Senior Automation Project Manager

Description

Role: Senior Automation Project Manager

Department: Automation Implementation

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Employment Type: Full Time

The Sr. Automation PM independently leads the execution of complex intralogistics and warehouse automation projects from contract handoff through final customer acceptance, closeout, and transition to After Sales Service. This role owns project scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, safety coordination, commercial performance, stakeholder alignment, and customer satisfaction. The Sr. Automation PM provides clear leadership across Engineering, Controls, Software, Purchasing, Installation, Commissioning, Finance, Sales, suppliers, subcontractors, and customer teams to deliver safe, predictable, and commercially successful outcomes.
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Leadership & Governance

• Lead multiple concurrent automation projects or one highly complex program with full accountability for delivery results. 
• Create and maintain the project execution plan, governance cadence, responsibility assignments, decision log, action log, and communication plan. 
• Lead internal kickoff, customer kickoff, recurring project reviews, executive updates, recovery meetings, and lessons learned sessions. 
• Establish clear priorities, ownership, and due dates across cross functional teams, suppliers, and subcontractors. 
• Mentor Project Managers and Project Coordinators and provide practical guidance on project controls, customer communication, and issue resolution. 
• Escalate material risks, missed commitments, and decisions requiring leadership support with facts, impact, options, and a recommended path forward. 

Scope, Contract, and Commercial Management 

• Own the baseline scope and confirm alignment among the customer contract, proposal, specifications, drawings, assumptions, exclusions, schedule, and acceptance criteria. 
• Identify scope gaps, interface risks, and conflicting requirements before they affect execution. 
• Maintain disciplined change control, including documentation of scope, cost, schedule, risk, approval status, and customer authorization before work proceeds when contractually required. 
• Monitor project financial performance, including budget, forecast, commitments, contingency, cash flow, billing milestones, margin exposure, and cost to complete. 
• Partner with Finance and the Project Coordinator to support accurate and timely invoicing, payment milestone tracking, and project financial reporting. 
• Monitor contractual obligations, notices, deliverables, warranties, liquidated damages exposure, and acceptance requirements in coordination with leadership and appropriate business partners. 
• Support commercial negotiations and claims with complete records, objective impact analysis, and clear recommendations. 

Schedule and Resource Management

• Develop, baseline, and maintain an integrated project schedule covering design, approvals, procurement, fabrication, delivery, installation, controls, software, testing, training, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout. 
• Validate logic, dependencies, critical path, resource needs, customer prerequisites, supplier commitments, and recovery options. 
• Coordinate resource plans with functional leaders and identify capacity conflicts early. 
• Measure progress against the approved baseline, document variance, and lead corrective or recovery planning when milestones are at risk. 
• Provide reliable schedule updates to internal stakeholders, customers, suppliers, and leadership. 

Technical Integration and Execution 

• Coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, information technology, network, equipment, rack, conveyor, robotics, and building interfaces across the complete solution. 
• Ensure design reviews, submittals, approvals, requirements, interface documents, and working drawings are completed and distributed to the correct stakeholders. 
• Facilitate clarification of functional requirements, control narratives, software requirements, operating concepts, rate assumptions, and acceptance criteria. 
• Maintain working knowledge of warehouse automation technologies such as conveyor and sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, robotics, warehouse control systems, and warehouse execution systems. 
• Coordinate site readiness, delivery sequencing, installation access, utilities, network availability, customer dependencies, and operational constraints. 
• Lead integration planning across suppliers so that responsibilities, data exchanges, interfaces, and testing ownership are clear. 

Risk, Quality, Safety, and Compliance 

• Create and maintain the project risk and opportunity register with owners, mitigation actions, due dates, financial exposure, and escalation thresholds. 
• Lead issue resolution and root cause reviews for significant quality, performance, schedule, and integration problems. 
• Coordinate project quality planning, inspections, punch lists, nonconformance resolution, documentation, and verification of corrective actions. 
• Promote a strong safety culture and coordinate with site leadership, customers, suppliers, and subcontractors to confirm applicable safety plans, training, permits, and site requirements are addressed. 
• Stop or escalate work when unsafe conditions, unapproved scope, or material delivery risks are identified. 
• Maintain project records in accordance with company requirements and applicable contract obligations. 

Installation, Testing, Commissioning, and Acceptance 

• Coordinate construction and installation activities with the site team, customer, suppliers, and subcontractors. 
• Lead readiness reviews for installation, power on, controls checkout, software integration, factory testing, site testing, performance testing, training, go live, and acceptance. 
• Confirm test plans trace to contractual requirements and define prerequisites, responsibilities, evidence, issue handling, and retest expectations. 
• Manage commissioning priorities, daily constraints, punch items, defect resolution, and customer communication during critical site phases. 
• Prepare and execute customer acceptance activities and secure required approvals and completion documentation. 
• Coordinate operational handoff, training, spare parts, as built documentation, warranties, open item ownership, and transition to After Sales Service. 

Customer, Supplier, and Stakeholder Management 

• Serve as the primary project management contact for the customer throughout execution. 
• Build trusted relationships through clear expectations, timely communication, accurate reporting, and consistent follow through. 
• Lead supplier and subcontractor performance reviews covering scope, schedule, quality, safety, documentation, change control, and corrective actions. 
• Partner with Purchasing on supplier selection, award support, purchase order alignment, and performance management. 
• Coordinate with Sales on customer commitments, commercial strategy, account relationships, and future opportunities while protecting approved project scope. 
• Communicate difficult information directly and professionally while preserving constructive working relationships. 

Reporting and Project Controls 

• Provide concise weekly project updates to internal and external teams and monthly reporting to leadership. 
• Report overall status, project health, completed work, upcoming milestones, financial outlook, critical path, major risks, decisions, dependencies, changes, customer actions, supplier actions, and leadership attention items. 
• Maintain accurate schedules, meeting records, action logs, risk registers, decision logs, change logs, forecasts, and document repositories. 
• Use project data to identify trends, challenge unsupported assumptions, and drive timely decisions. 
• Ensure project documentation is complete, current, traceable, and ready for customer acceptance, audit, warranty support, and closeout. 

KNOWLEDGE & SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• Five or more years of project management experience delivering material handling, warehouse automation, industrial automation, or other complex engineered systems. 
• Demonstrated ownership of projects through design, procurement, installation, integration, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout. 
• Working knowledge of mechanical equipment, electrical systems, controls, software, networks, and system interfaces within an automation environment. 
• Experience managing contracts, scope, change control, schedules, budgets, forecasts, suppliers, subcontractors, risks, and customer expectations. 
• Ability to read and interpret technical specifications, contracts, schedules, layouts, and CAD drawings. 
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Project, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, and SharePoint or comparable project platforms. 
• Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and executive communication skills. 
• Ability to travel overnight and work outside standard business hours when required by installation, testing, commissioning, or customer operations. 
• Ability to work effectively in office, remote, warehouse, construction, and active customer operating environments.
• Bachelor degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, computer science, construction management, supply chain, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience. 
• Project Management Professional certification or comparable project management credential. 
• Experience acting as a general contractor, systems integrator, or prime supplier on turnkey automation projects. 
• Experience with conveyor and sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles, robotics, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, warehouse control systems, or warehouse execution systems. 
• Experience with schedule recovery, claims support, troubled project stabilization, and executive customer communication. 
• OSHA 30 training or comparable construction safety training. 
• Experience coaching Project Managers or leading project teams without direct authority.  

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES:

• Ownership: Accepts accountability, follows through, and makes sound decisions.  
• Commercial Judgment: Balances customer needs, contract obligations, cost, margin, and long term relationships 
• Structured Execution: Creates practical plans, maintains controls, and converts ambiguity into clear action.  
• Technical Curiosity: Asks effective questions and understands how system interfaces affect delivery 
• Communication: Provides clear, factual, audience appropriate updates and escalations 
• Leadership: Builds alignment, influences without authority, and supports the growth of others
• Problem Solving: Uses data, root cause thinking, and options analysis to resolve complex issues  
• Resilience: Maintains composure, priorities, and professionalism during high pressure project phases 

WORK CONDITIONS:

• Frequent computer use, virtual meetings, and extended periods of sitting or standing. 
• Regular presence in warehouses, construction areas, and customer facilities where personal protective equipment may be required. 
• Ability to walk active project sites, use stairs, and access work areas consistent with site rules and applicable accommodations. 
• Occasional evening, weekend, or extended hours during site mobilization, testing, commissioning, go live, or recovery activities. 
• Regular overnight travel based on project phase and business need

SUCCESS MEASURES:

• Safe execution and consistent compliance with project and site requirements. 
• Performance against approved scope, schedule, budget, quality, and acceptance commitments. 
• Accurate forecasting, timely change management, and protection of project financial outcomes. 
• Early identification and effective mitigation of risks, issues, and dependencies. 
• Complete project documentation and an orderly handoff to the customer and After Sales Service. 
• Customer confidence, stakeholder alignment, and clear executive visibility throughout the project lifecycle. 
• Contribution to repeatable processes, lessons learned, team capability, and continuous improvement

Why work for Storage Solutions - A Jungheinrich Company?

Our greatest asset is our people. We have built a team of passionate intralogistics experts who collaborate and partner with distribution and fulfillment operations across North America and worldwide. We believe in providing tailored solutions for every square foot of an operation, and behind these solutions is a carefully selected team that shares our vision, culture, and core values.
We are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace where every team member can thrive. When you join us, you become part of a family that values your growth, well-being, and contributions. Together, we innovate, solve challenges, and celebrate successes.
Additional Benefits

• Competitive Salary and Bonus Structure
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
• 401K with Company Match
• Company HSA Contribution
• Professional Growth Opportunities