VP Automation & Robotics Engineering

Asurion

About The Position

Asurion's Supply Chain is pursuing a three-year vision for an intelligent, automated device lifecycle in which AI and robotics operate as a closed loop for each individual unit. The Vice President, Automation & Robotics Engineering owns the robotics and physical-automation portion of that vision across Asurion's global Supply Chain production network. This newly created role leads the existing automation engineering team and builds automation capability at current and future production sites. The role owns automation end to end, including the hardware and software stack behind each solution, and leads work from research and solution development through implementation in production and formal handoff to site Operations once solutions are stable. It also oversees the automation roadmap, vendor performance, technical escalations, investment cases, and development of the robotics and automation talent pipeline. Regular travel to Asurion's global operations and other production sites is required.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in automation, robotics, or process engineering leadership.
Experience running or scaling multi-site or global manufacturing or production automation programs.
Hands-on experience deploying automation and robotics in a high-volume operational environment, such as manufacturing, electronics repair or refurbishment, or distribution.
Experience owning vendor contracts, SLAs, and performance management for outsourced or vendor-supported automation solutions.
Experience managing the full lifecycle of a technical solution from R&D through implementation and handoff to a steady-state operations team.
Experience applying process improvement or Lean discipline before automation, including simplifying and stabilizing processes and deferring projects that are not ready.
Experience leading technical teams across multiple international sites.
Track record of establishing new technical capability at a new site from the ground up.
Experience securing and defending capital justified by strategic capability and market position, not solely labor payback.
Experience taking AI or machine-learning capability from pilot to sustained production, including its data foundations.
Knowledge of robotics and industrial automation controls.
Knowledge of computer-vision or machine-vision inspection systems, including AI-based grading and automated quality verification.
Working literacy in the data and AI stack used by automation, including demand forecasting, unit-level decisioning and routing logic, and the platforms that host them.
Knowledge of predictive maintenance and equipment reliability practices.
Knowledge of robotic process control and workflow or conveyance automation.
Experience or knowledge in capital equipment planning, hardware/software integration, and vendor management.
Vendor contract and SLA management skills, including uptime, throughput, and performance reporting.
Strong financial and business-case acumen, including the ability to build and defend multi-year capital investment cases.
Cross-site, cross-cultural leadership skills and comfort operating across geographies and time zones.
Stakeholder-management skills across Operations, Quality, Engineering, IT, and external vendor or integrator partners.
Ability to build capability from the ground up in ambiguous, fast-scaling environments.
Clear, credible communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical concepts to executive, operational, and site-level audiences.
People leadership skills, including the ability to hire, coach, and retain technical teams through rapid growth and organizational change.
Ability to lead organizational and process change, including new reporting lines, sites, and ways of working, with minimal disruption to operations.
Executive presence and comfort presenting roadmaps, investment cases, and performance results to senior leadership.
Ability to influence and align peer leaders and cross-functional partners without direct authority.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

Own the automation, robotics, and applied-AI roadmap and execution across global Supply Chain sites.
Lead and grow the automation engineering team of engineers, technicians, and project managers, expanding its footprint to match production locations.
Own end-to-end technical accountability for the hardware and software behind automation solutions, from R&D through production implementation and handoff to steady-state Operations.
Own vendor contracts and SLAs for automation solutions, including uptime, throughput, reporting, and service-level performance.
Own technical escalation for automation issues beyond standard maintenance and troubleshooting, coordinating with IT, Operations, Maintenance, and external vendors and integrators.
Establish automation capability at new production facilities as they come online.
Partner with Operations and Continuous Improvement to assess, question, simplify, and stabilize processes before qualifying them for automation.
Apply AI-enabled capabilities—including AI grading at intake, machine-vision quality control, predictive maintenance, robotic sorting and repair, and robotic process control—to remanufacturing and repair lines and support unit-level optimization.
Partner with site Operations and equipment Maintenance teams on automated-system reliability and uptime standards.
Partner with Planning, Procurement, Data, and Technology to feed robotic execution outcomes into forecasting, grading, and routing models so the system can self-correct and improve accuracy.
Ensure automated systems are built on the shared demand, inventory, and returns data platform rather than operating as standalone pilots.
Build and defend multi-year capital investment cases for automation and robotics, tied to cost, throughput, quality, and client-commitment outcomes.
Manage automation hardware, robotics, and software vendor relationships across a multi-site international footprint.
Build the robotics and automation talent bench, including external pipeline partnerships and reskilling floor teams for roles focused on exception handling.
Position automation capability for potential externalization as a service for clients and partners.
Report roadmap progress, exit-criteria attainment, and site-level performance to senior leadership.