Problem Manager

mhs; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Job summary

FORTNA is seeking a Problem Manager to lead end-to-end investigation and permanent resolution of recurring incidents affecting automated material handling and warehouse systems in the United States.

You will coordinate cross-functional RCA sessions, maintain the Known Error Database, and drive CAPA plans, partnering with Engineering, Operations, and Support to improve system reliability and reduce downtime.

Qualifications

• Experience leading RCA for complex incidents.
• Ability to coordinate cross-functional investigations with Engineering, QA and Operations.
• Proficiency in documenting Known Error Database entries and CAPAs.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end Problem Management for recurring, major incidents.
• Lead RCA sessions and drive formal root-cause investigations.
• Maintain Known Error Database with root cause, workaround and fixes.
• Prioritize problems by impact, risk and recurrence.
• Develop and track CAPA plans and verify reductions in recurrence.

Skills

Root Cause Analysis

Incident Management

WES/WCS integration

Automation Troubleshooting

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

PLC

Robotics

Data analysis

Job description

FORTNA partners with the world's leading brands to transform omnichannel and parcel distribution operations. Known world-wide for enabling companies to keep pace with digital disruption and growth objectives, we design and deliver solutions, powered by intelligent software, to optimize fast, accurate and cost-effective order fulfillment and last mile delivery. Our people, innovative approach and proprietary algorithms and tools ensure optimal operations design and material and information flow. We deliver exceptional value every day to our customers with comprehensive services and products including network strategy, distribution center operational design and implementation, material handling automated equipment, robotics and a comprehensive suite of lifecycle services.

At FORTNA, we believe in fostering a workplace that isn't just a job but a movement - a collective effort to redefine success and transform challenges into opportunities. "Join the Movement" encapsulates our commitment to a workplace culture that thrives on collaboration, celebrates diversity, and empowers every individual to contribute to something greater than themselves. Our Team. Our Passion. Our Approach.

Position Summary

The Problem Manager leads the identification, investigation, analysis, and permanent resolution of recurring and high-impact incidents affecting automated material handling and warehouse automation systems. The role reduces operational disruption by identifying root causes and coordinating corrective and preventive actions across WES, WCS, WMS, controls, PLCs, robotics, material handling equipment, databases, networks, and related integrations.

The Problem Manager is the central owner of the Problem Management lifecycle for complex customer and production issues, working closely with Technical Support, Software Engineering, Controls Engineering, Site Operations, Customer Success, Product Management, Quality Assurance, Infrastructure, and third-party vendors to prevent repeat incidents and improve system reliability.

This role partners closely with Incident Management but owns a distinct piece of the lifecycle: Incident Managers own real-time restoration during an active incident, while the Problem Manager owns root-cause investigation and permanent resolution once an incident is stabilized or identified as recurring.

Key Responsibilities

Problem Management Ownership

• Own and manage the end-to-end Problem Management process for recurring, major, complex, and high-business-impact incidents.
• Identify patterns across incidents, tickets, alerts, and escalations; determine when related incidents represent a common problem requiring formal root cause investigation.
• Lead structured Root Cause Analysis (RCA) using methodologies such as 5 Whys, Fishbone/Ishikawa, Fault Tree Analysis, Pareto, FMEA, or Kepner-Tregoe.
• Facilitate cross-functional RCA sessions with Engineering, QA, Infrastructure, and Operations, ensuring findings are evidence-based rather than symptom-based.
• Establish and maintain formal Problem Records and Known Error Database (KEDB) entries - root cause, workaround, corrective/preventive action, ownership, and closure criteria.
• Prioritize problems by customer impact, operational risk, frequency, severity, downtime, and recurrence likelihood.
• Develop, assign, and track Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) plans, and validate that fixes materially reduce recurrence before closing problems.
• Identify systemic issues affecting multiple customers or platforms, elevate significant risks to leadership, and provide regular reporting on major problems and root-cause trends.

WES/WCS and Automation Troubleshooting

• Lead investigations spanning WES/WCS and their integration with WMS, ERP, PLCs, robotics, conveyors, AS/RS, AMRs, and related automation technologies.
• Analyze failures across the order, task, and routing lifecycle - work release, task generation, divert logic, inventory movement, and tote/carton/pallet tracking.
• Analyze failures at the equipment and controls layer - conveyor/sortation exceptions, equipment jams, PLC communication, robotics/AS-RS behavior, and WMS-to-WES-to-WCS-to-PLC communication.
• Investigate performance degradation, latency, message failures, data synchronization issues, and abnormal equipment behavior.
• Partner with Software and Controls Engineering to distinguish software, configuration, integration, equipment, controls, infrastructure, and process-related causes.
• Develop technical workarounds and Known Error documentation to limit impact while permanent fixes are developed.

Major Incident Support (Partnering with Incident Management)

• Partner with Incident Managers and Technical Support during active incidents to ensure appropriate technical investigation, and transition recurring issues into formal Problem Management.
• Participate in incident bridges and executive/customer escalations as the technical problem-resolution owner when appropriate.
• Coordinate post-incident reviews a