Engineering Executive  ·  Fulfillment & Industrial Automation

Jordan Smith III

Engineering & Operations Executive  ·  $1.5B+ MHE Capital Portfolio

PE PMP MBA Cornell Executive Leadership
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$1.5B+MHE Capital Portfolio
50+Partner Organizations
$2B+Annual Throughput
17 YrsEngineering Leadership

Proven Impact

Results that move the needle

$63M
Vendor Accountability
Designed and secured executive buy-in for a supplier corrective-action program projecting $63M in 15-year savings across 19 active initiatives and 6 OEM partners, with EU adoption secured.
91%
On-Time Delivery
Directed an 11-site, $1B+ concurrent launch portfolio at 91% on-time delivery against an 85% regional baseline, including a first-of-a-kind $264M facility with no operational playbook.
$45M+
Cost Avoidance
Challenged a flawed design assumption through empirical testing and rewrote clearance specifications: $9M in immediate cost avoidance and $36M projected across four future sites, shaping next-generation facility design.
15 Sites
Performance Turnaround
Architected a four-phase diagnostic methodology for underperforming automated sortation systems. Deployed across 15 facilities for a 6,687 units/hr combined throughput gain, with every site exceeding its target by 5–9%.
100%
Handoff Standard Adoption
Designed a two-phase launch handoff framework with metric-based performance gates. Reached 100% North American regional adoption within two months and now governs 300+ deliverables per launch.
10
Leaders Promoted
Built high-performance engineering organizations through disciplined hiring and structured development: 88 interviews, 10 promotions in 2.5 years, and 35% diverse representation exceeding organizational benchmarks.

About

I build engineering organizations
that solve problems other teams can't.

Over 17 years, I've led capital programs totaling $1.5B+ in automated material handling infrastructure, stood up teams from scratch, and created frameworks that became permanent standard work across some of the most complex fulfillment environments in North America.

I lead a specialized cross-functional engineering organization that addresses systemic performance gaps in facilities representing $100M–$1B+ in capital investment, across Amazon’s North American fulfillment network with $2B+ in annual throughput.

I maintain direct OPEX accountability of ~$3.5M in personnel costs alongside the capital portfolio, coordinating across 50+ organizations and influencing Director-level stakeholders. My work consistently produces frameworks that outlast individual projects and scale across enterprise networks.

My focus is building the engineering systems — standards, commissioning and handoff frameworks, and supplier accountability programs — that let complex, capital-intensive operations scale in fulfillment, logistics, and industrial automation.

Experience

Career progression

Aug 2025 – Present
Amazon Global Engineering Services    Cincinnati, OH
Senior Manager, Tiger Team
Lead a specialized rapid-response engineering team, deployed when facilities hit performance failures operations can't solve on their own. Given the symptom, the team uses data to find the root cause and builds both the short-term fix and the long-term standard. 8 direct reports, ~$3.5M direct OPEX accountability, and coordination across 50+ partner organizations, with a $1.5B+ automated material handling portfolio across Amazon's North American fulfillment network in scope.
Designed and secured executive buy-in for a supplier corrective-action program that was sustained through an organizational restructuring and now spans 19 initiatives and 6 OEM partners, with EU adoption and $63M in projected 15-year savings.
$63M OEM Program Root Cause to Standard Work 15-Site Playbook 50+ Organizations
Apr – Aug 2025
Amazon Global Engineering Services    Charlotte, NC
Senior Manager, Performance Optimization
Stood up a new organization evaluating equipment performance across fulfillment and sort center engineering projects. Designed the launch handoff framework adopted across North America within two months.
100% Adoption 300+ Deliverables 94% Reporting Time Cut
2022 – Apr 2025
Amazon Global Engineering Services    Charlotte, NC
Senior Manager, Operations Engineering — East Region
Led the execution engineering team that builds and commissions these facilities across the East Region: 43 projects and $473M in capital expenditures, the largest regional spend. Grew the team from 6 to 12 engineers and, in 2025, directed a $1B+ launch portfolio across 11 concurrent facilities, protecting flagship launches by reprioritizing lower-priority work when delays hit.
Recovered a failing launch (34 design conflicts, 22 clash reports, 8-week schedule deficit) by diagnosing the real problem: construction, engineering, and automation were each coordinating within their own disciplines rather than with each other. Daily cross-functional alignment brought the facility to launch 56 days ahead of the revised baseline.
Closed an oversight gap in how mothballed facilities were reactivated by working with procurement to rewrite vendor RFP language: 97% uptime against an 80% prior baseline and zero safety incidents in the first 8 weeks.
$473M Capital 91% On-Time $264M First-of-a-Kind Failing Launch Recovery
2019 – 2022
Amazon Lockers & Last Mile    Seattle, WA
Manager, Operations North America; Senior Program Manager, Operations
Led deployment of physical access-point assets across the US, Canada, and Mexico with a $53M capital budget and 11+ program managers, nearly doubling the network from 5,600 to 11,100 locations.
$53M Capital Budget 5,600 to 11,100 Locations
2014 – 2019
Duke Energy    Charlotte, NC
Operations Manager; Senior Project Manager
Managed daily operations of two departments at a coal-fired power plant (4 direct supervisors, 40 craft employees), after leading capital projects with teams of up to 150. Executed parallel $15M capital improvement projects delivering $182M in revenue loss avoidance.
$182M Loss Avoidance Teams of 150 27% Shorter Outage
2012 – 2014
Jacobs Engineering    Cary, NC
Process Operations Lead
Lead project manager for capital improvement programs serving industrial and government clients. Delivered a $5M capital project on time with 100% client satisfaction.
2009 – 2012
Duke Energy    Charlotte, NC
Project Engineer II → Project Engineer I
Capital project engineering at coal-fired generating stations; executed a $7M capital improvement project and raised safety valve installation volume 125%.

Core Expertise

Where I create value

Material Handling Engineering (MHE) Capital Program Management ($1B+) Automated Sortation & Conveyor Systems Fulfillment & Distribution Operations Cross-functional Team Leadership Supplier & Vendor Management First-of-a-Kind Facility Launch Commissioning & Operational Handoff OPEX Accountability Industrial Automation Continuous Improvement / DMAIC Executive Stakeholder Influence Engineering Org Design & Talent Development Safety Engineering

Credentials

Education & Certifications

Professional Engineer (PE)
Mechanical — Active License
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute
MBA
North Carolina State University
Executive Leadership Certificate
Cornell University
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
University of Cincinnati

Let's Connect

Get in touch

Always glad to connect with leaders in fulfillment, logistics, industrial automation, and MHE systems integration.

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Emailjordan.smith.3rd@gmail.com
LocationCincinnati, OH