Sr Technical Automation Program Leader

Quest Diagnostics•Clifton, NJ

6d•$165,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Quest Diagnostics’ Enterprise Automation Team applies emerging robotics hardware and software technologies to solve laboratory challenges and improve customer experiences. Based primarily at the Clifton, New Jersey laboratory, the Senior Technical Automation Program Manager drives automation initiatives from opportunity discovery through enterprise-scale deployment. The role identifies high-impact automation opportunities across the laboratory network, builds business cases for capital investments, leads pilots and proofs of concept, and develops roadmaps for scaling successful technologies. The position has one direct report and is intended to be hybrid from the Clifton site. The role leads cross-disciplinary system and hardware product development programs, coordinating with automation vendors and internal IT, procurement, operations, engineering, and other stakeholders. It manages schedules and lifecycle dependencies across mechanical, electrical, IT, LIS integration, firmware, safety, regulatory, and hardware test engineering. The manager also supports solution integration, requirements development, field requests, risk mitigation, project documentation, stakeholder communication, and on-site deployments. Travel to laboratory sites may be required up to 30% for deployment and go-live support. The listed pay range is $165,000–$200,000 per year, plus a 20% annual incentive plan. Salary offers depend on factors such as skills, training, experience, education, certifications, market, and organizational considerations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
10 or more years of automation, robotics, and hardware engineering experience.
7 or more years working directly with engineering teams.
Experience delivering products to plan in fast-paced, multidisciplinary, distributed-responsibility, and highly ambiguous environments.
Experience managing multiple projects in parallel through prioritization, planning, task delegation, and critical-path management.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.
Flexibility to travel up to 30% for on-site support.

Nice To Haves

Proven experience developing business cases, financial models, and strategic scaling roadmaps for multimillion-dollar technology investments.
7 or more years of full product lifecycle experience taking custom or commercial off-the-shelf robotics solutions from prototype to high-volume production.
Experience in mechanical or controls engineering, or direct experience with robotics work cells and their control systems.
Fundamental knowledge of mechanical and electrical design to manage dependencies with partner teams in Manufacturing Test, Reliability, Sourcing, Hardware Quality, Safety, Compliance, EMC, Firmware, Security, and Networking.
3 or more years of program or project management experience, a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate, or an MBA.

Responsibilities

Analyze laboratory workflows across the enterprise to find bottlenecks, labor constraints, and high-volume manual processes suitable for automation.
Develop financial and operational business cases, including ROI, payback periods, throughput gains, and risk assessments, to secure sponsorship and funding.
Design, launch, and lead laboratory pilots and proofs of concept to validate feasibility, refine workflows, and establish baseline performance metrics.
Develop and execute a roadmap for scaling successful automation technologies across Quest’s laboratory network, including legacy RBUS, EUBs, and NextGen facilities.
Lead delivery of system and hardware product development programs in collaboration with automation vendors, IT, and procurement.
Develop and manage complex schedules across mechanical, electrical, IT, LIS integration, firmware, safety, regulatory, and hardware test engineering disciplines.
Partner with operations, procurement, system reliability, IT, and other stakeholders to define goals that improve performance, reduce costs, and shorten installation cycles.
Drive consensus on technical decisions across engineering groups and ensure appropriate resources are assigned to deliver high-quality, maintainable systems.
Collaborate across functions on solution development and system integration, including complex hardware and software integrations.
Lead the development and decomposition of functional requirements with Enterprise Automation, third-party vendors, and internal IT.
Triage, prioritize, and execute incoming field requests for enterprise automation support.
Serve as the primary liaison among Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Deployment Engineering, Solutions, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Customer Support, and program verticals.
Identify, assess, track, and mitigate program-level issues and risks to keep critical-path timelines on schedule.
Create, maintain, and distribute project information, status reports, and key performance data.
Facilitate teamwork, communication, and collaboration across groups with competing priorities, managing internal and external relationships.
Travel to laboratory sites during critical deployment phases to oversee physical integration, coordinate site acceptance testing, lead troubleshooting, and support operational go-live.

Benefits

Medical, supplemental health, dental, and vision coverage for full-time employees working 30 or more hours, beginning on day one.
Well-being programs.
Annual no-cost Blueprint for Wellness health assessment program.
healthyMINDS mental health program.
Vacation and Health/Flex Time.
Six holidays plus one “MyDay” off.
FinFit financial coaching and services.
401(k) pre-tax and/or Roth IRA with company match up to 5% after 12 months of service.
Employee stock purchase plan.
Life and disability insurance, with buy-up option.
Flexible Spending Accounts.
Annual incentive plans.
Matching gifts program.
Education assistance through MyQuest for Education.
Career advancement opportunities.