Technology & Innovation Lead

LED FastStart•Raceland, LA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Technology & Innovation Lead drives the identification, evaluation, and advancement of manufacturing technologies and process improvements to enhance productivity, quality, safety, labor efficiency, and operational performance across Bollinger Shipyards. Working with production, shipyard leadership, Industrial Engineering, and other technical stakeholders, the role identifies operational challenges, researches emerging technologies, evaluates solutions, and develops practical business cases to support informed investment decisions. It combines technical expertise, creativity, and collaboration to advance solutions that are practical, scalable, and aligned with operational needs. The role requires regular travel between Bollinger facilities and includes time in active shipyard and manufacturing environments.

Requirements

At least 8 years of experience in shipbuilding, manufacturing, industrial engineering, automation, or related technical environments.
Experience identifying, evaluating, or implementing manufacturing technology improvements.
Proven ability to work with production operations in a shipbuilding setting.
Experience developing technical recommendations and business cases for capital or technology investments.
Strong understanding of manufacturing and shipyard production processes.
Demonstrated creativity, analytical thinking, and problem-solving ability.
Ability to evaluate emerging technologies and determine practical business value.
Strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder-influencing skills.
Ability to build productive relationships with internal and external partners.
Knowledge of financial analysis, process improvement, and performance measurement.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and innovation initiatives simultaneously.
Regular travel between Bollinger facilities is required.
The role includes time spent in active shipyard and manufacturing environments.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain a manufacturing technology roadmap aligned with business objectives and operational priorities.
Research emerging technologies, including automation, robotics, advanced tooling, digital manufacturing, and material-handling solutions.
Identify opportunities to improve throughput, quality, safety, labor efficiency, and cost performance.
Monitor industry trends and best practices in shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing.
Challenge existing processes and champion innovative solutions to operational constraints.
Collaborate with production leaders, craft personnel, Industrial Engineering, and shipyard management to understand manufacturing challenges.
Translate operational issues into technology and process improvement opportunities.
Support process assessments and establish performance baselines for improvement initiatives.
Build relationships with technology vendors, equipment manufacturers, research institutions, and industry partners.
Evaluate technologies for technical feasibility, operational value, scalability, integration requirements, and return on investment.
Coordinate demonstrations, proof-of-concept activities, and technology assessments.
Benchmark solutions and practices from shipbuilding and related industries.
Develop data-driven recommendations and business cases for technology investments.
Present findings and recommendations to leadership.
Maintain a prioritized pipeline of innovation opportunities.
Partner with implementation teams to support pilot programs, deployment activities, and performance evaluations.
Capture lessons learned and identify opportunities to expand successful technologies across facilities.