Director, Manufacturing Technology and Automation
About The Position
Re:Build Manufacturing is a growing family of industrial and engineering companies combining advanced technologies, deep operational expertise, and strategic M&A to build America’s next-generation industrial leader. At Re:Build, we blend engineering excellence, lean methodologies, and cutting-edge digital capabilities to drive step-change improvements in productivity, quality, and innovation across our member companies. Re:Build was founded to pioneer a profitable model for revitalizing U.S. manufacturing. Our ecosystem spans product design, automation, digital engineering, fabrication, assembly, and large-scale contract manufacturing. We serve customers in aerospace, defense, mobility, clean tech, biotech, industrial equipment, and more. As AI rapidly reshapes industrial markets, Re:Build is expanding its advanced computing, automation, and intelligence capabilities to deliver meaningful transformation across both digital and physical environments. We are seeking an experienced manufacturing technology leader who can architect and drive Re:Build’s automation journey across three layers: data infrastructure, software automation, and physical robotics. This is an individual contributor role with strategic scope — the person who identifies high-value automation opportunities, designs the on-site deployment strategy, selects and evaluates platforms and tools, builds internal and external technology partner relationships, and creates the playbooks that make every deployment repeatable across our manufacturing network. The ideal candidate has lived at the intersection of manufacturing operations and digital technology. They have personally deployed both digital systems and physical automation in discrete manufacturing environments. They understand the economics of automation across the full production spectrum — from high-mix, low-volume work to higher-volume production runs. They know when a cobot machine tender pencils out and when it doesn’t, and they won’t try to automate things that shouldn’t be automated. They can present to the CEO and be credible with a machinist in the same afternoon.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, or related field required; advanced degree preferred but not required if experience is strong
- 8+ years of experience spanning manufacturing/industrial engineering and automation, with hands-on deployment of both digital systems (MES, IoT, digital twins, data infrastructure) and physical automation (robotics cells, machine tending, automated inspection) in discrete manufacturing environments
- Deep understanding of manufacturing economics – both high-rate and high-mix, low-volume – you know why automation strategies that work in one production environment often fail in another, and you design accordingly
- Experience with robotics integration in manufacturing: cobot deployment, machine tending, vision-guided systems, automated inspection, or material handling automation
- Proven ability to build trust with factory operators, production managers, and site leadership — you have deployed technology on the shop floor and know what adoption success and failure look like
- Strong communication and influencing skills at both the executive level and on the shop floor
- Willingness to travel regularly to Re:Build sites (expect 40–60% travel in the first year)
Responsibilities
- Design and own the multi-site digital and automation deployment strategy across Re:Build’s manufacturing sites
- Identify and prioritize specific automation projects – define the problem, scope the solution, estimate the ROI and get stakeholder commitment
- Own end-to-end project delivery with the help from internal resources — from platform selection through integration, operator training, and sustained adoption
- Create documented, repeatable deployment playbooks so that projects can be replicated across different operations and each subsequent site deployment is faster and more predictable than the last
- Work with the AI Director to move AI applications to factory deployment
- Define the production data schema and quality requirements that enable AI model training — ensuring the data infrastructure supports the company’s broader AI and analytics strategy
Benefits
- Every employee shares in the ownership of the company and participates in the financial rewards of our collective success — at every level.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
