Advanced Research & Development-Lead Engineer

Laitram LLC; Harahan (LA); Presencial; USD 110.000 - 170.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Intralox seeks a Lead Engineer to anchor a cross-functional Advanced Research & Development team, turning ambiguous needs into validated prototypes and overseeing the technical direction from concept to field-ready solutions.

You will mentor engineers, manage the innovation funnel, and drive execution with a strong emphasis on mechanical, controls, and software integration. This role requires travel to customer facilities and collaboration with the Advanced R&D Manager and business partners.

Formación

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of engineering and product development experience, with a track record of personally leading the design and development of complex electromechanical or automation systems.
• Demonstrated technical breadth across mechanical design, controls, and software-enabled automation, with the depth to serve as system architect and Engineer in Charge.
• Experience in industrial automation, logistics, warehouse automation, or material handling, with exposure to AI, robotics, controls, or other emerging technologies.
• Proven ability to move solutions from ambiguous needs to validated prototypes, using analysis and rapid prototyping to advance learning quickly.
• Technical oversight and mentorship skills that earn credibility with a highly technical team.
• Ability to travel 10-20%, including to customer facilities for prototype installation and commissioning.

Responsabilidades

• Turn early-stage ambiguity into the technical clarity that makes fast, focused development possible.
• Convert ambiguous customer needs into actionable specifications and requirements.
• Partner with the Advanced R&D Manager and Business Development Engineers to ground technical requirements in real customer problems.
• Frame the technical unknowns and plot a development path that resolves them.
• Define what 'good enough' looks like at each stage, resolving ambiguity to accelerate learning.
• Assess feasibility and drive execution so the innovation funnel advances the most promising opportunities.
• Bring the technical context needed to evaluate ideas, emerging technologies, and adjacent-market capabilities.
• Assess feasibility and cost, and frame the tradeoffs that guide where the team invests.
• Test fast and disposition quickly, concentrating resources on the strongest opportunities.
• Provide the technical vision and rigor that carry solutions from concept to validated prototype.
• Serve as Engineer in Charge on projects, driving execution against the technology roadmap.
• Own the system architecture across mechanical, controls, and software domains.
• Lead rapid prototyping to advance learning, including fieldable prototypes for customer sites.
• Mentor the team's engineers, raising technical rigor and growing capability.
• Align development with EPD tools and the Vee model to mature requirements and concepts in parallel.
• Engage downstream stakeholders early so handoff feels inevitable, not surprising.

Conocimientos

Mechanical design

Controls

Software-enabled automation

AI awareness

Engineering leadership

Mentorship

Travel readiness

Educación

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS

Herramientas

Vee model

EPD tools

Descripción del empleo

We are seeking a Lead Engineer to serve as the technical anchor of a cross-functional Advanced Research & Development team shaping the future of industrial automation. As the team's system architect and primary technical voice, you will lead the development of solutions from concept through validated prototype and handoff to the business. You will translate ambiguous customer needs and opportunity hypotheses into clear, testable requirements, bring the deep technical context needed to assess ideas and emerging technologies, and provide technical oversight and mentorship to the team's engineers. Working shoulder to shoulder with the Advanced R&D Manager, you will help manage the innovation funnel — assessing feasibility and driving execution against it — so that the most promising opportunities advance quickly and reliably. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on technical leader with genuine breadth across mechanical, controls, and software domains who thrives on turning undefined problems into working prototypes. We prefer this person to be based in our Baltimore, Maryland office. Intralox is a division of Laitram, L.L.C., with an extensive portfolio of innovative conveyance solutions and services that improve lives and optimize businesses worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

Problem Definition

Turn early‑stage ambiguity into the technical clarity that makes fast, focused development possible. Convert ambiguous customer needs into actionable specifications and requirements. Partner with the Advanced R&D Manager and Business Development Engineers to ground technical requirements in real customer problems. Frame the technical unknowns and plot a development path that resolves them. Define what "good enough" looks like at each stage, resolving enough ambiguity to accelerate learning.

Funnel Management

Assess feasibility and drive execution so the innovation funnel advances the most promising opportunities. Bring the technical context needed to evaluate ideas, emerging technologies, and adjacent‑market capabilities. Assess feasibility and cost, and frame the tradeoffs that guide where the team invests. Test fast and disposition quickly, concentrating resources on the strongest opportunities.

Technical Leadership

Provide the technical vision and rigor that carry solutions from concept to validated prototype. Serve as Engineer in Charge on projects, driving execution against the technology roadmap. Own the system architecture across mechanical, controls, and software domains. Lead rapid prototyping to advance learning, including fieldable prototypes for customer sites. Mentor the team's engineers, raising technical rigor and growing capability. Align development with EPD tools and the Vee model to mature requirements and concepts in parallel. Engage downstream stakeholders early so handoff feels inevitable, not surprising.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of engineering and product development experience, with a track record of personally leading the design and development of complex electromechanical or automation systems.
• Demonstrated technical breadth across mechanical design, controls, and software-enabled automation, with the depth to serve as system architect and Engineer in Charge.
• Experience in industrial automation, logistics, warehouse automation, or material handling, with exposure to AI, robotics, controls, or other emerging technologies.
• Proven ability to move solutions from ambiguous needs to validated prototypes, using analysis and rapid prototyping to advance learning quickly.
• Technical oversight and mentorship skills that earn credibility with a highly technical team.
• Ability to travel 10-20%, including to customer facilities for prototype installation and commissioning.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in engineering or a related technical field.
• Experience leading early-stage or R&D development through high ambiguity.
• Experience designing field prototypes for their full lifecycle and supporting their deployment and commissioning.
• Direct experience transferring validated technology to a productization organization.
• Familiarity with adjacent warehouse automation markets and the emerging technologies shaping them.