Senior Project Manager, Automation

STERIS Corporation•Durham, NC

12d•$107,525 - $139,150

About The Position

The Project Manager, Automation leads the execution of automation projects that support manufacturing process improvements, capacity expansion, quality improvement, labor optimization, and new product introductions. The role owns project management for assigned initiatives, including schedules, day-to-day coordination, risk, assumptions, issues and dependencies management, budget tracking, stakeholder communication, and execution from concept through production handoff. The position works across facility leaders and Operations, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Finance, EHS, and external automation integrators. It coordinates project delivery without direct authority and ensures projects are properly scoped, planned, resourced, executed, validated, and transferred into production. Assigned projects must follow Global Operations PMO methodology, governance, reporting, and Smartsheet requirements. The role requires 30% travel. The successful candidate combines project management capability with technical knowledge of automation systems and manufacturing technologies to coordinate teams, integrators, and facility resources in delivering safe, reliable, compliant, and sustainable automation solutions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 7–10 years of experience.
Experience in manufacturing engineering, automation engineering, capital project execution, technical project management, or related industrial work.
Experience managing technical projects, including schedule development, budget tracking, action item management, risk management, stakeholder communication, and project reporting.
Experience leading cross-functional project teams involving Operations, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Facilities, EHS, Supply Chain, Finance, and external suppliers.
Experience supporting automation projects involving technologies such as robotics, machine vision, material handling, assembly automation, packaging equipment, filling systems, cleanroom equipment, or distribution automation.
Experience working with external automation integrators, equipment OEMs, engineering consultants, and technical service providers.
Experience coordinating FAT, SAT, commissioning, installation, troubleshooting, validation support, and production handoff activities.
Experience developing or supporting project documentation such as user requirements, schedules, risk registers, validation plans, test protocols, equipment specifications, and status reports.
Experience supporting capital projects, including scope definition, budget tracking, purchase order coordination, cost forecasting, and capital project reporting.
Experience in regulated manufacturing environments with quality systems, validation expectations, documentation requirements, or FDA, ISO, or GMP exposure.
Experience working across multiple facilities or with distributed project teams.

Nice To Haves

Project Management Professional, Lean/Six Sigma, or equivalent certification.

Responsibilities

Manage assigned automation projects from concept development through design, build, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, installation, validation, production transfer, and project closure.
Develop, maintain, and communicate detailed project schedules covering milestones, deliverables, dependencies, critical path items, resource needs, decision points, and recovery plans.
Coordinate day-to-day execution with facility teams, cross-functional core teams, external automation integrators, equipment suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
Own the project RAID process, including risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies, and drive mitigation, escalation, decision making, and resolution.
Partner with facilities to define scope, operational requirements, process readiness, layout needs, utilities, tooling, staffing impacts, equipment interfaces, training needs, and production handoff requirements.
Support development and refinement of user requirement specifications, project charters, business cases, implementation plans, validation strategies, technical documentation, and change control activities.
Work with the assigned Automation Director, integrators, and technical stakeholders to ensure solutions follow approved standards, domain architecture, safety expectations, quality requirements, and business objectives.
Track project budgets, purchase orders, capital spending, forecast updates, cost risks, scope changes, and financial performance with Finance, Procurement, and facility leadership.
Coordinate design, safety, and equipment reviews; factory and site acceptance testing; commissioning; troubleshooting; punch list closure; and ramp-up readiness activities.
Lead project reporting and closure, including status updates, action item tracking, lessons learned, benefit realization tracking, final documentation, and transition to sustaining ownership.