Sporting Fashion & Goods
Lead, Manufacturing Engineer Automation Solutions Air, Air Manufacturing Innovation
Mid Level
Beaverton, United States
in office
Full time
Job description
About the Role
This role is within Nike Air Manufacturing & Innovation (Air MI), which is transforming manufacturing through automation, robotics, connected systems, and Industry 4.0 capabilities. The Lead Automation Engineer reports directly to the Director, Manufacturing Engineering Automation Global and partners with Product Development, Innovation, Operations, Process Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, EHS, IT, and external technology partners. Based in Beaverton, the role drives front-end development of Air MI's automation strategy for its innovation and product development hub, which operates in a low-volume, high-SKU environment where flexibility, rapid experimentation, and speed to learning are critical.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain the automation strategy and technology roadmap aligned to Nike's innovation and smart manufacturing objectives.
- Identify, prioritise, and evaluate automation opportunities that accelerate product development, experimentation, and manufacturing flexibility.
- Lead technology scouting activities and engage external partners to identify emerging manufacturing and automation technologies.
- Develop and execute proof-of-concept initiatives to validate technical feasibility, scalability, and business value.
- Build business cases and investment recommendations, including ROI, implementation strategy, and network scalability assessments.
- Partner with Innovation and Product Development teams to explore new methods of make and advanced manufacturing technologies.
- Own production-intent design development, system architecture, and deployment standards for future automation initiatives.
- Evaluate how emerging technologies can be standardised and scaled into higher-volume manufacturing environments across Air MI.
- Partner with Operations, Process Engineering, Maintenance, IT, Quality, and Product Development to ensure solutions align with both innovation objectives and long-term manufacturing strategies.
Required Experience & Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field; any suitable combination of education, experience, and training will be accepted.
- Minimum 6 years of experience in automation, robotics, controls, manufacturing systems, or related engineering disciplines.
- Proven experience leading automation initiatives from concept through pilot validation.
- Experience working within innovation, R&D, prototyping, pilot manufacturing, or highly flexible production environments.
- Experience developing business cases, capital justifications, and technology investment strategies.
- Strong technical understanding of robotics, material handling automation, machine vision, industrial controls, digital manufacturing, and connected systems.
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and communicate effectively with both technical and business audiences.
- Comfortable operating in ambiguous environments where requirements and processes continue to evolve.
- Combines strong automation expertise with creativity, business acumen, and systems thinking, and can translate future manufacturing visions into executable technology roadmaps.
Workplace
- Based in Beaverton
The Application Process
Accessible interview accommodations are available on request for candidates with disabilities, including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single-location in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications.
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