Thomas Piazza

I specialize in building automation and controls engineering teams for manufacturers navigating Industry 4.0, DFAA, smart factories, and large-scale operational transformation. Unlike a traditional tech-first recruiting path, my past experience was rooted in logistics, operations, distribution, and manufacturing environments, which allows me to approach hiring conversations with a practical, plant-floor lens. I understand the realities of throughput constraints, downtime risk, commissioning timelines, and the challenges leaders face when trying to modernize production and increase hiring without disrupting production output. Today, my work is focused on supporting manufacturers and executives as they design and scale automation-focused teams, particularly aligned with the growing movement toward Design for Automated Assembly (DFAA). This includes helping organizations build the controls, robotics, and automation engineering functions required to increase manufacturing efficiency, system reliability, and long-term scalability. I partner closely with plant managers, manufacturing engineering leaders, operations executives, and digital manufacturing teams to align talent strategy with real operational goals, whether that means improving throughput, enabling lights-out manufacturing, or future-proofing facilities through intelligent automation. To put it simply, I want to help manufacturing leaders build their specialty teams without sacrificing operational energy. Let me build the team, and you focus on the important work. If you're: - A manufacturer looking to strengthen your automation or controls capability - A plant or operations leader planning automation-driven growth - An engineer or executive exploring opportunities in automation, controls, operations, or smart manufacturing I’m always open to a conversation. +1-(646)-461-8191 T.piazza@lawrenceharvey.com