Sr Manager - Application Automation

Where You Come In

You will lead, grow, and inspire a high-performing engineering team responsible for the development and deployment of sensor manufacturing equipment. This role combines deep technical leadership with strong people management, ensuring both world-class execution and a highly engaged, continuously developing team.

Leadership & Team Development

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing, inclusive engineering team focused on automation and equipment excellence.
• Establish a strong team culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Provide ongoing coaching, mentoring, and performance feedback to engineers, supporting career growth, skill development, and succession planning.
• Set clear expectations for technical rigor, documentation quality, and execution excellence, and reinforce them through regular engagement and recognition.
• Drive employee engagement by fostering open communication, psychological safety, and alignment to business goals.
• Identify capability gaps and proactively develop training and hiring plans to strengthen team expertise across automation disciplines.

Resource & Program Management

• Plan and manage team capacity, resource allocation, and project priorities to ensure alignment with business objectives and timelines.
• Balance workload across internal teams and external partners, ensuring optimal utilization and delivery efficiency.

Technical & Program Leadership

• Lead automation and equipment development and integration for assembly and inspection processes, delivering robust, reliable, and repeatable manufacturing solutions.
• Drive full equipment lifecycle execution—from concept and feasibility through design, build, validation, transfer, and sustained performance.
• Translate process requirements into detailed equipment specifications, including URS, validation protocols, test plans, and compliant technical documentation.
• Ensure disciplined project execution by managing timelines, risks, and deliverables, while providing clear, actionable updates to stakeholders.
• Champion data-driven decision-making to improve throughput, labor efficiency, process capability, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

Cross-Functional & Organizational Leadership

• Partner closely with Manufacturing, R&D, Process Development, and Quality to ensure equipment readiness and successful deployment across sites.
• Drive cross-site alignment on standards, best practices, and scalable automation strategies.
• Lead change management efforts to enable adoption of new equipment and processes with minimal disruption.
• Influence stakeholders at multiple levels, aligning technical direction with business strategy.

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Provide technical leadership in troubleshooting and problem-solving for automated systems using structured, data-driven methodologies.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability, yield, efficiency, and cost reduction.

What Makes You Successful

• Proven success leading and developing engineering teams in a high-volume, regulated manufacturing environment.
• A track record leading end-to-end equipment lifecycle execution, including concept development, feasibility studies, URS development, design reviews, vendor selection, FAT/SAT, IQ/OQ/PQ, and transfer to manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated ability to balance technical leadership with people leadership, building engaged, high-performing teams.
• Strong experience in resource planning, prioritization, and execution across multiple concurrent programs.
• Deep knowledge of automation system design, integration, and validation in manufacturing settings.
• Strong decision-making skills with a structured, data-driven approach to risk management and problem-solving.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity while maintaining focus on delivery, compliance, and operational stability.
• Hands-on leadership of cross-functional teams spanning Automation Engineering, Process Development, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Operations, and external equipment integrators.
• Demonstrated expertise in automation systems including robotics, precision mechanics, fixtures and tooling, PLC-based control systems, vision systems, and machine safety architectures.
• Strong background in equipment qualification strategies, including statistical analysis, capability studies, risk management (pFMEA), and compliant documentation development.
• Experience supporting new product introductions (NPI), capacity expansion, and technology transitions while minimizing disruption to commercial manufacturing.
• History of driving continuous improvement initiatives to enhance throughput, yield, OEE, reliability, and cost efficiency across manufacturing lines.

Experience and Education Requirements

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree with 13+ years of industry experience
• Requires a degree in a technical discipline
• 5-8 years of previous people management experience