Solutions Development Leader at Tompkins Solutions LLC

Tompkins Solutions is a global supply chain services firm dedicated to helping clients achieve supply chain excellence and profitable growth. For over 45 years, Tompkins has integrated its decades of experience in strategy, commerce, logistics, and technology to provide unique supply chain consulting and material handling integration solutions. By combining best-in-breed services and technologies, Tompkins delivers a true end-to-end supply chain solution, enabling clients to improve the customer experience and ensure long-term success.

The Opportunity: Join a growing solutions development team where your analysis, engineering judgment, and ideas directly influence customer operations and how our team works. You will own projects from discovery through solution development and implementation handoff, working with customers, equipment suppliers, and experienced engineers to solve warehouse and distribution challenges.

The role offers opportunities to deepen your technical expertise, broaden your exposure to warehouse automation technologies, and strengthen your customer communication and project leadership skills. You will also help improve the tools, templates, and standards that guide our work. As the team grows, you will have opportunities to take on increasingly complex projects and greater responsibility, with guidance and collaboration available along the way.

Location: This is a remote position proximity to the airport is important for when business travel is needed.

Job Summary: The Solutions Development Leader owns assigned warehouse and material handling solutions development projects from discovery and operational analysis through concept design, solution evaluation, proposal development, and handoff to implementation. This role translates customer data and business requirements into practical, justified solutions while coordinating with sales, equipment suppliers, and internal teams.

The successful candidate combines strong analytical skills, sound engineering judgment, and clear customer communication. They manage project activities and deliverables independently, seeking technical guidance and escalating risks when needed.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Own the scope, schedule, coordination, and quality of assigned solutions development deliverables, keeping stakeholders informed of progress, decisions, and risks.
• Conduct site visits and customer discussions to understand current operations, business objectives, constraints, and future requirements.
• Analyze and validate customer operational data, identify gaps or inconsistencies, and document assumptions used in developing solutions.
• Translate operational data into design requirements, including throughput, storage capacity, material flows, staffing, and equipment performance.
• Develop and compare material handling and warehouse automation concepts based on operational fit, capacity, flexibility, cost, and implementation considerations.
• Prepare concept layouts using AutoCAD 2D and coordinate equipment requirements, capabilities, and budget pricing with suppliers.
• Develop labor models, project cost estimates, and ROI analyses to support solution recommendations and customer business cases.
• Prepare proposals, presentations, descriptions of operations, and supporting documentation that clearly explain the recommended solution and its basis.
• Present findings and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders, clearly communicating assumptions, benefits, and tradeoffs.
• Coordinate with sales and internal engineering resources to define scope, identify technical risks, and develop high-level implementation schedules.
• Lead the handoff of assigned solutions to the implementation team, communicating design intent, scope, assumptions, operating requirements, and outstanding decisions.
• Seek input on unfamiliar technologies or complex technical and customer issues while maintaining ownership of project progress.
• Contribute to improvements in team tools, templates, standards, and work processes.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated experience developing warehouse, distribution, or automated material handling solutions, including ownership of relevant project deliverables.
• Strong data analysis skills, including the ability to validate operational datasets, identify patterns and exceptions, and translate findings into design requirements.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel for operational analysis, capacity calculations, basic labor modeling, and ROI evaluation.
• Working proficiency in AutoCAD 2D to develop and modify material handling layouts.
• Strong working knowledge of at least one material handling or warehouse automation technology, or working familiarity with several technologies and their applications.
• Understanding of distribution center operations, material flows, throughput, storage requirements, and labor considerations.
• Ability to evaluate alternatives and explain the operational and financial basis for a recommendation.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting technical findings and recommendations.
• Ability to manage assigned projects and competing priorities independently, recognize when support is needed, and escalate issues promptly.

Preferred

• Approximately three or more years of relevant solutions development, applications engineering, industrial engineering, or related experience. Demonstrated capability will be considered alongside years of experience.
• Experience coordinating with equipment suppliers and developing project budgets or technical proposals.
• Experience with multiple automation technologies, simulation tools, or 3D layout development.

Location and Work Environment

Location: Remote, with office space available in Orlando, FL.

Travel: Typically, one to two trips per month, generally lasting one to two days per trip. Requirements vary based on project needs.

Work is performed remotely, in the office, and at customer locations.

Must be able to accommodate customer schedules and project deadlines.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the person assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary. Continued employment remains on an at-will basis.