Director, Automation Engineering

Position Summary...

What you'll do...

The Director, Implementation – Automation & Infrastructure is responsible for leading a portfolio of complex automation, material handling, and industrial racking projects across multiple sites. The Director will lead a team of Site Implementation Managers, establishing consistent execution standards and ensuring projects are delivered safely, to scope, on schedule, within budget, and at the required operational performance. The Director will provide portfolio-level leadership from site readiness through installation, commissioning, go-live, and operational handoff. This role is accountable for proactively identifying systemic risks, resolving cross-functional constraints, managing strategic vendor performance, and ensuring project teams have the resources and support required to successfully execute. The role will leverage AI, data, and digital tools to improve portfolio visibility, identify emerging risks and trends, strengthen project controls, and enable faster, data-driven decisions across the implementation portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

• Portfolio Leadership: Lead execution across a portfolio of concurrent automation, material handling, and industrial racking projects, ensuring consistent delivery against safety, scope, schedule, budget, quality, and operational readiness commitments.
• Team Leadership: Lead, develop, and coach a team of Site Implementation Managers responsible for day-to-day field execution. Establish clear expectations, operating mechanisms, accountability, and development plans while ensuring appropriate resources are aligned to project needs.
• Scope, Schedule & Budget: Maintain portfolio-level accountability for approved scope, project schedules, capital budgets, forecasts, and change control. Identify trends and variances across projects and ensure recovery plans are established when commitments are at risk.
• Project Governance: Establish consistent project management standards, operating mechanisms, and performance reviews across the portfolio. Maintain clear visibility to scope, schedule, budget, risks, open issues, vendor performance, commissioning, and operational readiness.
• Risk Management: Maintain portfolio-level visibility to project risk registers and proactively identify systemic and cross-project risks. Ensure mitigation plans, owners, and due dates are established and intervene when risks require senior leadership or cross-functional support.
• Issue Resolution & Escalation: Provide leadership for critical issues that cannot be resolved at the project level. Remove organizational barriers, align decision-makers, and drive timely resolution of issues impacting project commitments.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Provide leadership and governance for key equipment suppliers, system integrators, rack suppliers/installers, contractors, and engineering partners. Monitor performance across projects, identify systemic gaps, and hold partners accountable to contractual, schedule, quality, and performance commitments.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with senior leaders across Engineering, Construction, Operations, Reliability/Maintenance, Technology, Safety, Procurement, Finance, and external partners to align priorities, resolve dependencies, and ensure successful project delivery.
• Installation & Site Readiness: Ensure Site Implementation Managers have established comprehensive readiness plans covering site access, equipment delivery, staging, installation sequencing, utilities, construction interfaces, technology dependencies, and operational requirements.
• Commissioning & Go-Live: Establish consistent expectations for testing, commissioning, acceptance testing, punch-list closure, performance validation, training, and operational readiness. Ensure projects meet defined acceptance criteria prior to transition into operations.
• Change Management: Establish disciplined portfolio-level change control. Ensure proposed changes are evaluated for scope, cost, schedule, technical, and operational impacts and receive appropriate review and approval before execution.
• AI & Digital Tools: Drive adoption of approved AI and digital project-management tools across the implementation organization to improve schedule and cost analysis, risk identification, issue management, document review, reporting, and identification of cross-project trends. Use AI-generated insights to strengthen decision-making while maintaining clear human accountability for project outcomes.
• Operational Handoff: Ensure consistent standards are established for transition to Operations and Reliability, including documentation, training, spare parts, asset information, punch-list closure, open issues, system ownership, and post-go-live support.
• Continuous Improvement: Capture lessons learned across projects and translate them into improved design standards, implementation processes, vendor expectations, commissioning practices, and future project requirements.
• Talent Management Develops criteria and guidelines for determining optimal fit between individuals and key roles Develops a consistent set of practices that build a pipeline of future leaders for key positions Creates a specific employee value proposition to improve the retention and motivation of team members Directs mentoring and coaching programs to reinforce learning and development and to surface candidates for selection and succession Offers key developmental and transitional experiences to associates Promotes a talent focused organization where talent management is the responsibility of all managers
• Respect the Individual Builds high performing teams seeks and embraces differences in people cultures ideas and experiences creates a workplace where all associates feel seen supported and connected through culture of belonging so associates thrive and perform drives a positive associate and customer member experience for all
• Respect the Individual Creates a discipline and focus around developing talent through feedback coaching mentoring and developmental opportunities builds the talent pipeline fosters an environment allowing everyone to bring their best selves to work empowers associates and partners to act in the best interest of the customer and company and regularly recognizes others contributions and accomplishments supports strategies and drives initiatives that attract and retain the best talent
• Respect the Individual Builds strong and trusting relationships with team members and business partners works collaboratively and crossfunctionally to achieve objectives and communicates and listens attentively with energy and positivity to motivate influence and inspire commitment and action
• Act with Integrity Ensures that teams follow the law our code of conduct and company policies promotes an environment where associates feel comfortable sharing concerns and models our culture of nonretaliation listens to concerns raised by associates and takes action and enables others to do the same holds self and teams accountable for achieving results in a way that is consistent with our values
• Act with Integrity Acts as an altruistic servant leader and is consistently humble selfaware
• Serve our Customers and members Delivers expected business results while putting the customermember first and consistently applying an omnimerchant mindset and acting with an Every Day LowCost mindset to drive value and Every Day Low Prices for customersmembers
• Strive for Excellence Consistently raises the bar and seeks to improve demonstrates curiosity and a growth mindset seeks feedback asks thoughtful questions and fosters an environment that supports learning innovation learning from mistakes and intelligent risktaking and exhibits resilience in the face of setbacks

At Walmart, we offer competitive pay as well as performance-based bonus awards and other great benefits for a happier mind, body, and wallet. Health benefits include medical, vision and dental coverage. Financial benefits include 401(k), stock purchase and company-paid life insurance. Paid time off benefits include PTO (including sick leave), parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting. Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more. You will also receive PTO and/or PPTO that can be used for vacation, sick leave, holidays, or other purposes. The amount you receive depends on your job classification and length of employment. It will meet or exceed the requirements of paid sick leave laws, where applicable. For information about PTO, see https://one.walmart.com/notices. Live Better U is a Walmart-paid education benefit program for full-time and part-time associates in Walmart and Sam's Club facilities. Programs range from high school completion to bachelor's degrees, including English Language Learning and short-form certificates. Tuition, books, and fees are completely paid for by Walmart.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to a specific plan or program terms.
For information about benefits and eligibility, see One.Walmart.
The annual salary range for this position is $130,000.00 - $260,000.00 Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include :
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Minimum Qualifications...

Outlined below are the required minimum qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no minimum qualifications.

Option 1: Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related field and 5 years’ experience in Engineering, supply chain, or a related area. Option 2: 7
years’ experience in Engineering, supply chain, or a related area.
3 years’ supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications...

Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no preferred qualifications.

Doctorate: Computer Engineering, Masters: Computer Engineering

Primary Location...

805 Respect, Bentonville, AR 72716, United States of America

Walmart and its subsidiaries are committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and has a no tolerance policy regarding the use of illegal drugs and alcohol on the job. This policy applies to all employees and aims to create a safe and productive work environment.