About the Role
We are looking for a Smart Factory Automation Specialist to join our Clean Energy team in Okayama, Japan. In this hands-on manufacturing automation role, you will design, configure, implement, and support solutions that connect production equipment, controllers, and operational data with our core business systems (including SAP S/4HANA) and the manufacturing applications on the shop floor.
Working on the shop floor (gemba) alongside Engineering and other business partners, you will develop and deploy solutions that reduce manual work, improve data flow, and enable faster operational decisions in a culture of continuous improvement (kaizen). You will also collaborate with Gore’s global IT/OT community to follow architectural and cybersecurity standards and apply lessons from other smart factory sites.
Success will be measured by reductions in manual work, improved data availability, and gains in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), quality, and operational efficiency.
This Associate is based at the Okayama plant and requires at least four days per week on-site.
*Relocation assistance available
Responsibilities
- Define and maintain the IT/OT integration architecture for Clean Energy manufacturing, following Gore global architecture and cybersecurity zero trust standards
- Build the foundation for a smart factory environment, including visualization, real-time monitoring, predictive capabilities, IT/OT integration and automation
- Design, configure, test, and deploy integrations among manufacturing equipment, historians, manufacturing applications, SAP, and related systems
- Configure, extend, and support manufacturing applications, data historians, and shop-floor technologies used to capture and exchange operational data
- Partner with Engineering to implement equipment and robot connectivity, PLC and line-control interfaces, automated data capture, and manufacturing systems integrations
- Identify productivity losses and process delays, and implement IT/OT solutions that reduce manual data entry and improve data flow
- Troubleshoot and resolve issues involving machine data, manufacturing applications, system integrations, and shop-floor information flows
- Lead IT delivery in partnership with Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, and IT, collaborating with global IT/OT teams and other sites to align solutions, resolve common challenges, and apply learnings
- Document and support solutions so they can be maintained locally, improved after SAP go-live, and reused across Gore sites
- Provide additional IT support based on business priorities and to address continuous improvement opportunities
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor-level education in engineering, information systems, manufacturing systems, or a related technical field
- Experience designing, implementing, testing, and supporting IT/OT integrations, with MES platforms, SCADA systems, historians, PLC-connected systems, or equipment interfaces
- Experience integrating manufacturing systems with enterprise applications such as SAP, including an understanding of end-to-end data flow from equipment through manufacturing applications to business systems
- Understanding of machine-generated data, equipment interfaces, PLC-connected systems, industrial communication protocols such as MQTT and OPC UA, or manufacturing automation environments
- Ability to analyze manufacturing processes, identify productivity losses or data-flow gaps, and translate business requirements into practical technical solutions
- Experience delivering and supporting production-critical manufacturing solutions using structured requirements, testing, change control, technical documentation, and incident-resolution practices
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with cross-functional stakeholders, including Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and IT teams
- Business-level English to collaborate with global partners, participate in meetings, and create technical documentation, with Japanese as the primary on-site working language
Desired Qualifications
- Hands-on experience with manufacturing execution systems (MES), historians, SCADA platforms, machine controllers, HMI systems, robotics, or industrial automation technologies, ideally in automotive or high-volume manufacturing
- Experience developing or configuring manufacturing applications using scripting, low-code tools, APIs, SQL, or related technologies
- Experience working with equipment data, quality systems, or shop-floor information systems in a manufacturing environment
