Vice President Automation Programmer Jobs Near Me

Location: Lewis Center, OH, US, 43035-9445

At ATS, a $3B publicly-traded global enterprise with a proud 47-year history, we are helping advance the future with our factory-wide automation solutions. Within Packaging and Food Technologies, what we do matters — it matters to both our customers and their customers. We focus on food processing machinery and equipment industry, vision and quality control systems, and packaging across industries that include beverage, pharmaceuticals, cannabis, and other verticals. Our customers are leaders in their industries and rely on us to deliver what we promise, on time and on budget. Together with our product range, our financial strength, and our global footprint, we provide the best automation solutions where and when our customers need them.

The Vice President, Finance serves as the strategic finance leader for the Packaging & Food Technology (PFT) platform — a multi-business, multi-geography portfolio with operations across North America, Europe, UK and Asia. Reporting to the Group President, this role is the financial conscience of the division, driving performance, enabling decisions, and elevating the quality of financial management throughout the organization.
With a strategic focus on organic growth and operational efficiency, the VP Finance builds the financial architecture to translate enterprise objectives into operating actions — creating accountability, improving decision quality, and expanding the financial capability of business leaders across PFT.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Enterprise Financial Leadership & Performance Management

• Own the financial performance management system for PFT, including monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting cadences across multiple business units, geographies, legal entities, and currencies.
• Build and maintain robust KPI architecture, driver-based forecasting, and scenario planning capabilities to drive decision quality at every level of the organization.
• Create visibility from enterprise strategy to operating actions, ensuring financial management is consistent and effective across the decentralized PFT platform.
• Balance local operating requirements with enterprise performance objectives, maintaining discipline without compromising divisional agility.
• Partner closely with the Group President and divisional leadership teams as a trusted financial advisor and strategic thought partner.

Strategic Finance & Enterprise Value Creation

• Translate shareholder expectations and enterprise growth algorithms into operational financial targets and
  resource allocation decisions.
• Lead capital allocation planning — ensuring investment decisions reflect ROIC discipline, strategic
  alignment, and value creation potential.
• Build deep understanding of PFT's value creation drivers, cash generation dynamics, and CRI metrics to
  enable timely and effective decision making.
• Act as a strategic advisor to the Group President on growth investments, geographic expansion, capacity
  deployment, and portfolio decisions.
• Develop and lead enterprise scenario modelling to stress-test strategic assumptions and assess portfolio
  risk and return profiles.
• Lead the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) process across PFT, aligning divisional plans with enterprise
  objectives and ensuring financial commitments are rigorous and achievable.
• Drive operational efficiency initiatives through financial analysis, identifying opportunities to reduce cost,
  improve margins, optimize working capital, and deploy capacity effectively.
• Ensure strong financial close processes, governance, compliance, and internal controls across all PFT
  entities.
• Oversee resource allocation, including SG&A management, operational spend, and capital deployment, to
  maximize return on invested resources.
• Support pricing strategy, margin management, and capacity planning across diverse manufacturing
  environments including engineer-to-order, configure-to-order, and make-to-stock businesses.

M&A and Portfolio Management

• Lead financial analysis and evaluation for potential acquisitions, including investment thesis development,
  white paper creation, due diligence, and valuation.
• Oversee integration processes post-acquisition, including financial systems alignment, synergy tracking,
  and performance reporting.
• Evaluate strategic alternatives and portfolio fit for existing and prospective business units.
• Partner with corporate M&A, legal, and operational teams to ensure rigorous and timely execution of
  transactions.

Finance Talent Development & Business Partnership

• Build a high-performing finance organization across PFT — elevating business unit finance leaders from
  scorekeepers to strategic business partners.
• Develop and coach divisional finance teams, creating deep bench strength and expanding financial
  capability throughout the operating organization.
• Establish consistent financial standards, tools, and best practices across all PFT divisions to enable
  scalable growth.
• Foster a finance culture grounded in accountability, transparency, and value creation.
• Support the development and financial architecture of recurring revenue streams including service
  businesses, parts, and subscription-like models.
• Quantify and communicate the valuation and resiliency benefits of aftermarket and lifecycle revenue to
  operating leaders and the Group President.
• Evaluate risk/return profiles of new business models and growth initiatives, providing clear financial
  frameworks for leadership decision-making.

Organizational Design & Value Creation Partnership

• Partner with HR and operating leaders to evaluate organizational structures, span of control, shared
  services, and make/buy/partner decisions through a financial value creation lens.
• Provide financial analysis supporting outsourcing, restructuring, and capability deployment decisions.

• Enterprise financial performance management system — KPIs, forecasting, and reporting cadence across
  PFT
• Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and quarterly reforecast processes
• Capital allocation framework and ROIC reporting for divisional investments
• Scenario planning and strategic financial models supporting growth and portfolio decisions
• M&A financial analysis, integration playbook, and synergy realization tracking
• Finance talent development plan and business partner capability roadmap
• Recurring revenue and aftermarket financial frameworks
• Year-over-year improvements in margin, working capital efficiency, and ROIC

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Post-secondary degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related field.
• CPA, CFA, or MBA designation strongly preferred.

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive finance leadership experience, including senior-level roles within complex, multisite,
  multi-currency global businesses.
• Demonstrated experience leading finance across decentralized, multi-business platforms — industrial,
  manufacturing, or technology-driven environments preferred.
• Proven track record in strategic finance and performance management: KPI architecture, driver-based
  forecasting, capital allocation, and scenario planning.
• Strong understanding of enterprise value creation, growth algorithms, ROIC, cash generation, and
  shareholder return metrics.
• Hands‑on M&A experience across the full deal lifecycle: investment thesis, due diligence, valuation,
  integration, and synergy realization.
• Experience across diverse manufacturing models (engineer-to-order, configure-to-order, make-to-stock)
  and their implications for working capital, pricing, and margin management.
• Track record of developing high-performing finance teams and elevating business unit finance leaders as
  genuine strategic partners.
• Experience with recurring revenue models, aftermarket businesses, or service-based revenue streams is
  an asset.
• Board‑ready communication skills — ability to distill complex financial issues clearly and succinctly for
  senior executive and board audiences.