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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # VP Automation & Robotics Engineering - **Company:** Asurion - **Location:** United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Backup Devices, Machine Learning, Uptime, Reliability Engineering, Systems Integration, Performance Monitor - **Published:** October 26, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.adzuna.com/details/5931898285 ## About the Role * 10+ years in automation, robotics, or process engineering leadership. * Experience running or scaling multi-site or global manufacturing/production automation programs. * Hands-on experience deploying automation and robotics in a high-volume operational environment - manufacturing, electronics repair/refurbishment, or distribution. * Experience owning vendor contracts, SLAs, and performance management for outsourced or vendor-supported automation solutions. * Experience running the full lifecycle of a technical solution from R&D through implementation and handoff to a steady-state operations team. * Experience applying process improvement or Lean discipline ahead of automation - simplifying and stabilizing a process before deploying technology onto it, and turning down or deferring projects that aren't ready. * Experience leading technical teams across multiple international sites, not just a single location. * A track record of standing up new technical capability at a new site from the ground up. * Experience securing and defending capital that is justified on strategic capability and market position, not solely on labor payback. * Experience taking AI or machine-learning capability from pilot into sustained production operation, including the data foundations it depends on. Technical Skills * Robotics and industrial automation controls. * Computer vision / machine vision inspection systems, including AI-based grading and automated quality verification. * Working literacy in the data and AI stack automation depends on - demand forecasting, unit-level decisioning and routing logic, and the platforms that host them. * Predictive maintenance and equipment reliability practices. * Robotic process control and workflow/conveyance automation. * Capital equipment planning, hardware/software integration, and vendor management. * Vendor contract and SLA management, including uptime, throughput, and performance reporting. Soft Skills * Strong financial and business-case acumen; able to build and defend multi-year capital investment cases - including cases where the return is capability and competitive position rather than near-term labor payback. * Cross-site, cross-cultural leadership; comfortable operating across geographies and time zones. * Stakeholder management across operations, quality, engineering, IT, and external vendor/integrator partners. * Comfortable building capability from the ground up in ambiguous, fast-scaling environments. * Clear, credible communicator who can translate complex technical and automation concepts for executive, operational, and site-level audiences alike. * Proven people leadership - able to hire, coach, and retain a technical team through a period of rapid growth and organizational change. * Skilled at leading organizational and process change, including standing up new reporting lines, new sites, and new ways of working, with minimal disruption to ongoing operations. * Executive presence; comfortable presenting roadmap, investment cases, and performance results directly to senior leadership. * Able to influence and align peer leaders and cross-functional partners without direct authority over them., * Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. ## Description Asurion's Supply Chain is executing a three-year vision: an intelligent, automated device lifecycle in which AI and robotics run as one closed loop for every individual unit. Delivering the robotics and physical-automation half of that loop is what this role exists to do. This newly created Vice President role owns the automation, robotics, and applied-AI roadmap across Asurion's Supply Chain global production network. The role leads Asurion's existing automation engineering team on day one and is accountable for building a real automation presence at every site where production happens today, and at new sites as the network grows. This role owns automation end-to-end - the full hardware and software stack behind every solution - and runs it as an R&D-through-delivery function: researching and solutioning new automation capability, owning its implementation into production, and formally handing off steady-state operation to site Operations once a solution is stable., * Own the automation, robotics, and applied-AI roadmap and execution across the global Supply Chain sites. * Lead and grow the automation engineering team of engineers, technicians, and project managers, expanding its footprint to match where production actually happens. * Own end-to-end technical accountability for both the hardware and software behind every automation solution, from initial R&D through implementation and handoff to steady-state Operations. * Own vendor contracts and SLAs for automation solutions - uptime, throughput, and reporting - holding vendors to committed service levels and zero-defect execution. * Own technical escalation for automation issues beyond standard maintenance and troubleshooting, and coordinate how automation interacts with IT, Operations, Maintenance, and external vendors/integrators. * Stand up automation capability at new production facilities as they come online, rather than retrofitting it after a site is already running. * Hold the line on process readiness: partner with Operations and Continuous Improvement to question, delete, simplify, and accelerate a process before automating it, and qualify projects only once that work is complete. * Apply AI-enabled capability - AI grading at intake, machine-vision quality control, predictive maintenance, robotic sort and repair, robotic process control - to remanufacturing and repair lines, and support maximizing at the unit level. * Partner with site operations and equipment maintenance teams on reliability and uptime standards for automated systems. * Partner with Planning, Procurement, Data, and Technology to close the loop - ensuring robotic execution feeds unit-level outcome data back into forecasting, grading, and routing models so the system self-corrects and accuracy compounds. * Ensure automated systems are built on the shared demand, inventory, and returns data platform, so solutions run in production rather than as standalone pilots. * Build and defend the multi-year investment case for automation and robotics capital, tied to cost, throughput, quality, and client-commitment outcomes. * Manage vendor relationships for automation hardware, robotics, and software across a multi-site, international footprint. * Build the robotics and automation talent bench - including external pipeline partnerships and reskilling floor teams as roles shift from execution to exception handling. * Position automation capability for eventual externalization, so the solutions built for Asurion's own network can be offered to clients and partners as a service. * Report roadmap progress, exit-criteria attainment, and site-level performance to senior Asurion leadership.