Director Warehouse Automation
On-siteAdvance, North Carolina, United States or Arcadia, Wisconsin, United States
Job Summary
Develop and execute a long-term warehouse automation roadmap aligned with organizational growth and operational objectives. Identify, evaluate, and implement automation technologies including robotics, automated storage and retrieval systems, conveyor systems, autonomous mobile robots, and warehouse control systems. Partner with business leaders to develop business cases, financial analyses, and ROI models for automation initiatives. Lead end-to-end automation projects from vendor selection through optimization while collaborating with operations, engineering, and supply chain teams. Establish standard methodologies replicable across multiple distribution centers and manage relationships with automation vendors and integrators. Monitor key performance indicators to measure effectiveness and ensure solutions support safety, quality, and productivity goals. Provide leadership to cross-functional project teams and support change management efforts. Requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Supply Chain, minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience, and ability to travel as needed. Located in an active industrial manufacturing and distribution center with moderate to high noise levels.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Logistics, or a related field
- Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience within warehouse, distribution, fulfillment, or supply chain operations
- Proven experience leading the implementation of automation solutions within high-volume distribution or fulfillment environments
- Strong understanding of warehouse operations, material handling systems, distribution processes, and labor productivity metrics
- Experience developing business cases, capital investment proposals, and ROI analyses for large-scale operational initiatives
- Demonstrated success managing complex, cross-functional projects from concept through implementation
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills
- Experience working with warehouse management systems (WMS), warehouse control systems (WCS), and automation technologies
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization
- Ability to travel as needed to support multiple distribution center locations
- Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or at any time in the future
Desired Qualifications
- Master's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related discipline
- Experience implementing automation solutions across multiple warehouse or distribution center locations
- Knowledge of robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and emerging warehouse technologies
- Experience supporting greenfield distribution centers or automation startup initiatives
- Lean, Six Sigma, PMP, or related professional certifications
- Experience in furniture, retail, manufacturing, consumer goods, or large-scale distribution environments
- Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change and drive adoption of new technologies across operations teams
- Experience managing multimillion-dollar automation and capital improvement projects
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