Automation Strategy Lead

John Deere; Illinois; On-site; USD 162,000 - 243,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Health and retirement benefits

Tuition assistance

Employee discounts

Job summary

John Deere in Illinois seeks an Automation Strategy Lead to define and drive the automation strategy for the Ag & Turf US/Mexico division, based in Moline, IL or Waterloo, IA. You will partner across factory leadership, engineering, operations, and IT to identify, prioritize, standardize, and scale automation capabilities that deliver measurable business value.

You will own a portfolio of opportunities, develop roadmaps, govern investments, establish standards, and promote reusable solutions

Qualifications

• 8+ years in manufacturing, automation, or related fields.
• Experience developing and executing automation or digital transformation strategies.
• Experience leading strategy across multiple sites or functions.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve divisional automation strategy and multi-year roadmap.
• Identify and prioritize automation opportunities based on value and alignment.
• Lead governance for prioritization, transparency, and investment decisions.
• Establish standards and reusable solutions for consistency across locations.
• Collaborate with operations, engineering, IT, OT, quality, maintenance, safety, finance, and Smart Connected Factory teams to deploy automation capabilities.

Skills

Manufacturing experience

Automation experience

Strategy development

Influence without authority

Stakeholder alignment

Roadmap development

Industrial automation knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Automation, IT

Tools

MES

Industrial networks

Job description

There are over 7 billion people on this planet. And by 2050, there will be 2 billion more... many moving into urban centers at an unprecedented rate. Making sure there is enough food, fiber and infrastructure for our rapidly growing world is what we're all about at John Deere. And it's why we're investing in our people and our technology like never before! Here the world's brightest minds are tackling the world's biggest challenges. If you believe one person can make the world a better place, we'll put you to work. RIGHT NOW.

John Deere is an equal opportunity employer, including disabled & veterans.

Primary Location: United States (US) - Illinois - Moline

Function: Product and Process Mgmt (CA)

Title: Automation Strategy Lead - 122653

Onsite/Remote:Onsite Position

Your Responsibilities

The Automation Strategy Lead is responsible for defining and driving the automation strategy for the Ag & Turf US/Mexico division located in Moline, IL or Waterloo, IA. This role partners with factory leadership, engineering, operations, Smart Connected Factory, and enterprise stakeholders to identify, prioritize, standardize, and scale automation capabilities that deliver measurable business value across the manufacturing network. The successful candidate will own a portfolio of automation opportunities and capabilities, translating factory needs and business priorities into a cohesive roadmap that advances safety, quality, productivity, flexibility, and operational excellence. The role serves as the bridge between factory demand, enterprise strategy, and emerging technologies, ensuring automation investments are strategically aligned, governed, scalable, reusable, and sustainable.This position provides leadership through influence, driving alignment across factories and functions while establishing the standards, governance processes, and operating models necessary to accelerate adoption of automation capabilities and advance the evolution toward increasingly autonomous manufacturing systems. Additionally, you will:

• Define and continuously evolve the divisional automation strategy and multi-year roadmap aligned to business priorities and manufacturing objectives.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize automation opportunities across the Ag & Turf US/Mexico manufacturing network based on business value, scalability, and strategic alignment
• Partner with factory leadership and cross-functional teams to understand operational challenges, define future-state capabilities, and align automation investments to business priorities.
• Lead governance processes that ensure consistent prioritization, portfolio transparency, risk management, and effective investment decisions across automation initiatives.
• Establish and promote automation standards, architectural principles, and reusable solutions that enable consistency, maintainability, and scalability across manufacturing locations.
• Define and evolve automation operating models, capability roadmaps, and organizational approaches required to sustain and scale automation capabilities across the division.
• Collaborate with operations, engineering, IT, OT, quality, maintenance, safety, finance, and Smart Connected Factory teams to develop and deploy integrated automation capabilities.
• Represent the voice of the factory through structured demand intake, stakeholder engagement, and prioritization processes that ensure automation investments address the most valuable operational opportunities.
• Track business outcomes and ensure automation investments achieve expected value in areas such as safety, quality, productivity, cost, delivery, and operational performance.
• Monitor industry trends, benchmark peer organizations, and evaluate emerging technologies to inform future automation strategy and capability development.
• Support business case development, capital planning, and portfolio investment decisions related to automation strategy and deployment.
• Champion organizational adoption of automation capabilities and foster alignment across factories and functional teams

VISA Sponsorship is NOT available for this position

What Skills You Need

• 8 or more years of experience in manufacturing, automation, engineering, operations, digital manufacturing, technology strategy, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing automation, manufacturing technology, operational excellence, or digital transformation strategies.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategy, governance, or transformational initiatives that span multiple manufacturing sites, business units, or enterprise functions.
• Experience managing complex portfolios of automation, manufacturing technology, operational excellence, or transformation initiatives from concept through deployment and sustainment, including prioritization, governance, and value realization.
• Proven ability to influence and align stakeholders across multiple functions, organizations, and leadership levels without direct authority.
• Experience translating business needs into technology capabilities, strategic roadmaps, and investment priorities.
• Demonstrated experience developing standards, reusable solutions, or common approaches that have been adopted across multiple sites, functions, or organizations
• Experience establishing governance, prioritization, or decision-making processes that align investments and resources across competing initiatives.
• Experience aligning diverse stakeholder groups around common standards, operating models, strategic priorities, or transformation objectives.
• Strong business acumen with experience developing business cases and measuring value realization from technology investments.
• Working knowledge of industrial automation technologies and manufacturing systems.
• Experience in several of the following areas: Industrial automation and controls; Robotics and autonomous systems; Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES); Industrial networks and operational technology (OT); Digital manufacturing and Industry 4.0 technologies; Data analytics and manufacturing intelligence platforms; System integration and automation architecture

What Makes You Stand Out

• Experience leading enterprise automation, smart manufacturing, operational technology, or digital transformation strategies across multiple facilities or business units.
• Experience driving the adoption of standardized and reusable automation solutions across a manufacturing network.
• Experience designing or implementing manufacturing automation operating models, center-of-excellence structures, capability development frameworks, or enterprise standards.
• Experience establishing governance models, prioritization frameworks, or portfolio management processes for technology and automation investments.
• Experience supporting capital planning, investment governance, or strategic technology portfolio management.
• Experience evaluating, piloting, or deploying emerging manufacturing technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, machine vision, industrial IoT, autonomous systems, or related capabilities.
• Experience conducting technology benchmarking, innovation assessments, or external partnership evaluations.
• Experience working across global, regional, or geographically distributed organizations.
• Advanced degree in engineering, technology, business, or a related field

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Automation, Information Technology, or a related field.

What You'll Get

At John Deere, you are empowered to create a career that will take you to where you want to go while working in an inclusive team environment. Here, you'll enjoy the freedom to explore new projects, the support to think outside the box and the advanced tools and technology that foster innovation and achievement. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive reward package to help you get started on your new career path, including:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Highly competitive base pay
• Savings & Retirement benefits (401K and Defined Contribution)
• Healthcare benefits with a generous company contribution in the Health Savings Account
• Adoption assistance
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Tuition assistance
• Fitness subsidies and on-site gyms at specific Deere locations
• Charitable contribution match
• Employee Purchase Plan & numerous discount programs for personal use
• Vacation and Holiday Pay

$162,240.00 - $243,348.00 + Benefits

Follow this link to learn more about our Total Rewards Package https://bit.ly/3XCd8fL

Must be 18 years of age or older to apply

The information contained herein is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and qualifications required of individuals performing the job. The qualifications detailed in this job description are not considered the minimum requirements necessary to perform the job, but rather as guidelines.

The terms of the applicable benefit plans, and all company actions administering or interpreting these plans, continue to control. Deere & Company reserves the right to suspend, amend, modify, or terminate the Plan(s) in any manner at any time, including the right to modify or eliminate any cost-sharing between the company and participants. Changes, which can be made at any time, are made by action of the company's board of directors, or to the extent authorized by resolution of its board of directors, or by the Deere & Company Compensation Committee. In the event of a conflict between the language of the official Plan Documents and this document, the language of the official Plan Documents will control.

ACA Section 1557 Nondiscrimination Notice

The John Deere Health Benefit Plans for Salaried Employees and The John Deere Benefit Plan for Wage Employees comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.