Description Summary/Objective The Senior Manager, Automation is responsible for leading the strategy, development, delivery, and ongoing evolution of automation and internally developed applications that create measurable value across ACA. This role leads a team that reimagines business processes and builds scalable solutions using automation, application development, AI, and other emerging technologies.
Essential Functions Lead the Automation function in identifying, prioritizing, designing, building, deploying, and supporting automation and application solutions that solve complex business challenges and deliver measurable value. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Own the automation and application development strategy and roadmap, aligning team priorities with organizational goals, WIGs, operational needs, and future technology direction.
- Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of opportunities by partnering with department leaders, process owners, and technology partners; prioritize work based on value, effort, complexity, risk, capacity, and strategic alignment.
- Partner with business leaders to simplify, redesign, or eliminate ineffective work before automating it and ensure solutions address the underlying business problem.
- Own delivery outcomes across the Automation portfolio, ensuring initiatives meet business objectives, timelines, quality expectations, and production-readiness standards.
- Define success metrics and measure realized value, including operating expense reduction, productivity, capacity creation, cycle-time improvement, risk reduction, and customer or associate experience.
- Oversee the full solution lifecycle and enforce standards for design, development, testing, deployment, documentation, version control, monitoring, security, maintenance, and production support.
- Evaluate and select the appropriate solution approach, including RPA, Python, APIs, web applications, low-code platforms, workflow tools, Generative AI, Agentic AI, and intelligent document processing.
- Partner with IT, Information Security, Data, Infrastructure, Architecture, and other teams to resolve technical dependencies, access, licensing, security constraints, and other blockers to delivery.
- Manage strategic vendor and platform relationships, including licensing, renewals, capacity, upgrades, system stability, product roadmaps, and utilization.
- Represent Automation in leadership forums and communicate portfolio progress, risks, value, capacity, resource needs, and strategic opportunities in clear business terms.
- Lead, coach, and develop Automation Engineers and other technical professionals; build growth paths and foster a culture of accountability, innovation, knowledge sharing, automation-first thinking, and rapid development.
Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- 7+ years of progressive experience in automation, software or application development, technology delivery, process improvement, or a related discipline.
- 3+ years of direct people leadership experience, preferably leading technical engineering, automation, or application development teams.
- Demonstrated experience managing a portfolio of automation, software, or digital transformation initiatives from opportunity identification through production and value realization.
- Strong business acumen with the ability to identify high-value opportunities and connect technology solutions to measurable financial and operational outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience with technologies such as Python, SQL, APIs, RPA platforms, Power Platform or other low-code tools, web applications, databases, and version control.
- Strong communication and influencing skills with the ability to partner with senior leaders, translate technical concepts into business terms, manage ambiguity, and develop high-performing technical talent.
Supervisory Responsibility This position has supervisory responsibilities and will manage a team of Automation Engineers and/or other technical professionals responsible for automation and application development.
Work Environment and Physical Demands This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers and phones.
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work This is a full-time position with a work schedule of Monday-Friday with additional hours occasionally required to support critical implementations, production issues, or business needs.
Travel Travel as required based on business needs.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
