Automation Project Manager

fairlife • Chicago, IL

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers. With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk ; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™ , a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation. To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com . job purpose : The Automation Project Manager will be responsible for leading automation and controls execution for major expansion and greenfield projects. This role is responsible for the design, integration, commissioning, and operational handover of PLC and SCADA systems supporting processing, packaging, CIP, utilities, and aseptic systems. The position is critical to achieving first-pass regulatory approval, sterility assurance, and stable commercial production.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or IT (Electrical, Controls, Automation, Software, or related field) is required
• 5+ years of industrial automation experience, facility startup experience strongly preferred
• Experience integrating complex OEM equipment into a unified control system
• Strong proficiency with MES, historians, SCADA, and PLCs required. Ignition SCADA, Allen Bradley Controls, and Canary Historian preferred
• Must be highly organized and able to prioritize, manage time well, multitask and troubleshoot
• Strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• Ability to handle ambiguity and work in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Prior experience in manufacturing environment is required, direct experience with food or beverage and aseptic manufacturing is preferred

Nice To Haves

• 5+ years of industrial automation experience, facility startup experience strongly preferred
• Strong proficiency with MES, historians, SCADA, and PLCs required. Ignition SCADA, Allen Bradley Controls, and Canary Historian preferred
• Prior experience in manufacturing environment is required, direct experience with food or beverage and aseptic manufacturing is preferred

Responsibilities

• Manage automation scope, schedule, and budget coordinating with OEMs, system integrators, EPC partners, and operations for packaging and utilities
• Review and approve control philosophies, functional specs, network designs, and visualizations to manage and resolve integration challenges across equipment packages to create integrated solutions primarily focused on packaging and utilities
• Own SCADA architecture, deployment, and configuration, ensuring high availability, redundancy, and disaster recovery and support integration of SCADA systems with PLCs, historians, MES, and enterprise systems aligned with ISA concepts
• Define tag structures, alarming, historization, and security models
• Lead automation activities during project execution through production startup including development and execution of detailed automation commissioning and startup plans
• Coordinate FAT/SAT, IO checkout, loop testing, and integrated system testing including dry runs, media runs, wet runs, and first commercial production
• Lead troubleshooting during startup and early-life operations
• Ensure electronic records meet data integrity and regulatory standards (21 CFR Part 11–aligned where applicable), supporting regulatory inspections, audits, and startup readiness reviews
• Ensure complete as-built documentation, backups, and cybersecurity controls are developed and lead transition of systems from project to operations ownership

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees