Head of Manufacturing

Location: Bengaluru

Objective of the Role:
Head Manufacturing Engineering

To lead and transform all manufacturing plants across India by driving engineering excellence, operational efficiency, and manufacturing best practices, thereby enabling sustainable growth, cost competitiveness, and world-class operational performance.

Roles & Responsibilities

1. Manufacturing Strategy & Excellence

- Define and execute manufacturing engineering strategy aligned with the organisation’s long-term business goals, capacity expansion plans, cost targets, and quality objectives.
- Establish a manufacturing excellence framework covering productivity, quality, cost, delivery, safety, and sustainability across all plants.
- Act as a key contributor to business planning, capex strategy, and operational transformation initiatives.

2. Process Engineering & Optimization

- Lead end-to-end process optimization initiatives across:
- Injection moulding
- Assembly operations
- Joining processes (welding, fastening, bonding, etc.)
- Secondary operations
- Painting & surface treatment
- Standardise processes, cycle times, layouts, and work instructions to ensure repeatability, scalability, and robustness.
- Drive process capability improvement (Cp, Cpk) and reduce variability across critical manufacturing processes.

3. Continuous Improvement & Cost Leadership

- Build and sustain a continuous improvement culture using Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, and Kaizen methodologies.
- Identify and execute opportunities for:
- Cost reduction through waste elimination
- Yield improvement and scrap reduction
- Energy and utility optimisation
- Improved manpower and machine utilisation
- Lead cross-functional teams to deliver measurable cost and productivity benefits.

4. Project Management (Brownfield & Greenfield)

- Own and govern end-to-end project execution for:
- Greenfield plant setup
- Brownfield expansions and modernization projects
- Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and as per technical specifications.
- Drive layout planning, equipment selection, supplier finalisation, installation, trials, and ramp-up to steady production.
- Ensure adherence to safety, statutory, and environmental norms during project execution.

5. TPM, Lean & Operational Excellence

- Drive Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) deployment across plants to improve equipment reliability and ownership.
- Implement Lean Manufacturing principles including:
- Value stream mapping
- Line balancing
- SMED
- 5S and visual management
- Embed operational discipline to sustain improvements and ensure long-term gains.

6. Maintenance Engineering & Techno-Commercial Excellence

- Guide and mentor maintenance teams in:
- Improving equipment availability and reliability
- Reducing breakdowns and downtime
- Optimising spare parts inventory and maintenance costs
- Develop techno-commercial strategies for AMC, spares sourcing, vendor development, and lifecycle cost management.
- Drive predictive and preventive maintenance practices using data and analytics.

7. Performance Management & Metrics Control

- Establish and monitor critical manufacturing KPIs, including:
- Project timelines and capex adherence
- MTTR, MTBF
- OEE and line efficiency
- Asset utilisation and uptime
- Review performance regularly and lead structured problem-solving for gaps and deviations.

8. Technology & Manufacturing Roadmap

- Develop a technical and manufacturing roadmap aligned with future business requirements, new products, and volume growth.
- Evaluate and introduce new technologies, automation, and digitisation to improve competitiveness.
- Ensure manufacturing capabilities are future-ready and aligned with customer and market expectations.

9. Asset & Human Productivity

- Maximise asset productivity through optimal equipment selection, utilisation, and lifecycle management.
- Enhance human productivity through skill development, training, standard work, and workforce optimisation.
- Build strong second-line leadership and technical depth within manufacturing engineering teams.

Candidate Profile:

Experience

- Minimum 25+ years of experience in Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, and Manufacturing Excellence in large-scale manufacturing environments.
- Proven track record of leading multi-plant manufacturing engineering functions.

Industry & Process Exposure

- Strong hands-on and leadership experience in:
- Injection Moulding
- Painting / Surface finishing operations
- Experience in automotive or auto-component manufacturing will be a strong advantage.

Qualifications

- Diploma / Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical / Production / Industrial / Polymer preferred).

Leadership & Competencies

- Strong strategic thinking with hands-on execution capability.
- Expertise in Lean, TPM, and large-scale transformation programs.
- Excellent stakeholder management, vendor negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
- Ability to drive change, build teams, and deliver results in complex manufacturing environments.