Engineering Automation Engineer

Coke Florida Careers•Tampa, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC (Coke Florida) is a family-owned independent Coca-Cola bottler that is the third largest privately-held and the sixth largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. Coke Florida sells, markets, manufactures and distributes over 600 products of The Coca-Cola Company and other partner companies including Monster Beverage Corporation and BODYARMOR. In 2026, for the 5th year in a row, Coke Florida was named as a US Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. This program recognizes outstanding U.S. private companies and the achievements of their management teams in four key areas: strategy, ability to execute, corporate culture, and governance/financial performance. Coke Florida is looking for an Automation Engineer based out of our Tampa HQ location. We’re currently looking for 8:00am- 5:00pm, Monday- Friday. As Coke Florida’s Automation Engineer, you will lead the strategy, design and execution of automation initiatives across Coke Florida’s manufacturing and distribution network. This role owns the full lifecycle of automation solutions, which includes concept and business case development through implementation, integration and performance stabilization. This position drives scalable, standardized automation platforms aligns to the network strategy ensuring solutions deliver on safety, performance and ROI. The Automation Engineer will partner cross-functionally with finance, distribution, planning and manufacturing to help influence others, guide multiple projects while establishing governance, best practices and long-term automation decisions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial or related field)
6+ years’ experience in automation, controls engineering, or material handling systems in a manufacturing or distribution environment
Proven experience managing capital projects from concept through commissioning
Strong knowledge of PLCs (preferably Allen Bradley), SCADA and warehouse management systems
Proven track record of delivering capital automation (or similar) projects ($1M-$20M) from concept through commissioning and stabilization
Knowledge of Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) and automated material handling systems (conveyance, robotics, etc.)
Excellent communication skills to include:
Ability to demonstrate high emotional intelligence
Ability to influence without authority
Prepare and conduct complex meetings for range of audience
Proven ability to have difficult conversations

Nice To Haves

Previous experience working on a high-volume Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) or Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) environment
Exposure to enterprise systems such as SAP
Advanced knowledge of material flow, warehouse automation and robotics
PMP Certification
Master’s degree in engineering or similar field

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end delivery of multi-stie automation initiatives, including planning, design, cost estimation, execution and performance ramp-up
Develop, valid and champion business cases (ROI, payback, cost-benefit, etc.) to support future company investments
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to prioritize automation investments aligning to network strategy, productivity and capital efficiency goals.
Establish and manage standardized testing, commissioning, and maintenance protocols across Coke Florida facilities
Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for automation systems, material handling, and warehouse technologies
Lead integration of automation platforms with enterprise systems such as (Coca-Cola North America (CONA), manufacturing systems and related technologies)
Provide technical oversight for Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Advanced Process Control (APC) environments to optimize performance and reliability
Standardize automation designs, specifications and best practices to enable scalable deployments across the network
Lead identification and mitigation of risks associated with automation systems, such as machine guarding, material handling hazards and elevated work environments
Lead systems integrators, contractors and external partners deliver high-quality automation solutions
Drive alignment and decision making across complex, milt-site initiatives