Acuity Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces, light and more things to come. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL) and Acuity Intelligent Spaces (AIS), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in people’s lives.

We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management solutions, and an audio, video and control platform. We focus on customer outcomes and drive growth and productivity to increase market share and deliver superior returns. We look to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.

Acuity Inc. is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 13,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuityinc.com.

Job Summary

The VP, Engineering Operational Excellence leads the operating model that enables the engineering organization to execute efficiently, predictably, and at scale. This role owns engineering resource and capacity planning, operational performance reporting, process excellence, and technology enablement across engineering. The role serves as a cross-functional integrator across Engineering, Product Management, Sourcing, Pre/Post Sales, Manufacturing, Finance, Electronics and Technology to improve product vitality, velocity, product data quality, digital transformation, and organizational effectiveness. The position provides the VP of Engineering with fact-based visibility, decision support, and disciplined follow-through on strategic initiatives.

Key Tasks & Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

Lead engineering portfolio governance and operating cadence, including project health reviews, milestone tracking, resource-risk escalation, executive scorecards, and decision support for the VP of Engineering.
Own engineering resource, capacity, and organizational planning, including demand versus capacity analysis, headcount planning support, contractor oversight, skills-gap visibility, and prioritization tradeoff analysis.
Drive engineering process excellence and continuous improvement by standardizing product development, ECO, launch readiness, and cross-functional execution processes; identify bottlenecks and implement measurable improvements.
Lead engineering digital process improvement, including PLM/digital-thread adoption, product data governance, AI and automation opportunities, requirements traceability, and engineering knowledge-management workflows.
Establish and maintain engineering operational metrics and dashboards for quality, delivery, cost, innovation, productivity, resource utilization, and portfolio throughput.
Coordinate cross-functional execution across Engineering, Product Management, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, Electronics and IT to resolve dependencies, improve launch readiness, and ensure strategic initiative alignment.
Support engineering financial and business management, including budget tracking, capital planning inputs, lab/equipment investment visibility, cost-reduction reporting, and benefits-realization tracking for initiatives.

Skills and Minimum Experience Required

Required Skills

Strategic operations leadership with the ability to translate engineering priorities into executable roadmaps, governance routines, metrics, and cross-functional action plans.
Strong communication capability: clearly conveys complex engineering, operational, and process change topics to senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders using concise, data-supported messaging.
Demonstrated ability to build executive dashboards, define KPIs, interpret operational performance trends, and distinguish status reporting from execution reality.
Experience leading process improvement, standard work, stage-gate governance, ECO or product development process optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Working knowledge of engineering business systems and digital process practices, including PLM, product data governance, BOM/configuration management, requirements management, workflow automation, and AI-enabled productivity tools.
Strong cross-functional leadership, influence, and change-management skills with the ability to align Engineering, Product Management, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, and IT.
Financial and business acumen sufficient to support engineering budgets, capital planning, investment prioritization, cost-out tracking, and benefits realization for strategic initiatives.

Minimum Education and Experience

Education: Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent
Experience: 12 or more years

Preferred Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or related technical field; Master's degree or MBA preferred.

Preferred Experience

Experience in engineering operations, PMO/portfolio governance, product development execution, PLM/digital process, process improvement, and cross-functional leadership in a manufacturing or technology-driven environment. Lighting, controls, electrical products, building technology, or related industry experience preferred.

Physical Requirements

Sedentary Work - Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Role involves sitting most of the time with occasional walking, standing, and participation in lab, manufacturing, or project review environments.

Travel Requirements

Travel Type: Domestic and/or International

This role may require collaboration across multiple engineering, manufacturing, and business locations; participation in executive reviews; and support for change-management activities tied to engineering systems, processes, and initiative programs.

We value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regards to race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity or national origin, disability, pregnancy, religion, covered veteran status, protected genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

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Accommodation in the Application Process: Acuity Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. It complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws requiring reasonable accommodation of persons with disabilities in employment. This includes the provision of reasonable accommodation in the application process. If you believe you need reasonable accommodation to assist with our online application system or any aspect of the application process, please contact Human Resources at (770) 922-9000, and select option 4.  Please be prepared to identify the requisition / position applied for and the aspect of the application process for which you believe accommodation is needed. The company will engage in an interactive process with you to better understand the request and to determine whether reasonable accommodation is needed and available.

Any unsolicited resumes sent to Acuity Inc. from a third party, such as an Agency recruiter, including unsolicited resumes sent to an Acuity Inc. mailing address, fax machine or email address, directly to Acuity Inc. employees, or to Acuity Inc. resume database will be considered Acuity Inc. property. Acuity Inc. will NOT pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.

Acuity Inc. will consider any candidate for whom an Agency has submitted an unsolicited resume to have been referred by the Agency free of any charges or fees. This includes any Agency that is an approved/engaged vendor but does not have the appropriate approvals to be engaged on a search.

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About the company

Acuity provides accounting services designed for high-growth startups, offering everything from virtual bookkeeping to fractional CFOs. It combines highly certified people, proven processes, and world-class accounting technologies to manage a company’s books and financial reporting. Clients access a range of services tailored to their needs, from day-to-day bookkeeping to strategic financial guidance, all supported by standardized workflows and advanced software. This makes Acuity different from competitors by focusing specifically on startups and growth-stage businesses, delivering a full spectrum of accounting functions under one roof and emphasizing scalable processes and tech. The goal is to let startups concentrate on building their business while Acuity handles their financial operations and helps them scale efficiently.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$1.5M

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Founded

2004

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

Acuity's June 2026 blog and services pages show active client acquisition and content velocity.
Sorren backing expands tax depth, niche expertise, and cross-firm resources for complex clients.
Serving 1,000-plus companies proves repeatable demand across startups, ecommerce, SaaS, and creative agencies.

What critics are saying

Kenji Kuramoto left for Basis in April 2026, weakening Acuity's founder-led brand.
Acuity's 2025 Sorren merger and rebrand can confuse clients and erode loyalty.
Basis's $100 million AI push threatens CAS firms by automating accounting workflows.

What makes Acuity unique

Acuity, powered by Sorren, combines bookkeeping, tax, controller, and fractional CFO services.
Dedicated humans plus cloud tools like QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, and BILL reduce friction.
No-contract, transparent pricing and Slack access fit startups needing flexible finance support.

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Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Paid Vacation
Gym Membership

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-3%

1 year growth

-3%

2 year growth

-3%

Associated Press

Oct 1st, 2026

Acuity reports $4.6B full-year sales, up 7%, with adjusted diluted EPS rising 11% to $19.90

Acuity Inc. reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 net sales of $1.2 billion, up 3% year-over-year, and full-year sales of $4.6 billion, up 7%. The industrial technology company posted diluted earnings per share of $5.63 for the quarter, up 56%, and $17.05 for the full year, up 36%. Adjusted diluted EPS reached $5.77 in Q4, an 11% increase, and $19.90 for the full year, also up 11%. The company generated $826 million in cash flow from operations during fiscal 2026. During the quarter, Acuity received $44.9 million in tariff refunds and incurred $17.8 million in special charges related to product portfolio and supply chain initiatives. The company repaid $200 million of its term loan, increased its dividend by 18%, and repurchased over 940,000 shares for $287.2 million.

Hypepotamus, Inc.

Apr 7th, 2025

Acuity Behavioral Health Raises $1.5M

Atlanta-based Acuity Behavioral Health, led by CEO Jim Szyperski, has raised $1.5M to address the rising demand for mental and behavioral health services. The company aims to enhance inpatient psychiatric care with its AI-powered Behavioral Health Acuity Index (BHAI), which provides clinical decision support and helps hospitals forecast staffing needs based on behavioral health demands.