Automation Lead

Overview

The Automation Lead is responsible for leading a global engineering group and setting the automation agenda for PGCS across two critical business areas: the Capital agenda and the Sustain agenda. This role provides strategic leadership for automation design, execution, operational technology, cybersecurity, standards, and site technical support across all PGCS sites.

The role acts as the global automation authority for strategic capital projects, site issue resolution, operational technology sustainment, and future automation capability. The Automation Lead ensures that automation standards, best practices, and cybersecurity requirements are consistently applied across strategic and base projects, while enabling reliable, secure, and future-ready manufacturing operations.

Responsibilities

Global Automation Leadership

• Lead a global engineering automation group supporting PGCS manufacturing operations and capital delivery.
• Define, own, and execute the global automation agenda across Capital and Sustain priorities.
• Provide leadership, governance, and technical direction to ensure automation solutions are robust, scalable, secure, and aligned with business needs.
• Act as the senior automation point of contact for global stakeholders, site teams, engineering, IT/OT, and external partners.

Capital Agenda: Global Design and Execution

• Lead the strategic automation group responsible for the design and execution of all strategic capital projects.
• Ensure automation standards, best practices, and governance requirements are followed across strategic and base capital projects for all sites.
• Provide technical leadership for automation scope definition, architecture, vendor selection, design reviews, commissioning, validation, and operational handover.
• Partner with capital project teams to ensure automation solutions are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and to the required technical standard.
• Serve as the SME lead for new technologies and future capital initiatives, ensuring emerging automation capability is evaluated and deployed where it creates business value.

Sustain Agenda: Operational Technology and Site Support

• Lead the global Operational Technology agenda for PGCS automation, supporting sustain processes, IT/OT initiatives, and technology projects.
• Manage the automation technology sustain program, ensuring platforms, infrastructure, software, and standards remain current, reliable, and secure.
• Provide global site technical support and issue resolution, acting as the escalation point for automation-related challenges across all sites.
• Lead problem solving, root cause analysis, and corrective actions for complex automation and OT issues escalated by sites.
• Provide SME leadership in System Platform, Digital Factory, software migration, cybersecurity, change management, and related automation technologies.

Automation Standards and Governance

• Own and maintain the PGCS automation standards portfolio, including 25 automation standards that define best practice across automation initiatives and projects.
• Ensure standards are consistently applied across capital projects, sustain activities, site initiatives, vendor deliverables, and technology deployments.
• Drive continuous improvement of standards based on lessons learned, technology evolution, cybersecurity requirements, and operational feedback.
• Provide governance and assurance to ensure automation designs are consistent, supportable, secure, and aligned to PGCS and PepsiCo requirements.

Cybersecurity and IT/OT Compliance

• Ensure PGCS compliance with cybersecurity sustain standards including NIST, ISA/IEC 62443, and PepsiCo Global Controls across all sites.
• Lead the mitigation of cybersecurity risks across operational technology environments, working with sites, IT, engineering, and external partners.
• Ensure all sites are progressing completion and build-out of DAS networks in line with cybersecurity and operational requirements.
• Support cybersecurity assessments, remediation plans, system hardening, change management, backup and recovery, and audit readiness across the automation landscape.

Qualifications

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Automation, Electrical Engineering, Control Systems, Computer Engineering, or related engineering discipline; master’s degree preferred.
• Significant experience in automation, controls, operational technology, or digital manufacturing within a complex manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience leading global or multi-site automation teams, programs, standards, and governance models.
• Strong track record in capital project automation design, execution, commissioning, and operational handover.
• Demonstrated knowledge of OT cybersecurity, IT/OT integration, industrial networks, and automation system lifecycle management.

Technical Expertise

• Automation architecture, PLC, HMI, SCADA, System Platform, historian, and industrial network technologies.
• Digital Factory, smart manufacturing, data connectivity, and future automation technologies.
• OT cybersecurity frameworks including NIST, ISA/IEC 62443, and corporate global controls.
• Software migration, platform lifecycle management, technology sustainment, and change control.

Capital project delivery, vendor management, commissioning, validation, and operational readiness

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic leadership and ability to set a compelling automation vision.
• Strong stakeholder management across global engineering, operations, IT, cybersecurity, and site leadership teams.
• Ability to influence standards adoption and drive governance across multiple sites and projects.
• Excellent problem-solving capability with the ability to lead complex technical issue resolution.
• Strong coaching, communication, and capability-building skills across technical and non-technical audiences.