Principal Automation Engineer

We believe our people are our greatest asset and it is our goal to ignite the human potential for growth. We want you to grow and develop with us and recognize every career adventure is different, so we encourage you to build your own path

OUTGROWN YOUR OWN BACKYARD? COME PLAY IN OURS.

At Columbia, we’re as passionate about the outdoors as you are. And while our gear is available worldwide, we’re proud to be based in the Pacific Northwest, where natural wonders are our playground.  

Every product we make and every task we undertake is inspired by the famous words of our founder Gert Boyle: “It’s perfect. Now make it better.” As pioneers of relentless improvement, we are constantly evolving. 

We believe the outdoors is ours to protect and strive to keep our planet healthy. We believe in empowering people to experience the outdoors to the fullest.  

And we believe in you.  

ABOUT THE POSITION 

Although we're an apparel and footwear focused company, technology is central to everything we do.  Columbia Sportswear’s Intelligent Process Automation team enables business teams to increase efficiency and effectiveness while accelerating growth through engagement in high-value activities & innovation.

As Principal Automation Engineer, you will design, develop, and support Automation solutions using Automation Anywhere, Power Platform and Pega in Intelligent Process Automation CoE. You’ll help to maintain robust environment and support business applications developed using Power Platform.

Within this role you will rely on your analytical, technical, and professional skills to implement and manage process automation solutions.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE 

• Collaborate with IPA Engineering and Architecture teams to develop goals and strategies to ensure the IPA delivery runs smoothly and effectively.
• Collaborate with IPA COE & business stakeholders to ensure the technical delivery team commits to achievable and realistic goals
• Designs and leads the implementation of scalable, secure robotic process automation solutions, bridging the gap between business needs and technical infrastructure
• Lead the technical design of the RPA solutions and ensure the prescribed architecture, development best practices, security standards are adhered to.
• Develop automation blueprints, creating detailed Process Definition Documents (PDD) and Solution Design Documents (SDD) to ensure scalability and reusability.
• Engage with other technical stakeholders (Enterprise architecture, integrations, etc.) to manage the technical requirements.
• Ability to manage the E2E scrum activities (Stand up, backlog grooming, planning, etc.)
• Serve as Automation Anywhere Subject Matter Expert (SME), with technical expertise including system architecture, solution design, platform configuration, and security management.
• Work with the support team to resolve production support issues.
• Establish development standards, coding standards, and governance models to ensure robust, maintainable bot performance.
• Stay current with industry trends, conduct assessments, and provide recommendations for innovative technology solutions.

YOU ARE 

• Able to communicate effectively, build relationships, and influence outcomes in a cross-functional, matrixed organization.
• A proactive driver of continuous improvement opportunities across business processes and system solutions
• A relentless, versatile learner who is open to embracing new Technology evolutions to enhance the process automation performance and stability.
• Customer service focused.
• Collaborative and knowledge sharing with a knack for stakeholder engagement.

YOU HAVE 

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Computer Engineering and/or applied relevant experience in technology, or related fields.
• 9+ years of experience in implementing Enterprise Projects related to information technology.
• Must have 6+ years of experience in Automation Anywhere architecture, bot development, control room setup, and best practices.
• Strong understanding of Power Platform components including Power Automate, AI Builder, and Dataverse.
• Solid programming fundamentals (Python preferred) and hands‑on experience with cloud environments (Azure/AWS/GCP).
• SQL - experience or working with equivalent Database Management systems
• Experience integrating and developing process automation solutions with the following systems is desired: SAP ECC, SAP BW, MS Dynamics 365, Azure Datalake, Power BI, Salesforce systems.
• Familiarity with cognitive automation and Machine Learning and related emerging technologies.

#LI-SA1

#Hybrid

This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities, but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function in the company.