Advanced Research & Development-Lead Engineer

Laitram•Washington, DC

9h•$74,800 - $187,200•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Lead Engineer to serve as the technical anchor of a cross-functional Advanced Research & Development team shaping the future of industrial automation. As the team's system architect and primary technical voice, you will lead the development of solutions from concept through validated prototype and handoff to the business. You will translate ambiguous customer needs and opportunity hypotheses into clear, testable requirements, bring the deep technical context needed to assess ideas and emerging technologies, and provide technical oversight and mentorship to the team's engineers. Working shoulder to shoulder with the Advanced R&D Manager, you will help manage the innovation funnel — assessing feasibility and driving execution against it — so that the most promising opportunities advance quickly and reliably. The ideal candidate is a hands-on technical leader with genuine breadth across mechanical, controls, and software domains who thrives on turning undefined problems into working prototypes. We prefer this person to be based in our Baltimore, Maryland office. Intralox is a division of Laitram, L.L.C., with an extensive portfolio of innovative conveyance solutions and services that improve lives and optimize businesses worldwide. Our global workforce of over 3,000 employees in 20+ countries consist of reliable problem solvers, continuously developing and directly delivering solutions that have driven our customers’ growth worldwide for more than 50 years. Intralox was founded on the principle of doing the right thing, by treating customers, employees, and suppliers with honesty, fairness, and respect. We invest heavily in these values and aim to practice our business philosophy principles every day, which is why we have been consistently recognized for innovation and workplace excellence. We believe in the power of a good idea no matter where it comes from, using trust as the foundation to how we work, and that self-managed people are our greatest asset. We listen objectively, think creatively, and deliver results. To learn more about our company culture, philosophy, and benefits, please visit our company page. [http://www.intralox.com/careers.aspx] This position is not eligible for work authorization or sponsorship.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
8+ years of engineering and product development experience, with a track record of personally leading the design and development of complex electromechanical or automation systems.
Demonstrated technical breadth across mechanical design, controls, and software-enabled automation, with the depth to serve as system architect and Engineer in Charge.
Experience in industrial automation, logistics, warehouse automation, or material handling, with exposure to AI, robotics, controls, or other emerging technologies.
Proven ability to move solutions from ambiguous needs to validated prototypes, using analysis and rapid prototyping to advance learning quickly.
Technical oversight and mentorship skills that earn credibility with a highly technical team.
Ability to travel 10-20%, including to customer facilities for prototype installation and commissioning.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in engineering or a related technical field.
Experience leading early-stage or R&D development through high ambiguity.
Experience designing field prototypes for their full lifecycle and supporting their deployment and commissioning.
Direct experience transferring validated technology to a productization organization.
Familiarity with adjacent warehouse automation markets and the emerging technologies shaping them.

Responsibilities

Convert ambiguous customer needs into actionable specifications and requirements.
Partner with the Advanced R&D Manager and Business Development Engineers to ground technical requirements in real customer problems.
Frame the technical unknowns and plot a development path that resolves them.
Define what "good enough" looks like at each stage, resolving enough ambiguity to accelerate learning.
Bring the technical context needed to evaluate ideas, emerging technologies, and adjacent-market capabilities.
Assess feasibility and cost, and frame the tradeoffs that guide where the team invests.
Test fast and disposition quickly, concentrating resources on the strongest opportunities.
Serve as Engineer in Charge on projects, driving execution against the technology roadmap.
Own the system architecture across mechanical, controls, and software domains.
Lead rapid prototyping to advance learning, including fieldable prototypes for customer sites.
Mentor the team's engineers, raising technical rigor and growing capability.
Align development with EPD tools and the Vee model to mature requirements and concepts in parallel.
Engage downstream stakeholders early so handoff feels inevitable, not surprising.