Advanced Manufacturing Automation (AMA) Lead

Adient plc; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Adient plc is seeking an experienced Automation Engineering Leader to define and enforce plant automation standards, review designs, manage capital projects, and ensure safe, reliable production systems.

You will coordinate with suppliers, integrators, maintenance, operations, IT/OT, quality and safety teams, drive continuous improvement, monitor plant metrics, and ensure launch readiness for new or revised equipment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, industrial, manufacturing, mechatronics, controls, or related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing automation, controls engineering, systems integration, or advanced manufacturing.
• Experience leading automation capital projects valued at $500,000+ with scope, schedule, budget, and acceptance.

Responsibilities

• Define, maintain, and enforce plant automation standards and risk-mitigation protocols.
• Review and approve automation concepts, detailed designs, software architectures, and safety solutions.
• Lead automation capital planning, ROI analysis, vendor selection, budgeting, and commissioning.
• Coordinate internal stakeholders, suppliers, integrators, and quality/safety teams for compliant systems.
• Monitor performance using OEE, MTBF, downtime, and launch-stability metrics; drive corrective actions.

Skills

Automation leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Root-cause analysis

Decision making

Communication

Lean manufacturing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering (electrical/mechanical/industrial/mechatronics/controls)

Tools

Electrical schematics interpretation

Control system design

PLC/SCADA knowledge

Vendor management

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION

Responsibilities

Define, maintain, and enforce plant automation standards, design specifications, controls architecture, documentation requirements, and risk-mitigation protocols. Review and approve automation concepts, detailed designs, software architectures, safety solutions, modifications, and production launches. Lead automation capital planning and execution, including business cases, ROI analysis, scope development, vendor selection, technical bid evaluation, schedule and budget control, installation, commissioning, and final acceptance. Coordinate internal stakeholders, equipment suppliers, system integrators, maintenance, operations, IT/OT, quality, and safety teams to deliver compliant and production-ready systems. Establish launch-readiness criteria and verify that equipment meets safety, quality, cycle-time, reliability, maintainability, documentation, training, and spare-parts requirements before release to production. Monitor automated-cell performance using OEE, mean time between failures, downtime, throughput, quality, and 30/60/90-day launch-stability metrics; lead corrective actions and escalation for significant performance events. Own automation lifecycle governance from concept through sustainment, ensuring systems are not transferred to operations until defined stability criteria are achieved and no unsupported or “orphaned” systems remain. Drive root-cause analysis, continuous improvement, standardization, and replication of proven automation solutions across the plant. Maintain awareness of emerging automation technologies and recommend practical applications that improve safety, quality, productivity, flexibility, or cost.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, industrial, manufacturing, mechatronics, controls, or a related engineering discipline. Seven or more years of progressive experience in manufacturing automation, controls engineering, systems integration, or advanced manufacturing engineering. Demonstrated experience leading automation capital projects valued at $500,000 or more, including technical scope, supplier management, schedule, budget, commissioning, and acceptance. Working knowledge of lean manufacturing, OEE improvement, structured problem-solving, risk assessment, and equipment-launch processes. Ability to interpret electrical schematics, mechanical layouts, control narratives, network drawings, safety documentation, and supplier technical proposals. Strong leadership, decision-making, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to establish technical direction and hold stakeholders accountable to standards.

PRIMARY LOCATION

Bridgewater Interiors II Adient (NYSE: ADNT) is a global leader in automotive seating. With more than 65,000 employees in 29 countries, Adient operates ~200 manufacturing/assembly plants worldwide. We produce and deliver automotive seating for all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every step of the automotive seat-making process. We take our products from research and design to engineering and manufacturing — and into millions of vehicles every year. For more information, please visit www.adient.com.