Automation Operations Leader (f/m/d)

GE Vernova • Greenville, NC

2d • Onsite

About The Position

GE Vernova is seeking a Global Automation Operations & Performance Leader to own the financial performance and investment governance of our global automation portfolio. This individual will be the key connector between the Automation Center of Excellence (COE), business units, and senior leadership — translating operational realities into rigorous financial insight, and ensuring automation investments are evaluated and tracked using disciplined metrics such as NPV, payback period, and ROI. A core focus of this role is to take complex, technical, and operational data (production metrics, downtime, throughput, quality/scrap rates, labor efficiency) and translating them into clear financial terms that leadership can act on. This individual will also implement the COE service offerings to govern automation projects through defined stage-gates, significantly reducing the risk of project failure and ensuring disciplined, high-quality execution across the global portfolio.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Engineering, or related field (MBA a plus)
• Significant experience in financial analysis, operations, investment/capital planning, or program management, ideally within industrial, energy, or manufacturing sectors
• Demonstrated ability to translate operational data into financial insights (e.g., converting downtime, scrap, or throughput data into cost/ROI impact)
• Strong hands-on experience with NPV, payback period, IRR, and ROI analysis for capital investments
• Experience designing or implementing stage-gate/tollgate frameworks for project governance and risk mitigation
• Experience building or leveraging dashboards/visualization tools for KPI and performance reporting
• Experience working within or alongside a Center of Excellence (COE) model or matrixed organization
• Proven track record presenting financial/investment performance to senior/executive leadership
• Must be fully authorized to work in the nation of the applicable work location
• English language proficiency, written and verbal, is required to successfully perform the duties of this role.

Nice To Haves

• Strong understanding of manufacturing/operational KPIs (OEE, downtime, scrap rate, throughput, labor efficiency) and how they translate into financial outcomes
• Ability to "speak both languages" — operations and finance — and act as a translator between technical/operational teams and leadership
• Experience building tools/frameworks that standardize operational-to-financial reporting

Responsibilities

• Serve as the critical link between operational teams and financial reporting, converting operational KPIs (throughput, downtime, scrap/quality rates, labor productivity) into financial impact metrics (cost savings, NPV contribution, payback impact)
• Partner with business unit operational leaders to ensure automation business cases accurately reflect real-world operational data and constraints
• Build repeatable methodologies/tools to standardize how operational performance is converted into financial language across business units
• Own the end-to-end financial evaluation of automation investments across business units, including NPV, payback period, IRR, and ROI calculations
• Build and maintain standardized financial models/templates for business units being able to clearly segment investments and returns.
• Consolidate and report the health of the global automation investment portfolio, highlighting high-performing initiatives and underperforming/at-risk investments
• Develop benchmarks and hurdle rates for automation investment approval in partnership with COE and business units stakeholders
• Design, implement, and own the COE service offering for automation projects, establishing clear swim lanes between the COE and the business units.
• Enable consistent KPI reporting through dashboards and visualization, giving stakeholders real-time visibility into tollgate status, project health, and portfolio performance
• Define criteria and deliverables required at each tollgate (e.g., business case approval, technical readiness, financial validation, go-live readiness, post-implementation review)
• Use the tollgate framework to proactively identify and mitigate risks, reducing the likelihood of project delays, cost overruns, or failure to achieve projected returns
• Drive accountability across business units by enforcing tollgate discipline, ensuring projects only progress when key operational and financial criteria are met
• Continuously refine the tollgate framework based on lessons learned and evolving best practices across the global automation portfolio
• Prepare and deliver leadership-ready presentations summarizing automation investment performance and value unlocked (NPV realized, payback trends, ROI) and tollgate/project health across the portfolio
• Translate complex operational and financial data into clear, decision-ready insights for senior leadership
• Provide leadership with visibility into investment risk, project execution status, and value realization to inform future capital allocation decisions

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• prescription drug coverage
• access to Health Coach from GE Vernova, a 24/7 nurse-based resource
• access to the Employee Assistance Program, providing 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services
• GE Vernova Retirement Savings Plan, a tax-advantaged 401(k) savings opportunity with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions
• access to Fidelity resources and financial planning consultants
• tuition assistance
• adoption assistance
• paid parental leave
• disability benefits
• life insurance
• 12 paid holidays
• permissive time off

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior