Sr Technical Automation Program Leader

Quest Diagnostics•Clifton, NJ

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Quest Diagnostics’ Enterprise Automation Team applies robotics hardware and software technologies to improve laboratory operations and customer experiences. Based primarily at the Clifton, New Jersey laboratory, the Senior Technical Automation Program Manager drives automation opportunities from discovery and business-case development through piloting and enterprise-scale deployment. The role combines strategic planning and executive communication with hands-on collaboration with laboratory operations during critical go-live periods. The position has one direct report and is ideally hybrid from the Clifton site. The role identifies high-impact automation opportunities across the laboratory network, builds cases for capital investment, leads pilots and proofs of concept, and develops a roadmap to scale successful technologies. It also leads cross-disciplinary system and hardware product-development programs, managing schedules and decisions across engineering, IT, procurement, vendors, and operations. The position supports solution integration, field requests, risk mitigation, project reporting, and on-site deployments, including site acceptance testing and troubleshooting. Travel to laboratory sites is up to 30%. The posted pay range is $165,000–$200,000 per year, plus a 20% annual incentive plan. Compensation offers consider factors including relevant skills, training, experience, education, certifications, market conditions, and organizational factors. Benefits may vary by position status and include medical and supplemental health coverage, dental and vision coverage, wellness programs, vacation and health/flex time, holidays, a 401(k) with company match, employee stock purchase plan, life and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, annual incentive plans, matching gifts, education assistance, and career advancement opportunities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
At least 10 years of automation, robotics, and hardware engineering experience.
At least 7 years working directly with engineering teams.
Experience delivering products against plan in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment with distributed responsibilities and significant ambiguity.
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 track record developing business cases, financial models, and strategic scaling roadmaps for multimillion-dollar technology investments.
At least 7 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 and the ability to channel dependencies with partner teams in Manufacturing Test, Reliability, Sourcing, Hardware Quality, Safety, Compliance, EMC, Firmware, Security, and Networking.
At least 3 years of program or project management experience, a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate, or an MBA degree.

Responsibilities

Analyze laboratory workflows across the enterprise to identify bottlenecks, labor constraints, and high-volume manual processes that could benefit from robotics or automation.
Develop financial and operational business cases, including ROI, payback periods, throughput gains, and risk assessments, to secure executive sponsorship and funding.
Design, launch, and lead laboratory pilots and proofs of concept to validate technical feasibility, refine workflows, and gather baseline performance metrics.
Develop and execute a roadmap to scale successful technologies across the Quest 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 spanning mechanical, electrical, IT, LIS integration, firmware, safety, regulatory, and hardware test engineering.
Work with Operations, Procurement, System Reliability, IT, and other stakeholders to define project goals that improve performance, reduce costs, and shorten installation cycles.
Drive consensus on technical decisions across engineering groups and ensure appropriate resources are used to deliver high-quality, maintainable systems.
Collaborate across functions on solution development and complex hardware/software system integration.
Lead partnerships among Enterprise Automation, third-party automation vendors, and internal IT to develop and decompose functional requirements.
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 to stakeholders.
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 successful operational go-live.

Benefits

Day 1 medical and supplemental health coverage for eligible full-time employees working 30 or more hours.
Dental and vision coverage for eligible full-time employees working 30 or more hours.
Well-being programs.
Annual no-cost health assessment program.
Blueprint for Wellness® 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 a buy-up option.
Flexible Spending Accounts.
Annual incentive plans.
Matching gifts program.
Education assistance through MyQuest for Education.
Career advancement opportunities.