Manufacturing Technology Specialist - Material Handling & Warehouse Automation*
3M
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Job summary
3M is seeking a Manufacturing Technology Specialist for Material Handling & Warehouse Automation at our Maplewood, MN site. You will identify opportunities, design solutions, and deploy automation across manufacturing and distribution centers to improve material flow, throughput, and safety.
You will partner with site operations, engineering, IT/OT and suppliers to translate business needs into scalable, repeatable automation solutions and ensure successful project delivery from conception
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Automation Engineering (completed and verified prior to start)
- Five (5) years of experience in material handling, warehouse automation, intralogistics, industrial/manufacturing engineering in a private, public, government or military environment
- Five (5) years of experience analyzing and improving material flow, capacity, labor utilization, throughput, and warehouse performance using industrial engineering and Lean methods.
- Five (5) years of experience working with suppliers, system integrators, site teams, and cross-functional partners to translate operational needs into executable technical solutions.
Responsibilities
- Identify opportunities and implement material handling and warehouse automation across manufacturing sites and distribution centers.
- Develop solutions from opportunity development to deployment, including supplier integration and project planning.
- Lead automation projects from concept to startup, including testing, commissioning, and validation.
- Collaborate with IT/OT and cross-functional teams to integrate with WMS/WES/MES/ERP systems.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Manufacturing Technology Specialist - Material Handling & Warehouse Automation
Manufacturing Technology Specialist - Material Handling & Warehouse Automation
Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.
This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career.
The Manufacturing Technology Specialist - Material Handling & Warehouse Automation is responsible for identifying opportunities, developing solutions, and implementing material handling and warehouse automation across 3M manufacturing sites and distribution centers. This role focuses on opportunity development, solution design, project execution, supplier integration, and site deployment to improve material flow, productivity, safety, and operational reliability.
Working within the Engineering organization, this role partners with site operations, engineering, maintenance, quality, supply chain, IT/OT, external suppliers, and other cross-functional teams to translate business needs and operational challenges into practical, scalable, and sustainable automation solutions.
The position supports the full project lifecycle, from opportunity identification and current-state assessment through solution development, business case evaluation, supplier selection, project planning, installation, commissioning, startup, validation, and sustainment. A key expectation is to work hands-on with sites and suppliers, solve technical and implementation challenges, remove barriers, and drive projects to successful completion.
This role also provides technical guidance to cross functional teams and contributes to standards, best practices, and repeatable solutions that enable scalable deployment across 3M.
- Identifying and developing material handling and warehouse automation opportunities across manufacturing sites and distribution centers by assessing operational needs, pain points, material flow, and business priorities.
- Assessing, simplifying, and optimizing material flow to improve throughput, reduce bottlenecks, eliminate non-value-added activities, and establish the right foundation for automation.
- Developing process maps, material and labor flow analyses, simulations, capacity models, and business cases to evaluate opportunities, prioritize investments, and support project decisions.
- Developing practical and scalable automation solutions using technologies such as AGVs, AMRs, AS/RS, conveyor and sortation systems, automated storage and retrieval, robotic material handling, palletizing/depalletizing, and other warehouse automation technologies.
- Partnering with site teams and cross-functional stakeholders to define requirements, technical specifications, project scope, and implementation plans.
- Working with automation suppliers and technology partners to evaluate technologies, develop solutions, select equipment, and support successful deployment.
- Leading automation projects from concept through startup, including project planning, equipment integration, installation, testing, commissioning, and performance validation.
- Partnering with IT/OT teams to support controls, equipment connectivity, data requirements, system interfaces, and integration with applicable WMS, WES, MES, ERP, and other manufacturing and enterprise systems.
- Troubleshooting technical and implementation challenges, working hands-on with sites and suppliers to identify root causes, remove barriers, and drive projects to successful completion.
- Establishing standards, technical documentation, training, and best practices to enable sustainable operations and repeatable deployment across sites.
- Monitoring and validating project performance through operational and financial metrics to confirm results and identify further improvement opportunities.
- Ensuring compliance with applicable safety, quality, cybersecurity, engineering, and operational requirements throughout project execution.
Success in this role is reflected in the ability to deliver sustainable, measurable business and operational results, including:
- Labor productivity - reducing manual handling and improving workforce utilization.
- Material flow & throughput - eliminating bottlenecks and improving flow efficiency.
- System reliability - achieving expected uptime and performance.
- Space & storage utilization - optimizing footprint and storage capacity.
- Delivery performance - improving timely and reliable material movement.
- Scalability - enabling standardized, repeatable multi-site deployment.
- Business value - achieving and sustaining operational and financial returns.
To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Automation Engineering (completed and verified prior to start)
- Five (5) years of experience in material handling, warehouse automation, intralogistics, industrial/manufacturing engineering in a private, public, government or military environment
- Five (5) years of experience analyzing and improving material flow, capacity, labor utilization, throughput, and warehouse performance using industrial engineering and Lean methods.
- Five (5) years of experience working with suppliers, system integrators, site teams, and cross-functional partners to translate operational needs into executable technical solutions.
Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:
- Hands-on experience designing, integrating, commissioning, or troubleshooting intralogistics automation systems.
- Experience with material-flow simulation, discrete-event simulation, digital manufacturing, or optimization tools.
- Experience integrating automation with warehouse, manufacturing and enterprise systems.
- Experience developing automation standards, specifications, and scalable solutions for multi-site deployment.
- Ability to mentor engineers, build technical capability, and influence cross-functional teams.
- Lean/Six Sigma certification or demonstrated practical application.
- Strong hands-on troubleshooting, problem-solving, project leadership, and communication skills.
- Working knowledge of automation integration with WMS/WES, MES, ERP, fleet management, controls, and related IT/OT systems.
- Ability to lead automation projects from concept through installation, commissioning, startup, and sustainment.
- Demonstrated experience developing and implementing automation solutions such as AGV/AMR, AS/RS, conveyors, automated storage, robotic material handling, and palletizing.
- Work location: This role follows an on-site working model, requiring the employee to work at least four days a week at the 3M Center in Maplewood, MN
May include up to 35% domestic/international
May be authorized
Responsibilities of this position may include direct and/or indirect physical or logical access to information, systems, technologies subjected to the regulations/compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws.
U.S. Export Control laws and U.S. Government Department of Defense contracts and sub-contracts impose certain restrictions on companies and their ability to share export-controlled and other technology and services with certain "non-U.S. persons" (persons who are not U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., refugees, "Temporary Residents" (granted Amnesty or Special Agricultural Worker provisions), or persons granted asylum.
To comply with these laws, 3M must help assess candidates' U.S. person status.
The questions asked in this application are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this particular position.
3M offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.
Applicable to US Applicants Only: The expected compensation range for this position is $164,612 - $201,193, which includes base pay plus variable incentive pay, if eligible. This range represents a good faith estimate for this position. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant knowledge, training, skills, work location, and/or experience. In addition, this position may be eligible for a range of benefits (e.g., Medical, Dental & Vision, Health Savings Accounts, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Disability Benefits, Life Insurance, Voluntary Benefits, Paid Absences and Retirement Benefits, etc.). Additional information is available at: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/.
Pay & Benefits Overview: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/
3M does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Please note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.
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Good Faith Posting Date Range 08/14/2026 To 09/13/2026 Or until filled
All US-based 3M full time employees will need to sign an employee agreement as a condition of employment with 3M. This agreement lays out key terms on using 3M Confidential Information and Trade Secrets. It also has provisions discussing conflicts of interest and how inventions are assigned. Employees that are Job Grade 7 or equivalent and above may also have obligations to not compete against 3M or solicit its employees or customers, both during their employment, and for a period after they leave 3M.
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