CIM Applications Manager

Shaw Industries•Dalton, GA

23h

About The Position

The CIM Applications Manager plays a key leadership role within Shaw’s Enterprise Automation organization, focused on modernizing and rationalizing the manufacturing software ecosystem across the Collaborative, Innovative, Manufacturing (CIM) group. This position manages a small team of software engineers responsible for over 90 applications that support manufacturing operations across multiple facilities. The Applications Manager is accountable for developing and executing a software rationalization and modernization strategy that reduces complexity, increases interoperability, and aligns with enterprise architecture and data strategies. A central initiative for this role is the design and implementation of a modern Unified Namespace (UNS) — enabling real-time, contextual data exchange between automation, MES, and enterprise systems. The UNS will serve as the connective framework to unify systems, simplify integrations, and support Shaw’s data-driven manufacturing future. The Applications Manager will partner closely with the Automation Enablement Team, whose mission is to “wrap” standard enterprise functions for use by practicing automation engineers, ensuring those functions are easily accessible and reusable through standardized interfaces. This position requires a strategic thinker who can bridge manufacturing and enterprise technology, lead modernization efforts across diverse systems, and foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
7+ years of experience in software development, systems architecture, or IT/OT integration within a manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated success leading software rationalization or modernization efforts across multiple legacy systems.
Experience designing or implementing Unified Namespace architectures and event-driven integration patterns (e.g., MQTT, OPC UA, REST APIs).
Working knowledge of ISA-95, B2MML, and manufacturing data structures.
Strong understanding of enterprise data strategy and architectural alignment principles.
Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills with the ability to influence across technical and business boundaries.
Ability to travel to manufacturing facilities as required.

Responsibilities

Strategic & Architectural Leadership Develop and execute a comprehensive Software Rationalization Roadmap, consolidating and modernizing legacy systems to reduce technical debt and overlap.
Lead the design and phased deployment of a Unified Namespace (UNS) to standardize and simplify data exchange across automation, MES, and enterprise platforms.
Align software development practices and modernization efforts with the Enterprise Automation roadmap, enterprise architecture principles, and data governance standards.
Establish and maintain CIM Software Architecture Standards, ensuring interoperability, scalability, and maintainability.
Drive architectural reviews and modernization decisions, using benefit/effort analysis and business impact assessments.
Software Portfolio Management Maintain a complete and accurate inventory of all manufacturing software applications, including function, owner, lifecycle stage, dependencies, and technology stack.
Implement governance processes to determine which systems to sustain, modernize, or retire.
Track and report key performance indicators related to application rationalization, modernization progress, and support burden reduction.
Manage budgets, resource allocations, and project prioritization to ensure efficient execution of the modernization plan.
Unified Namespace & Data Enablement Architect and implement the UNS as the common communication backbone for manufacturing data.
Partner with the Automation Enablement Team to expose enterprise functions and data services through standard APIs, events, and reusable components.
Ensure manufacturing systems produce contextualized, structured, and governed data suitable for use in enterprise analytics and decision-making.
Collaborate with enterprise data and analytics teams to ensure alignment with corporate data models and interoperability frameworks (ISA-95/B2MML).
Collaboration & Leadership Serve as a key liaison between Enterprise Automation, CIM, and Enterprise Architecture, promoting alignment across technical domains.
Mentor and coach engineers in modern software development practices such as modular design, DevOps, CI/CD, and secure coding.
Foster a culture of innovation, simplification, and continuous improvement.
Evaluate third-party solutions, vendors, and emerging technologies for potential adoption.
Communicate project progress and strategic direction to stakeholders at all levels of the organization.