Senior Manager, Automation Engineering

What You’ll Do

• Build a deep understanding of Walmart supply chain operations, fulfillment workflows, and automation priorities to identify where emerging technologies can drive measurable business value.
• Assess new automation opportunities across the network, including robotics, intelligent material movement, pallet tracking, and AI/ML-enabled systems that can improve throughput, safety, accuracy, and scalability.
• Identify, evaluate, and influence external suppliers and technology partners, bringing clarity to which solutions are ready for pilot, which are scalable, and which are not.
• Lead pilots and real-world trials in distribution centers and fulfillment environments, translating technical possibilities into operational results.
• Partner closely with implementation, engineering, and operations teams to move successful solutions beyond proof of concept and into scalable deployment across the network.
• Define success metrics for each initiative and use data, field insights, and operational feedback to evaluate pilot performance, business impact, and readiness to scale.
• Ensure the team does not get stuck in pilots by driving decisions, surfacing tradeoffs, and creating practical paths to rollout.
• Influence cross-functional stakeholders and senior leaders by connecting technical recommendations to business priorities, investment logic, and long-term strategy.
• Stay close to the market by researching robotics startups, major operators, and adjacent industries to help Walmart stay on the leading edge of automation and innovation.
• Spend time in the field visiting distribution centers, fulfillment centers, and partner sites to observe operations firsthand, run trials, and support implementation efforts.
• Over your first 90 days, success will look like:
  • First 30 days: Learn the business, visit sites, meet key partners, and build an understanding of current technologies, operational pain points, and automation opportunities.
  • By 60 days: Become actively involved in testing existing and emerging technologies, building supplier relationships, and taking ownership of defined deliverables.
  • By 90 days: Own major portions of automation initiatives, helping drive pilots, supplier engagement, trial execution, and decisions around scale.

What You’ll Bring

• A track record of delivering meaningful results in robotics, automation, or advanced engineering, ideally in supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, automotive, or other complex operational environments.
• Strong technical depth in areas such as robotics systems integration, control systems, PLC logic, WCS/WES, software-enabled automation, LiDAR, and AI/ML applications.
• The ability to assess technology not only for technical merit, but also for operational fit, business value, and scalability.
• Experience working with external vendors, startups, or strategic suppliers to evaluate capabilities, influence roadmaps, and drive execution.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to lead through influence across engineering, operations, implementation, and business teams.
• A strong blend of technical credibility, strategic thinking, and business judgment.
• A change leadership mindset, with the ability to move teams from idea to action and from pilot to scaled deployment.
• Curiosity about emerging technology and a genuine passion for understanding where the market is heading and how innovation can be applied in practical ways.
• Comfort operating in a field-based innovation environment with an inconsistent travel schedule, including heavier travel during pilot, testing, and rollout periods.
• A bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, industrial, or a related engineering field.

• Experience rolling out robotics or automation solutions in supply chain or warehouse environments.
• Exposure to physical AI or advanced intelligent automation systems.
• Experience building robotics products or working in a robotics startup environment.
• Background from organizations known for advanced automation, such as major logistics operators, large-scale retailers, innovative industrial companies, or leading robotics organizations.