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ASURION
Vice President, Automation & Robotics Engineering
SCM | Reports to: SVP, SCM
Travel: Regular travel to Asurion 's global operations and other production sites required
Position Summary
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.
Responsibilities
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.
Skills and Qualifications Experience 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.
Education Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.