Engineering Head - Manufacturing Plant

Industry : Industrial Gears | Power Transmission | Precision Manufacturing

Location : Coimbatore / Manufacturing Plants

Reporting To : Business Head

Function : Engineering & Manufacturing Excellence

Role Purpose

The Head - Engineering will be responsible for end-to-end engineering leadership across product design, process engineering, manufacturing engineering, tooling, maintenance engineering, quality engineering support, and continuous improvement.

The role ensures world-class engineering capability, cost competitiveness, technology leadership, and manufacturing excellence aligned with Company's strategic goals.

Key Responsibilities

1. Product & Design Engineering

Lead gear design and engineering for industrial, automotive, wind energy, and heavy-duty applications.

Oversee:

- Spur, Helical, Bevel, Worm, Planetary, and Special Gearboxes

- High-precision and high-load gear applications

- Ensure compliance with AGMA, DIN, ISO, BS, JIS standards.

- Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA).

- Validate designs through:

- Strength, fatigue, noise & vibration analysis

- Thermal and lubrication calculations

- Collaborate with customers on custom gear solutions and co-development programs.

2. Manufacturing & Process Engineering

Own process design and optimization for:

- Forging / Casting / Machining

- Gear cutting (Hobbing, Shaping, Skiving)

- Heat treatment (Carburizing, Nitriding, Induction Hardening)

- Grinding, lapping, honing, super-finishing

- Define routing, cycle time, line balancing, and takt time.

- Drive capacity planning and layout optimization.

- Reduce process variation using statistical and analytical methods.

3. Tooling, Fixtures & Automation

Lead design and development of:

- Jigs, fixtures, gauges, cutting tools

- Special purpose machines (SPMs)

- Implement automation and robotics for productivity, safety, and quality.

- Standardize tooling to reduce cost and setup time.

- Evaluate and implement Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing initiatives.

4. Maintenance & Reliability Engineering

- Establish preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance systems.

- Drive machine uptime, OEE improvement, and breakdown reduction.

- Oversee TPM implementation and asset lifecycle management.

- Manage critical spares strategy and AMC/vendor management.

5. Quality Engineering & Compliance Support

- Support Quality team in APQP, PPAP, FMEA, Control Plans and Root cause analysis (8D, Fishbone, 5 Why)

- Ensure adherence to ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001, ISO 45001

- Drive process capability improvement (Cp, Cpk).

- Reduce rejection, rework, and warranty issues.

6. Technology & Digital Engineering Tools

Lead adoption of advanced engineering tools:

- CAD: Creo / SolidWorks / AutoCAD

- CAE: ANSYS, KISSsoft, Romax (gear analysis)

- CAM: NX CAM, Mastercam

- Use PLM systems for design control and documentation.

- Integrate engineering with ERP (SAP / Oracle) for BOM, routing, and costing.

- Implement digital twins, simulation, and predictive analytics where applicable.

7. Cost Engineering & Value Engineering

Lead cost reduction initiatives through:

- Value engineering

- Material substitution

- Process optimization

- Analyze product and process cost drivers.

- Support quotation, margin improvement, and pricing decisions.

- Drive VA/VE workshops across product lines.

8. New Product Development (NPD)

Own end-to-end NPD lifecycle:

- Concept - Design - Prototype - Validation - Production

- Ensure on-time launches meeting cost, quality, and performance targets.

- Coordinate with Sales, Quality, Production, and Supply Chain.

9. People Leadership & Capability Building

- Lead and mentor engineering teams across Design, Manufacturing engineering, Maintenance and Tooling

- Build succession planning and technical competency frameworks.

- Drive training on Gear technology, Lean manufacturing and Digital engineering tools

- Foster a culture of innovation, discipline, and continuous improvement.

Technical Knowledge & Tool Handling

Manufacturing Equipment

- CNC Gear Hobbing, Shaping, Skiving Machines

- CNC Turning, VMC, HMC

- Gear Grinding, Profile Grinding, Worm Grinding

- Heat Treatment Furnaces (Carburizing, Nitriding, Induction)

- CMM, Gear Measuring Centers, Profile Testers

Engineering & Quality Tools

- GD&T, Tolerance stack-up analysis

- SPC, MSA, FMEA

- Lean tools: VSM, SMED, Kaizen

- Six Sigma methodologies

Key Requirements

Education

- BE / BTech in Mechanical Engineering (mandatory)

- ME / MTech in Manufacturing / Design (preferred)

- Certifications in Lean / Six Sigma / TPM (advantage)

Experience

- 18-25 years in engineering leadership roles within Gear manufacturing /Heavy engineering /Auto components / industrial machinery

- Proven experience managing large engineering teams and complex manufacturing setups.

Leadership Competencies

- Strong technical authority and decision-making ability

- Strategic mindset with hands-on execution

- Excellent problem-solving and stakeholder management skills

- High focus on safety, quality, and operational excellence