System Development Manager, Controls

OverviewAt Amazon, we're working to be the most customer-centric company on earth. To get there, we need exceptionally talented, bright, and driven people. Amazon is one of the most recognizable brand names in the world, and we distribute millions of products each year to our loyal customers.The Mechatronics team builds full‑stack innovations that ensure safety, speed, optimization, sustainability, and value across our fulfillment and delivery network. We tackle ambitious goals for Amazon’s business and work hard to make automation history through invention, problem‑solving, and highly engaged teams. We are a global organization, with research and development labs based in Hamme, Belgium; Boston, MA (US); and Milan, Italy. Our development portfolio focuses on automation solutions in packaging, labeling, sortation, and material conveyance—offering broad extensibility across Amazon’s businesses. At our lab in Hamme, Belgium, we develop and build game‑changing mechatronic solutions that improve the efficiency and sustainability customers have come to expect from Amazon’s retail business.The Automation team in Hamme, Belgium, is seeking a Manager to oversee a team of System Development (Controls) Engineers and serve as a liaison between our internal operational and business stakeholders. Ideal candidates are strategic thinkers with the ability to develop and deploy innovative solutions to address team challenges. This role requires a hands‑on approach to management—starting with understanding the problem and working with customers and partners to solve it.The candidate must set a high bar for quality, possess strong written and verbal communication skills, and be able to leverage data to drive continuous improvement within their team. They should also have a background in hardware development, enabling them to take on the challenges of sophisticated controls platforms. A demonstrated ability to think broadly and strategically—aligning building controls and automation with the broader objectives of the business is essential. A fundamental understanding of these systems is required, as the Manager is expected to be technically fluent in the work their team executes on a regular basis.Key job responsibilitiesAble to implement and track team goals, report the status of ongoing projects upwards.Experienced Interviewer, able to develop launch plans for new hires, and identify team needs.Strong writing skills, able to articulate thoughts clearly and concisely.Understanding of electrical diagrams, control diagrams, building operations, control circuits, industrial packaging and labeling machines.Ability to ascertain customer needs to help develop project scope and specifications & manage scope of work relative to the site specifics and customer needs.Ability to manage project engineering to determine the scope of work relative to the design intent of the customer needs.Ability to read and interpret specifications and implement those specifications as they apply the work environment.Development of logic diagrams in the International Automation format for complex logic devices such as Programmable Logical Controller and Distributed Control System.Work individually and as part of a team to develop new products, support existing products, test and evaluate equipment.Provide technical assistance as needed to internal customers.Coordinate project work internally within the department and externally with other departments to ensure on‑time completion of projects within budget.About the teamMechatronics & Sustainable Packaging (MSP) powers Amazon’s global fulfillment network by delivering innovative software, hardware, and data science solutions. By aligning Mechatronics and Packaging, MSP develops and scales automation across the Fulfillment Network, especially in the Automated Robotics Sortable (ARS) space. The team works backwards from customer insights to create solutions that integrate into both brownfield and greenfield deployments with safety as a priority. MSP also leads Amazon’s packaging strategy, owning the entire experience from partner design to last mile. They reduce waste and packaging where possible, and where packaging is required, they transition from single‑use plastics to recyclable materials.Basic QualificationsDegree in Computer Science, Automation Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, System Development, or related engineering degrees.4+ years of engineering team management experience.8+ years Controls related experience.Experience hiring, promoting, coaching, leading, and developing teams of engineers.Knowledge of engineering practices and patterns for the full software / hardware development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, and testing.Experience partnering with product or program management teams.Strong written and verbal communication skills, and must be able to leverage data to drive improvements within their team.Preferred QualificationsExperience in communicating with users, other technical teams, and senior leadership to collect requirements, describe software product features, technical designs, and product strategy.Experience in recruiting, hiring, mentoring / coaching and managing teams of System Dev Engineers to improve their skills, and make them more effective, product developers.Codesys PLC programming experience.Experienced with AWS Cloud infrastructure.Willing to travel domestically and internationally.Amazon is an equal opportunities employer. 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