Automation Operations Leader (f/m/d)

Global Automation Operations & Performance Analyst

GE Vernova is seeking a Global Automation Operations & Performance Analyst to support the financial performance tracking and investment governance of our global automation portfolio. This individual will be a key connector between the Automation Center of Excellence (COE), business units, and leadership translating operational realities into rigorous financial insight, and helping ensure automation investments are evaluated and tracked using disciplined metrics such as NPV, payback period, and ROI.

A core focus of this role is taking complex, technical, and operational data (production metrics, downtime, throughput, quality/scrap rates, labor efficiency) and translating it into clear financial terms that leadership can act on. This individual will also help implement the COE service offerings that govern automation projects through defined stage-gates, reducing the risk of project failure and supporting disciplined, high-quality execution across the global portfolio.

Roles and Responsibilities

Operational-to-Financial Translation

• Serve as a key link between operational teams and financial reporting, converting operational KPIs (throughput, downtime, scrap/quality rates, labor productivity) into financial impact metrics (cost savings, NPV contribution, payback impact)
• Partner with business unit operational leaders to help ensure automation business cases accurately reflect real-world operational data and constraints
• Help build repeatable methodologies/tools to standardize how operational performance is converted into financial language across business units

Investment Analysis & Financial Performance

• Support the financial evaluation of automation investments across business units, including NPV, payback period, IRR, and ROI calculations
• Build and maintain standardized financial models/templates to help business units clearly segment investments and returns
• Help consolidate and report on the health of the global automation investment portfolio, highlighting high-performing initiatives and underperforming/at-risk investments
• Support the development of benchmarks and hurdle rates for automation investment approval in partnership with COE and business unit stakeholders

COE Service Offerings and Project Tollgate Framework

• Support the design and implementation of the COE service offering for automation projects, helping establish clear swim lanes between the COE and business units
• Maintain consistent KPI reporting through dashboards and visualization, giving stakeholders real-time visibility into tollgate status, project health, and portfolio performance
• Help define criteria and deliverables required at each tollgate (e.g., business case approval, technical readiness, financial validation, go-live readiness, post-implementation review)
• Use the tollgate framework to help identify and mitigate risks, reducing the likelihood of project delays, cost overruns, or failure to achieve projected returns
• Support accountability across business units by helping enforce tollgate discipline, ensuring projects only progress when key operational and financial criteria are met
• Help refine the tollgate framework based on lessons learned and evolving best practices across the global automation portfolio

Communication & Reporting

• Prepare presentations summarizing automation investment performance and value unlocked (NPV realized, payback trends, ROI) and tollgate/project health across the portfolio
• Translate complex operational and financial data into clear, decision-ready insights for leadership
• Provide visibility into investment risk, project execution status, and value realization to inform capital allocation decisions

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Engineering, or related field
• Documented experience in financial analysis, operations, investment/capital planning, or program management, ideally within industrial, energy, or manufacturing sectors
• Ability to translate operational data into financial insights (e.g., converting downtime, scrap, or throughput data into cost/ROI impact)
• Hands-on experience with NPV, payback period, IRR, and/or ROI analysis for capital investments
• Exposure to stage-gate/tollgate frameworks for project governance and risk mitigation
• Experience building or leveraging dashboards/visualization tools for KPI and performance reporting
• Experience working within or alongside a Center of Excellence (COE) model or matrixed organization
• Experience presenting financial/investment performance to leadership
• Must be fully authorized to work in the nation of the applicable work location
• English language proficiency, written and verbal, is required to successfully perform the duties of this role.

Desired Skills

• Understanding of manufacturing/operational KPIs (OEE, downtime, scrap rate, throughput, labor efficiency) and how they translate into financial outcomes
• Ability to "speak both languages" operations and finance and act as a translator between technical/operational teams and leadership
• Interest in building tools/frameworks that standardize operational-to-financial reporting