Global Manufacturing SME, Automation and Robotics

Johnson Controls•San Antonio, TX

1d•$140,600 - $234,800•Onsite

About The Position

The Automation & Robotics Integration SME is Johnson Controls' global technical authority for automating how its products are made — collaborative robotics (cobots), fixed and flexible automation cell design, controls-to-MES systems integration, and the automation technology roadmap and vendor evaluation process. Operating within the newly established global Advanced Manufacturing PPO and reporting to the VP of Advanced Manufacturing, this role sets the enterprise standards, owns the technology roadmap, and defines the best practices that govern how Johnson Controls automates its key processes across every region and plant. This is a hands-on, front-line role: the SME is expected to be at Gemba — on the plant floor, at the automation cell, at the controls cabinet — not behind a desk, personally driving problem solving and results rather than delegating them. The role sits at the intersection of day-to-day plant operations, manufacturing engineering, and the global automation/robotics supply base — close enough to the shop floor to understand real constraints, close enough to engineering to influence automatable design, and close enough to vendors to guarantee incoming capability. Success requires deep, hands-on technical mastery of automation and robotics integration; the credibility and influence to set direction across a global network without direct line authority; an intense, urgent focus on delivering substantial, measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost rather than incremental activity; and the ability to experiment quickly, prove out solutions at a single line or plant, and then scale what works decisively across locations and regions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics, Electrical, Controls, Robotics, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field
10+ years of progressive experience in automation and robotics integration within complex manufacturing or industrial operations
Hands-on expertise designing and deploying fixed and flexible automation cells, including collaborative robotics (cobots)
Demonstrated experience integrating automation controls with MES/ERP systems
Demonstrated experience setting automation standards adopted across multiple sites or a global network
Experience evaluating, qualifying, and managing automation and robotics vendors
Track record of being personally hands-on at Gemba, driving urgent resolution of automation and uptime issues
Willingness and ability to travel internationally (approximately 30–50%) to plants and suppliers
Demonstrated ability to pilot an automation solution quickly at one line or plant and then scale it successfully across multiple locations and regions
Robotics and cobot safety standards (e.g., ISO/TS 15066)
Automation cell design principles (fixed vs. flexible)
Controls architecture and MES/ERP integration fundamentals
OEE and automation uptime/reliability analysis
Vendor evaluation and technology benchmarking methodologies
Financial acumen sufficient to build the business case for capital investment in automation and robotics
Ability to challenge, and be challenged by, plant, engineering, and supplier technical experts as a peer authority

Nice To Haves

Experience with major robotics/cobot platforms (e.g., Universal Robots, FANUC, ABB, KUKA)
Controls/PLC programming experience (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens)
MES platform integration experience
Lean or Six Sigma certification
Prior global or multi-country role, with exposure to diverse regulatory and cultural operating environments
Demonstrated pilot-to-scale track record across multiple plants or regions

Responsibilities

Define, publish, and govern the global standards, specifications, and procedures for automation cell design, collaborative robot (cobot) safety and integration, and controls-to-MES systems integration that apply across all Johnson Controls plants. Establish the audit and governance mechanisms that keep every site compliant and consistent.
Own and continuously refresh the multi-year global technology roadmap for automation and robotics integration. Evaluate and pilot emerging technologies — collaborative and flexible robotics, controls-to-MES/ERP integration architectures, and next-generation automation cell designs — and lead structured vendor evaluation, driving adoption where it creates the greatest enterprise value.
Identify, codify, and deploy automation best practices across the global plant network. Partner with plant, regional, and business-system teams to close performance gaps in OEE, uptime, and automation reliability — building a common global playbook rather than site-by-site solutions. Favor rapid experimentation over lengthy analysis: pilot new automation cells and technologies quickly at a single line or plant, prove out the result, and then scale successful solutions decisively across other locations and regions.
Serve as the primary technical liaison between manufacturing engineering and plant operations, ensuring new processes are designed to be automatable from the earliest stages. Lead structured evaluation, qualification, and management of automation and robotics vendors to guarantee that the best available technology and capability reach Johnson Controls' plants.
Build automation and robotics technical capability across the network through training, certification pathways, and hands-on mentoring of plant and controls engineering talent. Act as the escalation point and final technical authority for the most complex automation, integration, and uptime problems — leading root-cause investigations and ensuring fixes are sustained, not just applied.
Spend the majority of working time at Gemba — on the plant floor, at the automation cell, at the controls cabinet — rather than remotely directing work from a desk. Personally lead problem solving on the highest-priority safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost issues with a visible sense of urgency, and hold self and others accountable for converting standards and roadmaps into substantial, measurable results, not just documented plans.