Role Overview
The Systems Implementation Manager is responsible for leading cross-functional teams through the design, implementation, testing, and go-live of turnkey Tompkins Robotics systems. This role owns project planning, schedule management, stakeholder communication, risk mitigation, customer coordination, and system turnover from concept refinement through successful implementation.
The ideal candidate is execution-focused, technically capable, customer-oriented, and highly organized, with the ability to manage complex site implementations while coordinating internal teams, subcontractors, vendors, and client stakeholders.
Key ResponsibilitiesProject Leadership & Delivery
- Lead assigned projects from concept refinement through satisfied customer and system turnover.
- Manage two to three project concurrently, depending on project size, complexity, schedule demands, and resource availability.
- Manage implementation schedules, key milestones, resource plans, critical paths, installation activities, integration, acceptance testing, and final sign-off.
- Assist in transitioning proposed systems into detailed design by participating in conceptual and detailed design planning phases.
Customer & Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the primary project contact for assigned customers and ensure customer satisfaction throughout implementation.
- Maintain regular communication on project scope, schedule, deliverables, risks, issue resolution, and escalation needs.
- Build effective working relationships across field implementation, engineering, systems engineering, robotics engineering, operations, vendors, subcontractors, and client stakeholders.
- Support follow-on project opportunities by leveraging continuity, project knowledge, and client understanding.
Cross-Functional Coordination
- Coordinate project design, functionality, and schedule objectives across engineering, installation (mechanical and controls), systems integration, and testing.
- Maintain strategic relationships with key internal and external partners to support project success and improve product-line capabilities.
- Ensure site safety requirements are met by Tompkins personnel and subcontractors.
Risk, Issue & Change Management
- Establish and maintain project oversight processes, including scope tracking, schedule updates, milestone reporting, risk management, action-item ownership, and progress reporting.
- Manage project risks, opportunities, and client expectations throughout implementation.
- Maintain issue tracking by identifying root causes, evaluating resolution options, assigning owners, monitoring progress, and confirming corrective actions.
- Identify improvement opportunities across technology, assets, staffing, designs, vendors, and implementation processes.
System Turnover & Continuous Improvement
- Lead successful system turnover from Tompkins to the client by coordinating readiness reviews, acceptance testing, open-issue closure, documentation, training support, and handoff activities.
- Support additional project delivery responsibilities as needed to ensure successful implementation and continuous improvement of Tompkins Robotics solutions.
- Contribute to scalable implementation practices as the business grows.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree, Industrial Engineering or similar preferred.
- Minimum 5 years of project management experience leading field installation, integration, commissioning, or implementation of complex technical systems.
- Experience transitioning complex systems to full operation.
- Project management and execution experience including: planning, scheduling, resource management, installation, integration, acceptance testing, and final sign-off.
- Ability to read and interpret equipment layouts, assembly drawings, and detailed vendor blueprints.
- Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and project tracking or collaboration tools used to manage schedules, action items, risks, issues, and stakeholder communication.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work with clients, management, and multi-discipline project teams.
- Willingness to travel extensively and spend up to several weeks deployed to a specific site as required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical field of study such as Engineering or Computer Science.
- Ability to travel typically 50%–60% annually and up to 80% for short periods based on project needs.
- Ability to deliver results for quick-turn projects with aggressive deadlines.
- Knowledge of design, installation, and integration processes.
- Experience developing equipment specifications.
- Experience leading or developing new concepts and taking them through successful implementation.
- Background or significant understanding of the material handling or robotics industry, applications, key players, and industry direction.
- Proficiency in AutoCAD.
- Understanding of skilled trades, such as millwrights, controls technicians, network technicians, and installation subcontractors.
Personal Attributes
- Strong ownership mindset with accountability for project outcomes.
- Highly organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities across complex implementation environments.
- Comfortable balancing technical details, schedule demands, customer expectations, and business outcomes.
- Collaborative and calm under pressure, especially during escalations or high-impact project issues.
- Focused on continuous improvement and scalable delivery practices.
Why This Role Matters
The Systems Implementation Manager plays a critical role in delivering successful Tompkins Robotics implementations by aligning customer expectations, technical execution, field coordination, and system readiness. This role directly impacts project quality, customer satisfaction, operational performance, and long-term client success.
- Tompkins Robotics is focused on the robotic automation of distribution operations. Our primary system tSort consist of autonomous mobile robots that sort a wide range of items and parcels to consolidation points. tSort is the world’s first portable, automated material handling sortation system that is creating a huge paradigm shift in the supply chain and how the basic distribution function of order fulfillment is accomplished. We continue to expand this core system with complementary robotic systems to automate processes in fulfillment operations. Our systems maximize performance with mobile, scalable, flexible, and portable robotics solutions. We create profit and value for our clients; making them more agile and adaptable to the highly dynamic changes in the marketplace.
