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

Job Summary

The Principal Automation Engineer, Material Handling & Warehouse Automation, Regional is responsible for driving the execution, deployment, and improvement of warehouse and production-connected material handling automation solutions across multiple North America EMS sites.

Core Role Definition

• 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 site teams in aligning warehouse and material flow strategies with new product requirements.
  • 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
  • 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

  Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • 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
    • 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

    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, ability to mentor others and raise capability across multiple sites.
    • 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.

    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.
    • Work closely with 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.