Principal Engineer, Material Handling & Warehouse Automation

Jabil; Saint Petersburg (FL); On-site; USD 126,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentive

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Employee stock purchase plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Jabil seeks a Principal Automation Engineer to drive the execution and deployment of warehouse and material handling automation across NA EMS sites. You will mentor site teams, coordinate with suppliers, and ensure scalable deployment within a regional automation framework.

The role supports NPI and New Automation Asset Introduction, guiding supplier engagement, evaluation, and installation. You will work with production integration and manufacturing teams to meet throughput and safety targets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or related field.
• 12+ years of experience in warehouse automation and material handling.
• Experience leading multi-site deployment with suppliers and integrators.

Responsibilities

• Lead regional execution of material handling and warehouse automation initiatives across multiple North America EMS sites.
• Mentor and train engineers, coordinate with suppliers and integrators, ensure deployment quality.
• Align projects with regional priorities, standards, and scalable approaches.
• Support NPI and New Automation Asset Introduction, including planning and ramp.
• Ensure integration of warehouse automation with production operations and IE teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in material flow, throughput, and reliability.

Skills

Material handling

Warehouse automation

Intralogistics

AMR / AGV / FMR

Supplier coordination

Project leadership

Mentoring

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering

Tools

WMS

Fleet management systems

Job description

The Principal Automation Engineer, Material Handling & Warehouse Automation, Regional is responsible for driving the execution, deployment, and improvement of warehouse and production-connected material handling automation solutions across multiple North America EMS sites. This role supports material flow to and from production through scalable warehouse and intralogistics solutions, while working closely with site teams, third-party suppliers, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure successful implementation and sustainment.

This role supports both New Product Introduction (NPI) and New Automation Asset Introduction. Although the role is not intended to formally own site projects, the individual must be fully capable of planning, structuring, and driving execution through site teams and external partners.

This is not a strategy ownership role and it is not an internal equipment design role. The position is focused on execution, mentoring, supplier coordination, and consistent deployment of supplier-based warehouse and material handling automation solutions within a regional automation framework.

CORE ROLE DEFINITION

• This role must be capable of leading, structuring, and driving execution through site teams and suppliers.
• This role provides regional technical leadership for warehouse and material handling automation deployment and sustainment.
• This role works closely with the Sr. Manager of Automation to align execution with regional priorities and provide input to strategy, while strategy ownership remains with regional leadership.
• This role is a mentor, trainer, and capability builder across the region.
• This role works closely with the General Automation team, recognizing that material handling and warehouse automation must integrate directly into production operations.
  
  

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Regional Execution Leadership

• Drive execution of material handling and warehouse automation initiatives across multiple North America EMS sites.
• Support sites in prioritizing opportunities, structuring work, managing execution, and stabilizing deployed systems.
• Ensure implementation aligns with regional expectations, standards, and scalable approaches.
  
  

New Product Introduction (NPI) Support

• Support site teams in aligning warehouse and material flow strategies with new product requirements.
• Evaluate the impact of new products on material flow, storage, staging, line-side delivery, and outbound processes.
• Ensure warehouse and material handling processes are ready to support production needs during product launch.
  
  

New Automation Asset Introduction

• Guide and support deployment of new automation systems, including:
• requirements alignment
• supplier engagement
• technical evaluation
• quotation and proposal review
• installation
• startup
• ramp
• validation and handoff
• Ensure deployed systems meet throughput, reliability, accuracy, safety, and operational expectations.
  
  

Project Execution Capability

• Be fully capable of independently running automation projects, including:
• planning and structuring work
• task and issue tracking
• stakeholder alignment
• supplier coordination
• execution follow-up
• risk and escalation management
• Apply this project capability to guide and support site teams, even when formal project ownership remains at the site.
  
  

Supplier and Integrator Leadership

• Act as a primary technical interface with:
• third-party automation integrators
• AMR / AGV / FMR suppliers
• warehouse automation suppliers
• infrastructure and software solution providers
• Lead technical discussions, solution alignment, issue resolution, and performance reviews with suppliers.
  
  

Warehouse and Production Integration

• Ensure strong alignment between warehouse automation systems and production operations.
• Work closely with site warehouse teams, facilities, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, and General Automation engineers.
• Reinforce that warehouse automation is not separate from manufacturing execution and must integrate cleanly into production material flow.
  
  

Mentoring, Training, and Capability Building

• Mentor facility-level automation engineers and technical resources across the region.
• Provide training and guidance on:
• warehouse and material handling automation concepts
• supplier engagement and technical reviews
• structured execution discipline
• troubleshooting approaches
• standard methods and lessons learned
• Help build sustainable capability across sites rather than creating dependency on one person.
  
  

Continuous Improvement

• Drive improvement initiatives across the region related to:
• material flow efficiency
• labor reduction
• throughput improvement
• delivery performance
• storage optimization
• system reliability
• operational scalability
• Identify and replicate successful solutions where appropriate.
  
  

Job Qualifications

• Strong experience in material handling, warehouse automation, and intralogistics systems.
• Strong understanding of:
• warehouse operations and terminology
• material flow in manufacturing environments
• AMR / AGV / FMR systems
• storage systems such as ASRS, VLM, and rack systems
• warehouse software interfaces such as WMS and fleet management systems
• Strong ability to:
• translate operational needs into practical technical solutions
• work effectively with third-party integrators and suppliers
• guide cross-functional execution across warehouse, IE, facilities, and manufacturing teams
• communicate clearly with site teams, customers, suppliers, and leadership
• Strong project execution capability and program leadership discipline.
• Strong troubleshooting capability and continuous improvement mindset.
• Working understanding of manufacturing automation environments and production system interfaces.
• Ability to mentor others and raise capability across multiple sites.
  
  

Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in:
• warehouse automation
• material handling systems
• manufacturing environments
• third-party supplier and integrator execution models
• Demonstrated experience:
• driving automation deployment or multi-site implementation
• supporting startup, ramp, troubleshooting, and sustainment
• working across cross-functional technical and operational teams
• leading execution without relying on formal direct ownership of every task
  

Additional Role Expectations

• Work closely with the Regional Automation Team to support regional execution priorities, standard methods, and scalable deployment approaches.
• Follow the Global Automation Process for New Automation Asset Delivery, including:
• requirements definition and alignment
• supplier engagement
• deployment and startup support
• validation and handoff discipline
• Support:
• New Product Introduction (NPI)
• New Automation Asset Introduction
• continuous improvement and sustainment
• Work closely with the General Automation team to ensure warehouse and material handling solutions integrate effectively into production operations.
• Operate in a multi-site, matrixed environment with strong collaboration across technical and operational functions.

, BE AWARE OF FRAUD: When applying for a job at Jabil you will be contacted via correspondence through our official job portal with a jabil.com e-mail address; direct phone call from a member of the Jabil team; or direct e-mail with a jabil.com e-mail address. Jabil does not request payments for interviews or at any other point during the hiring process. Jabil will not ask for your personal identifying information such as a social security number, birth certificate, financial institution, driver’s license number or passport information over the phone or via e-mail. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigations internet crime hotline (www.ic3.gov), the Federal Trade Commission identity theft hotline (www.identitytheft.gov) and/or your local police department. Any scam job listings should be reported to whatever website it was posted in., The pay range for this role is $126,100 - $227,000. Job-related, non-discriminatory factors used to determine the actual offered rate include qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data, and consideration of internal equity. The anticipated close date of this job requisition is: November 30, 2026., As part of the total rewards package, this position is eligible for a short-term incentive based on performance. In addition, Jabil offers benefits to enhance your health, wealth and resilient self. These include medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; 401(k) retirement plan and employee stock purchase plan; and paid time off.