Executive Director, Statewide Manufacturing Innovation

Louisiana Economic Development; Baton Rouge (LA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Louisiana Economic Development seeks a Managing Director to build Louisiana Innovation Labs from the ground up, hire the team, set statewide adoption strategy, and scale deployment across the state’s manufacturing base.

You will report to the Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships and lead three in‑house practices: SI Implementation, General‑Purpose Robotics, and Automation Engineering, while partnering with universities and industry partners.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in manufacturing, industrial automation, or robotics.
• Ownership of an end-to-end deployment, program, or product outcome.
• Fluency in general-purpose robotics and practical judgement on fit in facilities.
• Experience managing federal or other public funding.
• Engineering, manufacturing, or related degree or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Set statewide technology adoption strategy.
• Hire and lead the team, including leads for SI Implementation, General-Purpose Robotics, and Automation Engineering.
• Direct a statewide network of university and technical college partners delivering workforce training and regional reach.
• Run a depth-first model with fewer, deeper projects, measured by production deployments.
• Publish results from robotics deployments to build the nation's first evidence base for general-purpose robotics in small manufacturers.
• Build repeatable playbooks that let adoption scale statewide.
• Forge partnerships with OEMs and technology providers to pull Louisiana manufacturers into growing supply chains.
• Connect manufacturers to capital, including banks, SBA, SSBCI, venture, private equity, and public programs.
• Own NIST performance and compliance, reporting, and subrecipient oversight, in partnership with LED's Grants Compliance and Reporting Manager.
• Represent Louisiana across the national MEP network and at regional and national convenings.

Skills

Manufacturing

Industrial automation

Robotics

Outcome ownership

Public funding experience

Education

Engineering degree

Business degree

Job description

Louisiana Economic Development seeks a Managing Director to build Louisiana Innovation Labs from the ground up, hire the team, set statewide adoption strategy, and scale deployment across the state’s manufacturing base.

You will report to the Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships and lead three in‑house practices: SI Implementation, General‑Purpose Robotics, and Automation Engineering, while partnering with universities and industry partners.