Senior Manager Distribution Engineering & Technology

Johnson & Johnson•Memphis, NJ

About The Position

Ethicon Inc., a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, is recruiting a Senior Manager, Distribution Engineering. This role provides strategic leadership, governance, and technical oversight for the end-to-end distribution engineering and technology ecosystem across an integrated network of third-party logistics (3PL) and J&J-operated distribution sites in North America and Latin America. The scope includes distribution process engineering; warehouse management, control, and execution systems; operational technology, controls and interfaces; material handling equipment; automation; facilities and critical infrastructure; and supporting distribution technologies. Serving as the regional engineering authority within an asset-light operating model, the role establishes standards, advises and challenges providers, and assures that facilities, infrastructure, technology, equipment, and provider solutions meet J&J requirements for safety, quality, validation, reliability, cybersecurity, scalability, capacity, service, cost, resilience, and business continuity. The position influences architecture, technology selection, process design, investment decisions, implementation, qualification, lifecycle performance, continuous improvement, and remediation across the network. It also supervises, coaches, and develops two regional Engineering Managers. The position may require up to 30% domestic and/or international travel to other sites and locations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent university degree required.
Minimum eight years of relevant professional work experience.
Experience in distribution engineering, industrial or process engineering, warehouse technology, automation, facilities/infrastructure, or engineering program leadership, including responsibility across multiple sites.
Relevant experience must include time specifically working in a warehousing environment.
Experience leading engineering and technology across a network that includes 3PL-operated and company-operated distribution centers, or within a major contract logistics provider.
Ability to oversee and challenge 3PLs, landlords, integrators, OEMs, engineering partners, and service providers through design, contracting, implementation, acceptance, stabilization, maintenance, and lifecycle support, with clear accountability boundaries.
Working knowledge of distribution processes; WMS/EWM; WCS/WES; OT infrastructure; PLCs and controls; MHE and automation; systems integration; facilities and critical infrastructure; machine safety; testing; maintenance strategy; capacity; and lifecycle management.
Experience with business cases, capital and operating expense planning, technical scopes of work, bid evaluations, performance measures, service-level expectations, provider contracts, and complex program governance.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior internal and external stakeholders, lead through ambiguity, challenge constructively, and translate complex engineering issues into clear business decisions across international and cross-functional teams.

Nice To Haves

A focused degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Automation, Controls, Mechatronics, Facilities Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related technical field.
An advanced degree.
Experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, industrial engineering, root-cause analysis, capacity and throughput analysis, standard work, and benefits realization to improve distribution performance.
Lean or Six Sigma certification.
Strong knowledge of qualification and validation, GMP/GxP expectations, safety requirements, change control, data integrity, and regulated distribution environments.

Responsibilities

Define and govern the Americas distribution engineering and technology strategy across an integrated 3PL and J&J-operated network, aligning priorities with service, capacity, cost, resilience, growth, and digital strategy objectives.
Act as the senior regional engineering authority and primary escalation point for distribution processes, facilities, infrastructure, warehouse systems, operational technology and controls, material handling equipment, automation, and related technologies.
Establish governance, decision rights, technical review cadences, performance expectations, and escalation pathways across J&J, 3PLs, landlords, OEMs, integrators, and other engineering partners.
Advise business and site leaders on process and technology choices, operating and ownership models, investment sequencing, and technical and operational risk mitigation.
Develop and maintain a regional roadmap and prioritized portfolio of engineering, technology, infrastructure, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Lead technical due diligence and review provider and partner concepts, proposals, business cases, layouts, process designs, controls architecture, systems integration, and lifecycle support models before endorsement or investment.
Ensure business requirements are translated into integrated distribution solutions spanning warehouse systems, OT infrastructure, PLCs, interfaces, MHE, robotics, sortation, conveyance, storage and retrieval, packaging, scanning, labeling, vision systems, and other technologies.
Own regional design principles, reference architectures, interface requirements, and engineering standards to support interoperability, scalability, cybersecurity, supportability, and operational resilience.
Participate in provider sourcing, evaluation, contract scope development, and technical negotiations with Procurement, Operations, Quality, IT, Finance, Safety, Engineering & Property Services, and Legal.
Define technical acceptance criteria, documentation, testing, qualification, support, knowledge transfer, exit, and transition requirements for provider solutions.
Partner with Engineering & Property Services to oversee distribution center facilities and critical infrastructure, including building capacity, utilities, power, fire protection interfaces, environmental controls, dock and yard infrastructure, and equipment space.
Maintain visibility into facility and infrastructure capacity, asset condition, obsolescence, lifecycle risk, compliance gaps, replacement requirements, and investment priorities across the Americas network.
Clarify and govern accountability among J&J, 3PLs, landlords, OEMs, integrators, and service providers for design, maintenance, inspection, compliance evidence, remediation, lifecycle planning, and funding.
Oversee the regional engineering and technology portfolio from concept and design through implementation, commissioning, qualification, handover, stabilization, and ongoing lifecycle performance.
Independently oversee 3PL- and partner-led programs, reviewing schedule, cost, scope, readiness, risks, interdependencies, and recovery plans, and hold accountable parties to delivery commitments.
Oversee post-implementation stabilization, defect resolution, technical gap closure, knowledge transfer, and transition to sustainable operational support.
Maintain an integrated view of lifecycle needs across software, controls, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure, including patching, upgrades, obsolescence, supportability, renewal, replacement, and decommissioning.
Lead a regional process engineering and continuous improvement agenda using Lean, Six Sigma, FPX, value-stream analysis, industrial engineering, data analysis, and structured problem solving.
Establish and govern a prioritized pipeline of continuous improvement projects addressing productivity, labor efficiency, capacity, throughput, flow, space utilization, inventory handling, cost, quality, service, reliability, and resilience.
Use engineered standards, process studies, capacity models, root-cause analysis, simulation or analytical tools, and performance data to identify constraints and optimize distribution processes.
Replicate proven solutions and standard work across sites while accounting for local operating, regulatory, product, and customer requirements.
Establish a regional performance framework for distribution technology, equipment, facilities, and critical infrastructure, covering availability, throughput, capacity, reliability, response and recovery, maintenance effectiveness, spare parts, obsolescence, and recurring failure elimination.
Participate in performance reviews with 3PLs, landlords, OEMs, integrators, and site leaders; identify systemic issues, require corrective action plans, and escalate material risks to service, safety, quality, compliance, or continuity.
Challenge preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, staffing and skills models, critical spare parts plans, vendor support arrangements, and disaster recovery capabilities.
Use performance data and root-cause analysis to eliminate recurring failures and identify cross-site improvement opportunities.
Guide providers in developing peak, surge, degradation, contingency, and recovery strategies for technology-enabled distribution environments.
Deploy global standards and reference architectures, define regional additions where required, and govern gaps, deviations, waivers, and exceptions.
Ensure distribution engineering and technology solutions comply with J&J requirements for machine and facility safety, quality, qualification and validation, change control, data integrity, cybersecurity, business continuity, environmental expectations, and regulated operations.
Partner with Quality and Operations to maintain the qualified and validated state of GxP/GMP-regulated equipment and systems, with clear ownership and evidence requirements for third parties.
Partner with OT Cybersecurity and IT to govern connected infrastructure, identity and access, network segmentation, patching, backups, recovery, remote support, and third-party connectivity.
Assess concentration, vendor lock-in, proprietary technology, supportability, infrastructure dependency, and transition risks and recommend mitigation actions.
Influence and align 3PL leaders, landlords, OEMs, integrators, internal Engineering, Operations, Quality, Procurement, IT, Finance, Safety, Real Estate/Facilities, and global technical functions without relying on direct authority.
Build mechanisms for joint planning, issue resolution, innovation, continuous improvement, lifecycle planning, and knowledge sharing.
Create a North America and Latin America community of practice to share standards, engineering methods, lessons learned, provider performance insights, and emerging capabilities.
Supervise, coach, and develop a team of two regional Engineering Managers.

Benefits

Consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)), subject to plan terms.
Eligibility to participate in the long-term incentive program.
Vacation: 120 hours per calendar year.
Sick time: 40 hours per calendar year, with different stated allowances for Colorado and Washington residents.
Holiday pay, including floating holidays: 13 days per calendar year.
Work, Personal and Family Time: up to 40 hours per calendar year.
Parental leave: 480 hours within one year of the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child.
Bereavement leave: 240 hours for an immediate family member and 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year.
Caregiver leave: 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period.
Volunteer leave: 32 hours per calendar year.
Military spouse time-off: 80 hours per calendar year.