Industrial & Automation Engineer

Adorama • Chattanooga, TN

12h

About The Position

Lead industrial engineering and warehouse automation initiatives to improve productivity, labor utilization, material flow, and fulfillment capacity. A central responsibility is helping Adorama implement, integrate, and maximize the long-term value of its Goods-to-Person (GTP) system. The role also develops labor standards, planning models, performance reporting, and process improvements across manual and automated operations. This is a hands-on position requiring strong analytical judgment, independent project leadership, and regular involvement on the warehouse floor.

The engineer reports directly to the VP of Fulfillment and partners closely with the Sr. Director of Operations, Senior Operations Manager, department leaders, BI/IT, Maintenance, and external automation partners. The engineer owns analytical methods, standards, process design recommendations, and validation of results. Operations leadership owns daily staffing, execution, coaching, and sustained performance. The role influences change through data, practical floor-level collaboration, and clear recommendations, without relying on direct supervisory authority.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent directly relevant experience.
• At least 4 years of hands-on industrial or operations engineering experience in a high-volume distribution or e-commerce fulfillment environment, with demonstrated ability to work independently.
• Proven experience with labor standards, productivity analysis, staffing or capacity models, and measurable warehouse process improvements.
• Practical experience with automated material handling systems and understanding of WMS/WCS-driven workflows, system interfaces, and material flow.
• Strong analytical skills using Excel and operational datasets; ability to work with BI/reporting tools and translate findings into clear actions for operating leaders.
• Experience leading cross-functional projects and working effectively with vendors, IT, maintenance, and warehouse teams.

Nice To Haves

• Direct GTP, AS/RS, sortation, or similar warehouse automation implementation and ramp-up experience.
• Experience with AS400/IBM i, Looker, SQL, or other warehouse reporting and analysis tools.
• Lean Six Sigma, PMP, or similar continuous improvement/project management credentials; experience supporting capital ROI and acceptance testing.

Responsibilities

• Represent Fulfillment in GTP design reviews, process validation, integration planning, installation readiness, testing, commissioning, and operational handover; monitor vendor deliverables and project milestones.
• Validate assumptions for throughput, presentation rates, staffing, labor savings, utilization, and system capacity; establish baselines and compare actual results with committed performance after go-live.
• Develop engineered labor standards, workload-to-hours models, staffing forecasts, and actionable daily and weekly KPIs by building, department, and process; explain performance changes using output and actual labor hours.
• Convert WMS/AS400, Looker, and operational data into practical management tools; partner with BI and IT on data quality, dashboard development, and automation of recurring analysis.
• Observe and measure receiving, putaway, replenishment, picking, packing, sorting, and shipping; identify bottlenecks, waste, and variation; test improvements and quantify before-and-after results.
• Optimize slotting, hot zones, batching, order routing, replenishment, work release, and movement between manual processes and automated equipment while protecting shipping cutoffs.
• Work with IT, vendors, Operations, and Maintenance on WMS/WCS interfaces, equipment performance, recurring faults, and root-cause analysis; recommend corrective actions and verify results.
• Lead assigned engineering initiatives; track owners and deadlines, evaluate vendors and capital proposals, communicate risks and results, and support future capacity and network planning.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level