Managing Director, Louisiana Innovation Labs Greater Baton Rouge, LA Area

Job Requirements

Managing Director, Louisiana Innovation Labs

Louisiana Innovation (LA.IO), Louisiana Economic Development

Reports to: Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships

American industry is being rebuilt, and the advantage goes to whoever puts new technology to work first. Louisiana Innovation Labs is the state's new Manufacturing Extension Partnership center, a partnership between Louisiana Innovation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with one mandate: get superintelligence (SI), general-purpose robotics, and modern automation into production at small and medium-sized manufacturers, show the results, and scale what works across the state.

The moment

Louisiana is in the middle of the largest industrial expansion in its history, with roughly $260 billion committed since 2024, including Meta's $50 billion Hyperion digital factory in Richland Parish, SpaceX's Starbase Louisiana in Vermilion Parish, and Hyundai's first North American steel mill in Ascension Parish. These projects ask more of local manufacturers than ever, and open more opportunity than ever. Modern automation is how Louisiana rises to it. Only 6% of U.S. manufacturers use a robot today, yet plants that adopt see roughly 15% employment growth and 150% more job postings.

Louisiana's small and medium-sized manufacturers run mature plants that were never built for automation. That's exactly what general-purpose robots are designed for: working inside existing facilities, alongside existing crews, with existing tools. Louisiana isn't behind the robotics curve. It's the reason this generation of robotics was built. We're already the first state to partner with a humanoid robotics company to test in a live industrial environment. Louisiana intends to be first to put general-purpose robotics into production. You will lead that work.

The role

You'll build Louisiana Innovation Labs from the ground up: hire the team, set the statewide adoption strategy, and scale deployment across Louisiana's manufacturing base. Every service is free to manufacturers, so this job isn't selling hours. It's putting technology to work. You are the center's single point of accountability to NIST.

Why this role

• Build a center from zero, with state backing and a federal mandate to move fast
• Backed by Louisiana Innovation and the full strength of Louisiana Economic Development: the capital partnerships, industrial relationships, and resources the state has already built
• A direct line to NIST's robotics and measurement researchers, and a seat in a national network of manufacturing centers
• Live where the work is: in a state with deep industrial roots, a culture like nowhere else, and room to build

What you'll do

• Set and execute a statewide technology adoption strategy
• Hire and lead the team, including leads for three in-house technical practices: SI Implementation, General-Purpose Robotics, and Automation Engineering
• Direct a statewide network of university and technical college partners delivering workforce training and regional reach
• Run a depth-first model: fewer, deeper projects, measured by systems running in production
• Publish results from every robotics deployment, building the nation's first real evidence base for general-purpose robotics in small manufacturers
• Build the repeatable playbooks that let adoption scale statewide
• Forge partnerships with OEMs and technology providers that pull Louisiana manufacturers into growing supply chains
• Connect manufacturers to capital, including banks, SBA, SSBCI, venture, private equity, and public programs, through the capital partnerships LA.IO has already built
• Own NIST performance and compliance, including operating outcomes, reporting, cost-share match, and subrecipient oversight under 2 CFR Part 200, in partnership with LED's Grants Compliance and Reporting Manager, and report to the center's board on progress and strategy
• Represent Louisiana across the national MEP network and at regional and national convenings

Year one

• Team hired and operating
• Years 1 to 3 operating outcomes on track
• First deep technology projects completed across all three practices: SI systems in production and automation builds delivered
• General-purpose robotics pilots running inside Louisiana manufacturers, with measured results on performance, safety, and cost
• A steady pipeline of manufacturers moving from assessment to deployment
• Statewide convenings connecting manufacturers with capital, workforce, and technology partners

Details

• Location: anywhere in Louisiana
• Travel: regular travel across the state, plus occasional regional and national meetings
• Full-time LED position dedicated 100% to the NIST award; hire is subject to NIST approval as key personnel

Want to talk first?

If this is the work you've been waiting for, reach out to Madeline Trudeau Kawanaka, Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships, at madeline.kawanaka@la.gov with “Louisiana Innovation Labs” in the subject line.

LA.IO and LED are equal-opportunity employers.

Work Experience

What you bring

We care more about what you've built than the titles you've held.

• 5+ years in manufacturing, industrial automation, or robotics
• Proof you've owned an outcome end to end: a deployment, a line, a program, or a company, from first idea to running in production
• Fluency in general-purpose robotics, including humanoids and mobile manipulation: what works today, what doesn't yet, and how to judge fit for a real facility
• Operator judgment on when a technology pays for itself and when it doesn't
• Equally credible on a plant floor at 6 a.m. and in front of investors or federal partners at noon
• Something you've built from zero: a team, a program, a product, or a company
• Experience managing federal or other public funding, or the discipline to master it fast
• Degree in engineering, manufacturing, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience

You'll stand out with

• Strong relationships across robotics companies, integrators, and the advanced manufacturing ecosystem
• Fluency in equipment financing and the capital stack for manufacturers