Project Engineer - Design & Activation

About us:

Target is an iconic brand, a Fortune 50 company and one of America’s leading retailers.  We are on a journey to transform our internal supply chain, an expansive network of distribution and fulfillment centers, into a world-class, high speed, maximum throughput, omni-channel replenishment and last mile delivery e-commerce enterprise.  Where ever and whenever our Guests choose to shop Target, the Global Supply Chain & Logistics team is committed to ensuring that the products our Guests need will always be available in our stores or online delivered on time, every time.

The Lead Implementation and Activation Engineer working on the Network Engineering & Automation Robotics team will project manage and engineer the design and implementation of world class supply chain automation projects that will result in an enhanced Guest experience by increasing the speed and accuracy of processing of goods through the internal supply chain.  They will be assigned to either the Design Engineering function or the Implementation Engineering function within the Network Engineering and Automation Robotics department. 

The initial assignment will be based on careful consideration of the candidate’s engineering capabilities and project management experience along with the candidate’s own personal and professional career aspirations.  Lead Engineers may be offered the flexibility to switch between design and implementation team assignments based on the current project workload and with the encouragement of leadership.  This position will report to either the Director of Design Engineering or the Director of Implementation Engineering depending on group assignment.

Positions are currently available to fill based out of the Target HQ offices in Minneapolis, MN and the Target Sunnyvale, CA office in the heart of Silicon Valley - the world’s tech innovation capital.

Key Responsibilities - Design Engineering:

• Develop material flow design criteria and facility layout design principles
• Analyze business & operations requirements to generate supply chain automation concepts
• Identify the materials to be handled and determine the throughput & storage requirements
• Model flow of materials to test throughput and identify any process flow bottlenecks.
• Specify storage solutions based on cubic space need, product velocity and cycle time goals.
• Identify & evaluate supply chain automation & robotics technologies and solution providers
• Create detailed capacity throughput, cycle time, direct and indirect labor cost models 
• Generate accurate capital and expense cost estimates associated with alternative designs
• Create supply chain facility layouts based process requirements and efficient material flows 
• Maintain and promote all industry and regulatory safety requirements & procedures
• Communicate design issues internally and hold all parties accountable as required
• Collaborate effectively across all internal and external stakeholders including vendors, internal engineering team, operations & facility teams

Key Responsibilities - Implementation Engineering:

• Develop project plans based on engineering project lifecycle phases
• Track project schedule to critical path, project costs to budget, and project resources to capacity
• Provide program level inputs to cross functional corporate leadership with respect to the execution of multi-year strategic plans
• Maintain all project documentation and provide regular and accurate status updates
• Assist & coordinate activities & projects across internal department teams
• Develop & proliferate repeatable, internal tools & templates to assist with scheduling, budgeting, tracking & managing projects
• Manage vendor implementation activities including schedules, design reviews, change requests and contingency spending approvals
• Troubleshoot, resolve, & escalate installation issues quickly & effectively
• Create and maintain installation and system acceptance testing specifications & standards
• Test and accept all in-scope project related deliverables including supply chain process automation and various material handling systems included storage structures
• Maintain, manage and close-out project punch lists in a timely and cost-effective manner
• Identify and aggressively lead reviews of the “lessons learned” throughput the project
• Assist with ongoing continuous improvement activities and solicit feedback on project implementation performance
 
Minimum Position Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Civil, Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• 7 or more years of combined experience in material handling, robotics, automation, manufacturing, supply chain and/or distribution and logistics industries
• Proven project management experience implementing multi-million dollar, complex capital equipment & systems.
• Multi-year experience with project management strategies required for complex and dynamic projects with very short lead times.
• Exceptional analytical and organizational skills with demonstrated ability to manage several complex projects at the same time with high degrees of variation and uncertainty.
• Candidate must be capable to work with little or no supervision or direction and will be given considerable latitude in decision making.
• Natural ability to speak and write effectively at all organizational levels.
• Candidate must be able to demonstrate excellent judgment and decision making skills under conditions of exceptional uncertainty with possibility of significant lack of data.
• Frequently provides significant leadership or influence as a coordinator of complex cross-functional projects.
• Proficiency with standard project planning software applications
• Ability to travel at short notice- up to 40% (varies by project phase)
 
Preferred Qualifications & Experiences:

• Experience with material flow methodologies including sequencing, kitting, repack, etc.
• Experience with facility layouts, & construction
• Experience with distribution and/or logistics process flows & operations
• Experience with lean, six sigma, & other continuous improvement concepts & methodologies
• Project management professional “PMP” training