineup.

"Operating two different race shops poses its challenges for sure, but I like the experienced personnel we have been able to hire to take on the challenge."

A.J. Foyt stated: "Will is smart and experienced and he was a close friend of “Ando’s” [the late John Anderson]. Ando worked for me and was a good friend of mine. I don’t know Will that well yet, but if Ando respected him, that’s good enough for me. I think Will can do a great job for us.”