Not all innovation makes headlines. Some of it just keeps everything running.
In warehouses where speed and reliability matter every minute, it’s not always the newest tech that makes the biggest impact. It’s the quiet changes that keep things running, the clear systems people can trust, and the engineers who build with the long term in mind.
Harsha Amba is one of the top minds in automation and robotics today. He focuses on the details that others overlook like how alarms are written, how panels are wired, how new team members learn the system. His work has helped warehouses reduce errors, improve speed, and scale without disruption.
This article follows Harsha’s path from early hands-on engineering to leading major automation projects. It also shows why he’s considered one of the most respected engineers in his field, a leader known for precision, insight, and deep technical fluency.
Early Career: Building a Foundation in Industrial Controls
Harsha began his engineering career the way many in automation do — by working directly with machines. At Polypack Inc., he took on a role that required both electrical and controls skills, focused on keeping high-speed packaging equipment running with minimal downtime.
He worked across the system: wiring panels, designing circuits, programming PLCs, and supporting installations. He gained hands-on experience with platforms like Allen-Bradley’s RSLogix, Siemens TIA Portal, and HMI tools like Wonderware and FactoryTalk. He also handled motion control using VFDs and servo systems, helping machines adapt to different products without losing speed or precision
What shaped him most, though, was learning to work within real-world constraints. Space was tight. Equipment was aging. Documentation wasn’t always clear. Harsha had to deliver reliable results using whatever was on hand.
“I learned to design based on what was real, not ideal,” he says. “The system still has to work and keep working with the tools and parts you actually have.”
These early experiences taught Harsha to focus on more than just getting systems up and running. He paid close attention to how they would be maintained, fixed, and understood by others after he was gone.
Transition to Logistics: Complexity at a Different Scale
By 2018, Harsha saw automation expanding beyond factory floors. Logistics, especially in large warehouses and fulfillment centers, had become the new frontier. That year, he joined a prominent American office supply retailer and distributor as a Senior Automation Engineer, stepping into a faster, more dynamic environment.
Warehouses move quickly. Thousands of items are picked, sorted, packed, and shipped daily. Unlike packaging lines, which remain stable once configured, fulfillment centers are constantly shifting. Product mixes change. Order volumes spike. Systems need to adapt.
Harsha jumped into upgrading control systems for conveyors, sorters, ASRS units, and robotic stations. He also worked on backend logic for warehouse execution systems, integrating sensors, actuators, and real-time inventory data.
“Logistics introduced me to a different kind of complexity,” he says. “It wasn’t just about getting one machine right, it was about seeing how every part of the system affected the rest.”
This shift in thinking helped Harsha step into leadership quickly. Within a year, he was promoted to Manager of Automation Engineering. His rapid advancement reflected not just experience, but a rare ability to connect technical systems with real-world operations, a trait that set him apart even among seasoned engineers.
In that role, he moved beyond programming and commissioning. He reviewed vendor designs, planned phased rollouts, and coordinated with operations and IT to ensure new systems delivered real-world value. The job became broader, more collaborative, and more focused on long-term performance. It marked the next phase of his career, where Harsha was no longer just leading teams, he was setting engineering standards across multiple facilities.
Retrofitting at Scale: Learning to Modernize Without Disruption
One of the most complex projects Harsha worked on was upgrading two older fulfillment centers that were still in full operation. These sites handled thousands of orders a day and couldn’t afford long shutdowns. The goal was to make the systems faster, more reliable, and easier to manage without interrupting daily work.
A full system replacement wasn’t possible. So Harsha and his team took a phased approach. They replaced control panels, added new sorters, and introduced better system checks all while keeping operations running. Some updates were done at night during scheduled maintenance. Others were rolled out in small steps that didn’t affect the flow of orders.
One helpful change was a new feature in the PLC logic. It could catch early signs of common issues like jams, motor problems, or sensor errors. These alerts gave the maintenance team a few minutes of warning, which helped them respond quickly and avoid major delays.
By the end of the project, the results were clear. Throughput went up by 30%. Unplanned downtime dropped by 20%. And the new setup made it easier to train seasonal workers during peak times.
This retrofit became a reference point across the company for it outcomes and execution. Harsha’s planning and leadership demonstrated the kind of top-tier engineering judgment few in the industry consistently deliver.
Harsha says the key wasn’t starting from scratch. It was knowing what to keep, what to improve, and how to make those changes carefully.
“You can’t fix a project like this just by working longer hours,” he says. “You have to understand the systems, the operations, and the people and plan with all of that in mind.”
Systems Thinking in Automation Design
Harsha approaches automation with a simple but important idea: a warehouse isn’t just a collection of machines. It’s a connected system, where small changes in one area can cause bigger changes somewhere else.
This thinking shows up in how he designs. Whether it’s the timing of a diverter or how a conveyor restarts after a stop, he looks at how that action affects the rest of the material flow, not just the piece he’s working on.
One example is how he avoids creating single points of failure. Instead of relying on one sensor to control a sortation lane, he builds in backup logic and multiple checks. That way, if something glitches, the system can keep going. It might slow down a little, but it doesn’t stop entirely.
He brings the same mindset to his code. His PLC logic is built in clear, reusable sections, with labels and notes that help others understand what’s happening. He adds fault handling, recovery steps, and documentation from the start, not after problems show up.
“Every decision has more than one effect,” he says. “If you only focus on getting a signal in and out, you miss what it means for speed, for safety, and for the people running the system.”
By thinking beyond the task in front of him, Harsha builds systems that are not just efficient but also easier to support, easier to fix, and better able to grow with the business. This systems-level thinking is part of why colleagues and vendors alike view Harsha as a top expert in warehouse automation design.
Vendor Relations and Capital Project Oversight
Working with automation vendors takes more than just technical knowledge. It also requires clear communication and strong follow-through. Over the years, Harsha has led projects that range from small system upgrades to full automation rollouts valued at over $25 million. These experiences have shaped how he approaches both vendor management and project delivery.
For Harsha, it starts with being clear about expectations. He writes functional specifications that go beyond listing features. His documents explain how the system should behave, what conditions it needs to handle, how it should report faults, and how it will be tested. This helps avoid confusion later in the project.
When reviewing vendor designs, he looks at more than whether the system matches the spec. He also asks whether it will truly work well at the site. He often challenges design choices that seem convenient in the short term but may cause problems later. His focus is always on long-term support and ease of maintenance.
Harsha also believes in testing systems thoroughly before they go live. During factory acceptance tests (FAT), he asks vendors to show the system running with real logic, not just a demo or slideshow. “I want to see how the system handles failure and recovery in real time,” he says. “That’s how you know it’s ready for production.”
He values open communication throughout a project. That includes giving early feedback, staying aligned on timelines, and making sure the internal team is trained before the vendor finishes their work. He sees vendor relationships as successful when everyone involved is clear on what’s expected and confident in how to support the system moving forward.
In Harsha’s view, a good project isn’t just one that works on day one. It’s one that keeps working months and years later, with minimal support and no surprises.
Designing with the End User in Mind
Automation is often measured by things like uptime, speed, and fault rates. But for Harsha, there’s another key measure that matters just as much — usability.
After a system goes live, Harsha often spends time on the floor with the people using it. He watches how operators interact with screens, where they hesitate, and what they tend to avoid. These small details help him understand what’s working and what needs improvement.
That feedback shapes how he designs. His HMI screens are built to be clear and helpful. They include short guides, use icons that match real equipment, and show the difference between a warning and a critical issue. He avoids technical terms when simpler words will do, and he keeps screen layouts straightforward so that anyone can follow them with minimal training.
He also makes sure people have the tools they need beyond the screen. Operator guides are visual and easy to follow, printed right at workstations. For training, he helps create short animated videos that show how the system works both when things are going well and when something goes wrong. He builds these with input from the technicians who will use them every day.
Harsha says that every screen, button, and cable should make sense without explanation. “If someone has to stop and ask how it works, we’ve missed a chance to make it clearer,” he says.
By designing with clarity and real users in mind, he helps teams feel more confident and more in control. The result is better performance, fewer mistakes, and a system people can trust.
When to Innovate and When to Keep It Simple
In warehouse automation, it’s easy to get caught up in new technology. But Harsha believes that not every high-tech solution is the right one. One of the things that sets him apart is his ability to tell the difference between something that sounds exciting and something that actually works in real operations.
When he looks at new systems, he considers three things: Will it fit into daily operations? Can the site maintain it without outside help? And what risks does it bring over time?
That mindset was tested during a project in a busy packaging zone. A vendor offered a robotic labeling system with advanced 3D cameras. It could place labels on uneven packages with precision, but it needed constant calibration and perfect lighting to work properly.
Harsha took a different path. He suggested adjusting the process so that packages were aligned earlier in the line. That made it possible to use a simpler labeling machine downstream. The final solution wasn’t high-tech, but it worked better. It was easier to maintain, cost less to install, and reduced downtime by 17% in the first few months.
“Engineering isn’t about being clever,” he says. “It’s about knowing when to add complexity and when to avoid it.”
Harsha’s ability to make high-stakes decisions that balance innovation with long-term reliability has earned him a reputation as one of the most trusted automation engineers in the industry.
By choosing tools that are easy to support and dependable in day-to-day use, he helps teams get lasting value from automation not just in performance, but in consistent, sustainable results they can rely on.
The Engineer as Educator: Building Talent While Building Systems
For Harsha, every project is more than just a chance to deliver a working system. It’s also a chance to help others learn, especially the junior engineers he mentors.
Many of the new engineers who join his team are stepping into fast-moving environments. The systems are complex, the timelines are tight, and expectations are high. Harsha takes this seriously and makes sure they have the support they need to grow.
His mentorship style is clear and hands-on. He pairs newer engineers with senior leads and rotates them through different areas of a project. This includes controls development, working with vendors, helping with commissioning, and writing documentation. At each stage, they’re responsible for contributing, whether that’s presenting updates, writing handoff notes, or reviewing what went well and what didn’t.
But for Harsha, mentorship isn’t just about the technical side. He also teaches how to manage tough conversations, how to stay calm when things go wrong, and how to ask questions when the answer isn’t clear. He shares his own past mistakes and encourages curiosity instead of expecting perfection.
To make learning easier over time, Harsha built an internal wiki filled with tools and resources. It includes PLC code templates, HMI tips, wiring guides, checklists for testing, and setup instructions for new systems. The content is reviewed regularly, version-controlled, and tagged so others can easily reuse it.
Many of the engineers Harsha has mentored have gone on to take leadership roles in the company. He gives them the credit, but also points to the culture that helped them get there.
“Good engineers need chances to prove themselves,” he says. “But they also need someone to learn from and room to figure things out without fear of getting it wrong.”
Designing for Longevity: Documentation, Handoff, and Lifecycle Thinking
In warehouse automation, it’s easy to focus on go-live. But Harsha believes success is measured later — when something breaks and the original team isn’t around.
That’s why he designs with long-term support in mind. His systems come with field-ready documentation, including quick guides, fault flowcharts, spare parts lists, and maintenance tasks tied to PLC alarms.
After launch, he runs quiet-week audits, walking the floor with operators to learn what’s working, what’s not, and what changes they’ve made. That feedback shapes future updates.
He also tracks part lifecycles, builds in redundancy where needed, and creates dashboards to help teams spot issues early.
“The job isn’t done when the system runs,” he says. “It’s done when the team can run it without us and keep improving it.”
What Matters Most When You’re Not in the Room
Warehouse technology changes fast. New robots, sensors, and AI tools appear constantly. But Harsha focuses on what truly matters — building systems that are clear, reliable, and built to last.
With years of hands-on experience and a deep understanding of automation at scale, he creates solutions teams can trust. For Harsha, good engineering means systems that are easy to use, maintain, and improve even long after they’re installed.
He focuses on the details others often overlook: labeled cables, alarm messages that make sense, and training guides that actually help. These choices may seem small, but they reflect the kind of discipline and foresight that define his work and that have earned him quiet recognition as one of the most trusted engineers in the field.
“Anyone can get a machine running once,” Harsha says. “The real test is how it runs when you’re not there.”
As automation grows more complex, Harsha’s approach, shaped by real-world challenges and years of field leadership, continues to set the standard for how modern systems should be built.
About the Author
Reed Pratt is a journalist covering automation, industrial systems, and logistics infrastructure. His reporting focuses on the people behind complex operations and how their work shapes the systems we rely on every day. He is based in Chicago and has written for industry and tech publications across the U.S.
