About the roleAs a Project Director within our Distribution & Fulfillment (D&F) team, you are the executive leader responsible for the successful delivery of a large-scale, highly complex and fully integrated Material Handling Systems (MHS) and Controls and SW project from contract award through final acceptance. You own project performance across scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk management and customer outcomes while serving as the primary leadership point for both the customer and the DCS project team.
The Project Director provides strategic direction and executive oversight across Engineering, Procurement, Site Operations, Testing & Commissioning, Controls, and Project Management to ensure successful project outcomes. This role is typically assigned to large, high-visibility automation projects with significant financial, operational, and customer impact.
All in all, you'll be a key member of the Project Delivery organization, ensuring projects are delivered with precision, accountability and execution excellence.
We value leaders who can manage complexity, drive alignment across stakeholders, make informed decisions, and consistently deliver successful outcomes for our customers.
In This Role, You Will Project Leadership & Execution - Lead large, high-complexity distribution center and automation implementations, including greenfield and brownfield projects.
- Serve as the executive owner of a single large-scale project from concept through go-live and final acceptance.
- Own project performance across scope, schedule, budget, quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.
- Establish project execution strategies that align customer expectations with DCS business objectives.
- Maintain overall accountability for successful project delivery and achievement of contractual commitments.
- Drive accountability across all project stakeholders and functional teams.
Customer Leadership - Serve as the primary executive interface between DCS and the customer.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with customer leadership and key decision-makers.
- Lead executive project reviews, steering committee meetings, and critical escalation discussions.
- Provide proactive communication regarding project performance, risks, mitigation plans, and key decisions.
- Resolve customer concerns while balancing commercial protection and long-term partnership objectives.
Financial & Commercial Management - Own project financial performance including revenue, margin, cash flow, forecasting, and change management.
- Partner with Project Controls and Finance to maintain accurate project forecasts and financial visibility.
- Lead executive review of change orders, claims, commercial risks, and contract matters.
- Ensure project decisions support both customer success and DCS financial objectives.
Risk Management & Decision Making - Identify project risks early and drive proactive mitigation strategies.
- Make timely and informed decisions to manage tradeoffs and protect project outcomes.
- Lead resolution of complex technical, commercial, schedule, procurement, permitting, installation, commissioning and integration challenges.
- Maintain executive visibility of project health through KPIs, risk registers, and governance reviews.
- Escalate critical issues appropriately while driving accountability for resolution.
Technical & Operational Leadership - Apply expertise in Material Handling Systems, Controls, SW and Distribution Center Operations to support project execution.
- Partner with Engineering, Procurement, Controls, SW, Site Operations, and Testing teams to ensure alignment and successful delivery.
- Define project requirements and execution strategies in collaboration with customers and internal stakeholders.
- Oversee major project milestones including engineering completion, equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, testing, and go-live.
- Manage vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors, serving as the executive escalation point when required.
Team Leadership & Development - Lead and mentor Project Managers, Site Managers, and project leadership teams.
- Delegate effectively while maintaining accountability for project performance.
- Determine resource requirements and partner with leadership to ensure projects are properly staffed.
- Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, safety, collaboration, and execution excellence.
- Support the development of future project leaders through coaching and mentorship.
Continuous Improvement - Drive lessons learned and continuous improvement initiatives throughout the project lifecycle.
- Improve project delivery processes, tools, governance, and execution methodologies.
- Utilize data, metrics, and root cause analysis to solve problems and prevent recurrence.
- Promote standardization and best practices that improve project predictability and customer outcomes.
Qualifications Required - Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or a related field.
- 15+ years of experience delivering complex automation, material handling, industrial, or large-scale capital projects.
- Demonstrated success leading projects exceeding $50M-$100M+ in value.
- Strong financial, commercial, contract, and risk management experience.
- Proven ability to lead executive-level customer relationships and cross-functional teams.
- Excellent leadership, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability and willingness to travel 20-40% based on project and business needs.
Preferred - PMP certification or equivalent project management credential.
- Experience delivering large-scale automation projects for major customers in the US
- Experience with Material Handling Systems, Controls Integration, Distribution Centers, or Warehouse Automation.
