Product Specialist - Straddle Carrier Automation

Product Specialist – Straddle Carrier Automation
Location: Algeciras (Spain), Tangier (Morocco) or The Hague (Netherlands)

Role Purpose

Operational Excellence is one of the four core strategic pillars of APM Terminals’ long‑term strategy and is deeply rooted in our Lean culture. We continuously strive to eliminate waste, standardize value streams, improve safety and enable sustainable, scalable operations across our terminal network.

Operations Technology (OT) plays a pivotal role in enabling this ambition, ranging from deploying complex brownfield automation solutions at pace to optimizing equipment utilization and man‑hours per move through digitization and automation.

As Product Specialist – Straddle Carrier Automation, you will join the global Equipment Automation team within Operations Technology, acting as an end‑to‑end product owner. You will ensure that automation products are designed, deployed and evolved in line with Lean principles, driving continuous improvement, standardization and measurable operational value across terminals.

Principal Accountabilities (additions highlighted by intent)

• Deliver technical product design for Straddle Carrier Automation solutions, aligned with Lean, safety‑first and operational excellence principles.
• Translate business needs and operational pain points into automation use cases that reduce waste, improve flow and increase reliability.
• Define clear value propositions, product maturity models and KPIs connected to Lean performance drivers (safety, productivity, stability and cost).
• Drive business cases and investment proposals with a strong focus on standardization, scalability and continuous improvement.
• Actively promote automation and digitization as key enablers of Lean operations, improved safety and operational discipline.
• Drive product roadmaps that support repeatable and standardized solutions, enabling faster deployment across terminals.
• Establish structured feedback loops with terminals (e.g. NPS, operational insights) to fuel Kaizen and continuous improvement cycles.
• Ensure effective change management and product adoption in close collaboration with Operations, supporting a Lean mindset at terminal level.

Key Stakeholders

Operational Excellence, Lean, OT Optimisation, OT Process Design & Management, Labour Excellence, Asset Management, Terminals, OEMs.

Critical Qualifications & Experience

Experience

• Minimum 7 years’ experience in product, program or project management in technology and/or operations.
• Proven exposure to automation in real‑time operating or industrial environments (ports, logistics, transportation, manufacturing).
• Experience working within or alongside Lean, Operational Excellence or Continuous Improvement frameworks.
• Strong understanding of port equipment, automated systems and industrial architectures.
• Experience building business cases and managing financial and contractual aspects.

Skills

• Strong stakeholder influencing skills, including OEMs and cross‑functional internal teams.
• Excellent communication skills in English.
• Structured, disciplined and improvement‑driven mindset.
• High quality and safety awareness.
• Ability to drive results in multicultural, matrix organizations.
• Continuous improvement mindset with a natural alignment to Lean ways of working.

Why Join APM Terminals?

At APM Terminals, you will be part of a global organization with a strong Lean culture, where continuous improvement, safety and operational excellence are embedded in everything we do. You will help shape the future of equipment automation at scale, working with leading technology partners and international teams while delivering tangible impact across our terminal network.