Facilities and Automation Director

About Us:

Rent the Runway (RTR)  is transforming the way we get dressed by pioneering the world’s first Closet in the Cloud. Founded in 2009, RTR has disrupted the $2.4 trillion fashion industry by inspiring women with a more joyful, sustainable and financially-savvy way to feel their best every day. As the ultimate destination for circular fashion, the brand now offers infinite points of access to its shared closet via a fully customizable subscription to fashion, one-time rental or ownership. RTR offers designer apparel and accessories from hundreds of brand partners and has built in-house proprietary technology and a one-of-a-kind reverse logistics operation. RTR has been named to CNBC’s “Disruptor 50” five times in ten years, and has been placed on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list multiple times.

About the Job:

The Sr. Director of Facilities and Automation will lead facilities and equipment/automation maintenance, capital projects, and strategic program development across all Rent the Runway's facilities. This role combines senior leadership and strategy-building, establishing engineering and maintenance standards, with hands-on project execution and oversight, ensuring safe, reliable, sustainable and operationally efficient equipment and facilities. 

The role drives maintenance and facilities management excellence across multidisciplinary teams, providing safety-focused, engineering leadership and establishing best-in-class design, execution, and management standards. They will be a highly experienced subject matter expert in facilities and material handling system maintenance, workplace safety, and data driven management and leadership. This role will create and strengthen equipment, automation, and facilities vendor and supplier partnerships, manage capital budgets and operational expenditures, and ensure all projects and systems meet rigorous safety, quality, and timeline requirements. Overseeing engineering and maintenance matters throughout the network, this role will be focused on building systems such as boilers, fire protection systems, and HVAC as well as advanced automation systems such as roller and garment-on-hanger conveyance, cleaning and finishing equipment, and robotic sortation systems. The role will drive continuous improvement initiatives, establish data-driven performance metrics, and maintain unwavering focus on operational excellence. 

This role will need to be equally comfortable diving deep into technical specifications and CAD design as they navigate senior stakeholder relationships and executive communications. They will need to communicate clearly and persuasively at all levels, thrive on solving complex technical problems, and collaborate naturally across organizational boundaries. They are energized by the thought of turning innovative ideas into scalable solutions, and do not shy away from a challenge. This senior leader has a bias for action and leads by example by demonstrating a willingness to dive in, roll up their sleeves and help in any situation.