Principal Automation Engineer, Material Handling & Warehouse Automation, Regional - Rack

Job Summary

The Principal Automation Engineer, Material Handling & Warehouse Automation, Regional (Rack) is responsible for driving the execution, deployment, and improvement of warehouse and production-connected material handling automation solutions across multiple North America EMS sites. This role supports material flow to and from production through scalable warehouse and intralogistics solutions, while working closely with site teams, third-party suppliers, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure successful implementation and sustainment.

CORE ROLE DEFINITION

This role must be capable of leading, structuring, and driving execution through site teams and suppliers. This role provides regional technical leadership for warehouse and material handling automation deployment and sustainment. This role works closely with the Sr. Manager of Automation to align execution with regional priorities and provide input to strategy, while strategy ownership remains with regional leadership. This role is a mentor, trainer, and capability builder across the region. This role works closely with the General Automation team, recognizing that material handling and warehouse automation must integrate directly into production operations.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Regional Execution Leadership
  • Drive execution of material handling and warehouse automation initiatives across multiple North America EMS sites.
  • Support sites in prioritizing opportunities, structuring work, managing execution, and stabilizing deployed systems.
  • Ensure implementation aligns with regional expectations, standards, and scalable approaches.
• New Product Introduction (NPI) Support
  • Evaluate the impact of new products on material flow, storage, staging, line-side delivery, and outbound processes.
  • Ensure warehouse and material handling processes are ready to support production needs during product launch.
• New Automation Asset Introduction
  • Guide and support deployment of new automation systems, including:
  • requirements alignments
  • supplier engagement
  • technical evaluation
  • quotation and proposal review
  • installation
  • ramp
  • validation and handoff
  • Ensure deployed systems meet throughput, reliability, accuracy, safety, and operational expectations.
• Project Execution Capability
  • Be fully capable of independently running automation projects, including:
  • planning and structuring work
  • task and issue tracking
  • stakeholder alignments
  • supplier coordination
  • execution follow-up
  • risk and escalation management
• Supplier and Integrator Leadership
  • Act as a primary technical interface with:
  • third-party automation integrators
  • AMR / AGV / FMR suppliers
  • warehouse automation suppliers
  • infrastructure and software solution providers
  • Lead technical discussions, solution alignment, issue resolution, and performance reviews with suppliers.
• Warehouse and Production Integration
  • Ensure strong alignment between warehouse automation systems and production operations.
  • Work closely with site warehouse teams, facilities, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, and General Automation engineers.
  • Reinforce that warehouse automation is not separate from manufacturing execution and must integrate cleanly into production material flow.
• Mentoring, Training, and Capability Building
  • Mentor facility-level automation engineers and technical resources across the region.
  • Provide training and guidance on:
  • warehouse and material handling automation concepts
  • supplier engagement and technical reviews
  • structured execution disciplines
  • troubleshooting approaches
  • standard methods and lessons learned
  • Help build sustainable capability across sites rather than creating dependency on one person.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Drive improvement initiatives across the region related to:
  • material flow efficiency
  • labor reduction
  • throughput improvement
  • delivery performance
  • storage optimization
  • system reliability
  • operational scalability
  • Identify and replicate successful solutions where appropriate.

Job Qualifications

• Strong experience in material handling, warehouse automation, and intralogistics systems.
• Strong understanding of:
  • warehouse operations and terminology
  • material flow in manufacturing environments
  • AMR / AGV / FMR systems
  • storage systems such as ASRS, VLM, and rack systems
  • warehouse software interfaces such as WMS and fleet management systems
• Strong ability to:
  • translate operational needs into practical technical solutions
  • work effectively with third-party integrators and suppliers
  • guide cross-functional execution across warehouse, IE, facilities, and manufacturing teams
  • communicate clearly with site teams, customers, suppliers, and leadership
• Strong project execution capability and program leadership discipline.
• Strong troubleshooting capability and continuous improvement mindset.
• Working understanding of manufacturing automation environments and production system interfaces.
• Ability to mentor others and raise capability across multiple sites.

Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in:
  • warehouse automation
  • material handling systems
  • manufacturing environments
  • third-party supplier and integrator execution models
• Demonstrated experience:
  • driving automation deployment or multi-site implementations
  • supporting startup, ramp, troubleshooting, and sustainment
  • working across cross-functional technical and operational teams
  • leading execution without relying on formal direct ownership of every task

Additional Role Expectations

• Work closely with the Regional Automation Team to support regional execution priorities, standard methods, and scalable deployment approaches.
• Follow the Global Automation Process for New Automation Asset Delivery, including:
  • requirements definition and alignments
  • supplier engagement
  • deployment and startup support
  • validation and handoff discipline
• Support:
  • New Product Introduction (NPI)
  • New Automation Asset Introduction
  • continuous improvement and sustainment
• Support the General Automation team to ensure warehouse and material handling solutions integrate effectively into production operations.
• Operate in a multi-site, matrixed environment with strong collaboration across technical and operational functions.