JBP - Automation Engineer

Company and

Position Overview:

J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc. (JBPCO) is a privately held, diversified manufacturing company forecasting over $2.5B in annual revenues and employing over 8,000 team members. The six operating subsidiaries, covering 60 locations, are engaged in the production of commercial truck bodies, step-vans, utility trucks, ambulances, electric and alternative fuel vehicles, and commercial packaging. For more information, visit

will be responsible for developing the project concept for all automation projects and providing critical SME support in their respective area of expertise through program execution. This includes working with the Program Manager and respective BU counterparts to take projects from the idea phase through supplier selection including data gathering, concept development, process validation, business case justification, creating the scope of work, and identifying the preferred vendor/integrator.

The process lead will apply their expertise to ensure the solution is of good quality and design, meets all safety, ergonomic and lean principles and conforms to all industry and applicable JBPCO standards. The Process Lead will be supporting multiple projects at one time across all the business units and their facilities within North America. The process lead will ensure selected projects at their core are based around safety, minimal labor dependency, quality, workflow, and delivery improvements.

• Lead collaborative technical discussions with operations, engineering, quality, and executive leadership to identify automation opportunities, define manufacturing technology strategies, and establish Factory of the Future roadmaps focused on robotics, digital manufacturing, and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
• Initiate and lead advanced automation development projects, including robotic welding, material handling, assembly, inspection, and machine tending applications. Drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) improvements that optimize products and processes for automated production.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including manufacturing, quality, engineering, supply chain, maintenance, and production teams to gain stakeholder alignment and ensure successful deployment of robotic and automated manufacturing solutions.
• Collaborate with product design and tooling teams to develop automation-friendly designs, fixturing concepts, and weld joint configurations that maximize robotic process capability, throughput, quality, and Lean manufacturing principles.
• Provide technical leadership regarding robotic manufacturing capabilities, cycle time optimization, production scheduling impacts, and capacity planning to support strategic manufacturing objectives.
• Lead concept development activities for automated manufacturing systems, including process simulation, robotic cell development, workflow optimization, material flow analysis, human-robot collaboration, throughput modeling, and PFEP (Plan For Every Part) development.
• Develop technical specifications, scopes of work, and functional requirements for robotic welding systems, automated equipment, vision systems, collaborative robots, and manufacturing technologies. Manage vendor selection, design reviews, FAT/SAT activities, acceptance testing, and system commissioning.
• Establish robotic welding standards, programming methodologies, and best practices including offline programming, simulation, adaptive welding technologies, seam tracking, touch sensing, vision-guided robotics, and process qualification requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives through automation by leveraging production data, weld quality metrics, OEE analysis, and digital…