Automation Team Manager

Position Title: Automation Team ManagerDepartment: PUMA WorksReports to: Director of PUMA WorksDirect Reports: Automation programmers project coordinator and support staff assigned to the automation teamCompensation: Salary starting range $80000 - $130000;Commensurate with Skills and ExperienceHours: Full-time Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm 40 hours per week; plus on-call rotationBenefitsThree weeks of paid vacationPaid sick timeEight & a half paid holidays per yearTwo paid flexible holidays per yearICHRA Health Insurance Reimbursement100% Employer Paid Dental & Vision Insurance100% Employer Paid Life Insurance100% Employer Paid Medical Clinic Membership or Cash Equivalent (for Field Staff) for employees and dependentsOther benefits accrue over the first 3-24 months including: additional paid vacation 401k with company matching and quarterly profit of Work: Tech Hub - Redding OverviewMaas Energy Works (MEW) is the leading developer and operator of on-farm waste-to-energy systems in the United States. The Company designs develops constructs and operates biogas renewable energy generation systems primarily on dairy farms. Our projects include anaerobic digesters biogas-powered electric generation and renewable natural gas DescriptionMEW is hiring an Automation Team Manager to lead both the people and the workflow of our automation and programming team. You will grow the careers of a team of PLC and SCADA programmers balance their workloads and keep programming tickets and projects moving to completion across a portfolio of digester and RNG is a working leadership role. You will stay hands-on in programming troubleshooting and commissioning and contribute directly to the technical work alongside the team. Technical direction and standards are set in partnership with the Technical Lead who holds final responsibility for ideal candidate has developed technical people before holds a team accountable without micromanaging it and takes satisfaction in removing obstacles so engineers can do their best of the RoleThis position leads the automation team and works closely with the Technical Lead to ensure the successful delivery of automation projects and support across the companys portfolio. The division of responsibility is deliberate and Automation Team Manager is expected to be an experienced PLC SCADA and industrial automation professional who actively contributes to programming troubleshooting project execution and technical problem solving while providing leadership and management for the team. This is not a people-management-only role owns: people development performance management hiring work assignment and loading capacity planning ticket and project throughput scheduling on-call rotation timesheet and PTO approval cross-department coordination escalation and hands-on technical contribution where needed to support team Technical Lead owns: technical direction architecture and platform decisions programming standards and conventions code and configuration review and the technical approach taken on any given project or Automation Team Manager is expected to maintain sufficient technical expertise to effectively contribute to automation projects mentor team members evaluate technical tradeoffs and participate in technical decision-making. The Technical Lead remains responsible for establishing technical standards guiding technical direction and ensuring consistency in engineering practices across the Automation Team Manager does not unilaterally establish technical standards or override technical decisions without collaboration and review. When technical and delivery priorities conflict the Manager and Technical Lead resolve them together and escalate to the Director when Leadership and DevelopmentManage coach and develop a team of automation programmersHold consistent one-on-one meetings focused on growth obstacles and career directionBuild individual development plans and identify training certification and stretch-assignment opportunities for each team memberWrite and deliver performance reviews; set clear expectations and address performance issues early and directlyBuild a team culture that reflects MEWs values - trustworthy effective generous fulfilled innovativeWork Loading and CapacityAssign programming tickets and project work across the team based on skill development goals and available capacityMaintain a clear view of who is working on what and rebalance when priorities shiftForecast capacity against the incoming project pipeline and flag staffing gaps to the DirectorCoordinate with Project Management Operations Engineering and Construction to sequence automation work against site schedules and commissioning datesDelivery and Ticket FlowOwn the health of the teams ticket queue in ClickUp - keep work visible current and movingRun recurring stand-ups and work-review meetings; identify stalled tickets and clear the blockers behind themTrack project milestones and communicate status risk and schedule changes to stakeholdersPartner with the Technical Lead to confirm work is scoped and sized realistically before it is committedEscalate resource conflicts scope changes and schedule risks to the Director earlyReport on team throughput backlog and delivery performanceAdministration and OperationsReview and approve timesheets expenses and PTO requestsBuild and manage team scheduling including site travel and the on-call rotationVerify the team maintains program backups and site documentation to standardSupport process improvement in how the team intakes tracks and closes workContribute to team budget planning and software hardware and licensing needsTechnical ContributionActively participate in PLC programming SCADA development troubleshooting commissioning and automation support activitiesServe as an experienced technical resource for team members and stakeholders across the companyMaintain sufficient hands-on involvement to accurately assess project scope technical risk workload staffing needs and delivery timelinesProvide technical mentoring and development opportunities for automation team membersCollaborate with the Technical Lead to evaluate technical approaches resolve complex issues and maintain consistency across projectsUnderstand the teams work well enough to assess progress honestly remove obstacles and hold credible technical conversations with team members and stakeholdersThis role is expected to remain technically proficient and capable of directly contributing to the teams engineering work. It is not solely a people-management & SkillsRequired5 years of hands-on experience in industrial automation controls engineering PLC programming SCADA experience programming troubleshooting commissioning and supporting industrial automation systems3 years managing or supervising technical staffDemonstrated record of developing people through coaching performance management and accountabilityExperience managing project workloads priorities ticket queues and technical resourcesStrong organizational communication and leadership skillsMust be proficient in in renewable energy RNG biogas agriculture manufacturing utilities or similar industrial environmentsExperience supporting geographically distributed facilities and remote team membersWorking knowledge of industrial electrical systems and safe electrical work practicesOther DutiesPlease note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list 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 Demand RequirementsWork Environment - Office StaffThis job partially operates in a professional office environment. The role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers phones photocopiers filing cabinets and fax Demands - Office Staff / TravelThis is largely a sedentary role with some travel required. This would require the ability to walk up and down stairs and to enter travel in and exit vehicles and airplanes. Travel is required occasionally to project sites and regional offices. Site visits may involve walking on uneven ground and exposure to outdoor conditions and operating equipment.