Director, Automation Engineering

Walmart•Bentonville, AR

7d•Onsite

About The Position

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.

Requirements

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

Nice To Haves

Doctorate: Computer Engineering
Masters: Computer Engineering

Responsibilities

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Capture lessons learned across projects and translate them into improved design standards, implementation processes, vendor expectations, commissioning practices, and future project requirements.
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
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
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
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
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
Acts as an altruistic servant leader and is consistently humble selfaware
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
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

Benefits

Medical coverage
Vision coverage
Dental coverage
401(k)
Stock purchase
Company-paid life insurance
PTO (including sick leave)
Parental leave
Family care leave
Bereavement
Jury duty
Voting
Short-term disability
Long-term disability
Company discounts
Military Leave Pay
Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
PTO and/or PPTO that can be used for vacation, sick leave, holidays, or other purposes.
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.