Stord is building the future of fulfillment, and this role will help define it. As the Director of Innovation & Systems Testing, you will lead and operate a dedicated 10,000-square-foot micro-fulfillment facility in Atlanta, serving as the proving ground for the next generation of warehouse automation, robotics, and AI-driven operations.
This is not a research-only role or an isolated innovation lab. You will oversee a live operating environment processing real customer orders while validating transformative improvements in productivity, capacity, accuracy, and cost efficiency. Your mandate is to rapidly test, refine, and scale breakthrough solutions across Stord's fulfillment network.
As a key leader within Stord's automation strategy, you will bridge innovation and execution-turning emerging technologies into measurable operational outcomes that drive margin expansion, increase network throughput, and elevate the fulfillment experience for customers at scale.
What You'll Do:Strategic Leadership & Program Execution- Executive Alignment: Partner closely with executive leadership to ensure Stord Labs' roadmap, priorities, and investments align with the company's long-term strategic and commercial objectives.
- Network Deployment Strategy: Develop scalable reference architectures, operating playbooks, and deployment frameworks for both greenfield and brownfield fulfillment sites. Establish governance and stage-gate processes that accelerate the transition from lab validation to production pilots and network-wide implementation.
- Financial & Capital Management: Own the planning and execution of automation initiatives, including budgeting, capital allocation, vendor selection, risk management, and project delivery. Drive solutions that deliver measurable productivity gains and network margin improvements of 2.5%-10%+.
- Executive Communication: Build compelling business cases and communicate recommendations to senior leadership through data-driven storytelling, including operational diagnostics, ROI analyses, payback models, TCO assessments, and simulation results.
Stord Labs Operations & Team Leadership- Lab Ownership: Lead the day-to-day operation of a 10,000-square-foot micro-fulfillment facility that processes both live and simulated customer orders across receiving, storage, picking, packing, value-added services, shipping, and returns.
- Team Development: Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing multidisciplinary innovation team. Foster a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and rapid execution through coaching, knowledge sharing, and capability development.
- Experimentation & Validation: Establish a rigorous, hypothesis-driven testing framework to evaluate operational technologies and process innovations. Measure outcomes against predefined success criteria and quickly scale, refine, or discontinue initiatives based on results.
Automation, Robotics & AI Innovation- Technology Evaluation: Assess and validate a broad range of automation solutions, including AMRs, AGVs, goods-to-person systems, sortation, AS/RS, shuttle systems, and emerging robotics technologies. Leverage simulation, throughput modeling, and OEE metrics to inform investment decisions.
- Vendor & Partnership Management: Lead RFP processes and strategic engagements with automation, robotics, and technology providers. Identify, evaluate, and cultivate long-term partnerships with best-in-class vendors.
- AI & Software Integration: Collaborate with internal product and engineering teams, as well as external AI partners, to evaluate machine-learning applications, orchestration platforms, and intelligent decision-support systems. Provide operational and producibility feedback to influence future product and automation design.
- Operational Enablement: Develop training programs, operating standards, and support models that enable successful adoption of robotics and automation technologies across Stord's fulfillment network.
External Partnerships & Industry Leadership- Academic & Research Collaboration: Establish and lead applied research initiatives with leading institutions such as Georgia Tech and other industry partners to accelerate innovation and access specialized expertise.
- Industry Thought Leadership: Represent Stord as a visible leader in supply chain innovation, sharing insights, best practices, and breakthrough results with customers, partners, and the broader logistics community.
- Customer & Commercial Engagement: Partner with Product, Marketing, and Sales to showcase Stord's innovation capabilities through customer demonstrations, executive briefings, technology showcases, and strategic pursuits.
Basic Qualifications:- 10+ years of experience leading warehouse operations, supply chain transformation, industrial engineering, or fulfillment network design, with significant exposure to robotics, automation, and advanced technologies.
- Demonstrated success delivering large-scale operational transformation initiatives from concept through deployment and scale.
- Deep expertise in fulfillment operations and warehouse technology ecosystems, including OMS, WMS, WES, and WCS platforms.
- Strong knowledge of process engineering, facility design, material flow optimization, labor planning, and throughput modeling.
- Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional programs involving operations, engineering, product, and executive stakeholders.
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or a related discipline.
Bonus Points:- Master's degree, MBA, or advanced technical degree.
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent continuous improvement certification.
- Experience building, launching, or operating an innovation center, automation lab, robotics testing environment, or corporate R&D facility.
- Background evaluating and deploying advanced warehouse automation, robotics, AI, and operational technology solutions in high-growth or large-scale logistics environments.
- Strong executive presence with experience presenting strategic recommendations and investment cases to C-suite stakeholders and board-level audiences.
Please Note: Strong preference is for the hire to be based out of our ATL HQ. We're open to exceptional remote candidates, but the role will require extensive travel.
