Director, Automation & Digital Manufacturing

About us:  At Plexus, our vision is to help create the products that build a better world.  Driven by a passion for excellence, we partner with leading Aerospace/Defense, Healthcare/Life Sciences and Industrial companies to design, manufacture and service some of the world’s most transformative products, including advanced surgical systems, diagnostic instruments, healthcare imaging equipment, mission critical aerospace systems, and electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions. Visit Plexus.com to learn more about our unwavering commitment to our vision. 

When we invest in our people, we invest in building a better world. 

With a vision rooted in the wellbeing and inclusive engagement of our team members, our customers, their end users and our communities, people are the heart of what we do and who we are. It is our values that unite us and guide us in everything that we do, including how we operate, behave and interact to foster a workplace where every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute their best.  

Our values include: Growing our People, Building Belonging, Innovating Responsibly, Delivering Excellence and Creating Customer Success. 

As a team member, you will engage in impactful work through global collaboration and the use of emerging technologies, join an inclusive culture where every team member is valued and working toward a greater purpose, and be empowered to reach your full potential through various development programs designed to accelerate your growth. 

Plexus offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support team members' wellbeing, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, retirement savings, and opportunities for professional development. We also prioritize work-life balance and offer a variety of perks to enhance the team member experience.  For more information, visit our US benefits website at usbenefits.plexus.com. Our commitment to pay range transparency fosters an equitable workplace, where everyone can feel valued. The annual compensation range for this position is stated below. The salary offered within this range will be based upon the geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level. Salary Range:

Director, Automation & Digital Manufacturing

We’re looking for an accomplished engineering leader to transform how manufacturing is designed, automated and digitally connected across our Americas operations.

You’ll lead the strategy and deployment of next-generation manufacturing technologies across multiple sites, helping shape the future of high-reliability manufacturing serving some of the world’s most complex products in Healthcare, Industrial and Aerospace & Defense.

If you’re passionate about robotics, AI, smart factories, digital manufacturing and building scalable manufacturing systems, this is an opportunity to create lasting impact at scale.

Purpose Statement:

As Director of Automation & Digital Manufacturing, you will define and execute the strategy and technology roadmap for manufacturing automation and digital manufacturing across 6 sites in the Americas, providing technical leadership and direction to a highly skilled team of 12+ engineers.  

You will partner closely with Operations, Engineering, IT, Quality and Supply Chain to translate business needs into scalable manufacturing solutions that improve safety, quality, productivity, capacity, flexibility and customer success. 

You will shape technology and investment priorities, accelerate development and adoption of smart factory and AI-enabled manufacturing capabilities, and build solutions that can scale across the region. 

Key Job Accountabilities:

• Automation strategy, innovation & execution — Define and lead the multi-year roadmap for manufacturing automation across AMER, including robotics, machine vision, cobots, autonomous mobile robotics and emerging manufacturing technologies. Continuously evaluate new technologies, strategic partners and pilots for scalability.  

• Digital manufacturing & Smart Factory — Lead the evolution toward connected, data-driven factories through MES, PLM, shop-floor data platforms and AI-enabled applications; establish the technology roadmap connecting automation investments to real-time operational insights and decision-making.

• Technology portfolio & value realization — Build and manage a prioritized portfolio of automation and digital investments based on business value, technical feasibility and scalability; establish governance and performance measures to ensure solutions deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, productivity, capacity and cost.

• Standardization & scale — Establish common architectures, platforms, engineering standards and design methodologies across the region. Build modular, flexible solutions that accelerate deployment and enable replication across AMER and globally.

• Advanced manufacturing & NPI — Partner with site engineering, Operations and customer teams to integrate automation and digital capabilities early in new product introductions, capacity expansions and strategic customer opportunities, enabling flexible and scalable manufacturing solutions.

• Talent & capability building — Recruit, develop and lead a high-performing team of automation and digital manufacturing engineers while building technical bench strength, standards and capabilities across the region.

• Executive partnership & influence — Serve as the AMER automation and digital manufacturing leader in regional and global engineering strategy, capital planning and executive reviews. Partner across a matrixed organization to align technology investments with business and customer priorities.

Education/Experience Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will be considered

• 10+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering and automation

• 7+ years leading technical organizations

• Demonstrated experience developing and executing automation, advanced manufacturing or digital manufacturing strategies

• Proven success leading complex, cross-functional technology deployments across multiple sites

• Demonstrated experience with capital planning, business-case development and value realization

• Strong executive communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills

• Ability to translate enterprise strategy into scalable site-level execution within a matrixed organization

• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time 

Preferred Experience
Experience in one or more of:

• Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) / Contract Manufacturing

• High-mix / high-complexity production environments

• Medical devices

• Aerospace & Defense

• Industrial automation

• Multi-site, regional or global manufacturing organizations

This document does not represent a contract of employment and is not intended to capture every possible assignment the incumbent could be asked to perform.

We are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities or special requirements.  If you need an application accommodation, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Please include your contact information and clearly describe how we can help you. This email is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Some offers of employment are contingent upon successfully passing a drug screen and/or background check.