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…