Description:

Grade: Senior Leadership (M2 / CXO Pipeline)

Location: Manufacturing Facility (India)

Reporting To: CEO

Direct Reports:

Heads of Production (CNC, Assembly), Continuous Improvement, Quality & Compliance, HSE, Planning, Stores, Maintenance, Methods Engineering, Project Management

Role Purpose:

The Head of Operations is responsible for end-to-end operational excellence, encompassing manufacturing, quality, delivery, cost, safety, and scalability across multi-unit operations.

The role will drive Factory of the Future initiatives, leveraging Industry 4.0, advanced automation, robotics, AI-enabled manufacturing intelligence, and sustainable operations, while ensuring regulatory compliance, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

This role is positioned as a succession role for COO within the next few years.

Key Objectives:

- Deliver production volumes at target quality, cost, and delivery (OTDIF)

- Drive operational profitability, cost optimization, and asset utilization

- Standardize manufacturing processes, systems, and governance across units

- Lead automation, digitalization, AI adoption, and smart factory initiatives

- Embed safety, compliance, sustainability, and continuous improvement culture

- Enable scalable new product introduction (NPI/NPD) and faster time-to-market

Strategic Responsibilities:

Operations & Business Strategy:

- Develop and execute operations and manufacturing technology strategy aligned with overall business goals

- Translate business strategy into operational roadmaps, capacity plans, and investment priorities

- Lead Capex planning, ROI analysis, and business case justification for automation, robotics, and digital initiatives

- Collaborate closely with CEO, CTO, Sales, NPD, PMO, and external partners

Functional Responsibilities:

Manufacturing & Operations Excellence:

- Cascade operational plans into daily / monthly / quarterly execution targets

- Monitor and improve lead time, FTR, OTDIF, productivity, and throughput

- Drive manufacturing process optimization (assembly lines, layout, quality gates, inventory flow)

- Ensure uniform quality systems, SOPs, and best practices across business units

- Own operational cost control, efficiency improvement, and margin enhancement

Factory of the Future | Industry 4.0 | AI Impact:

- Lead automation and robotics implementation across manufacturing and assembly

- Enable AI-driven insights for predictive maintenance, production planning, quality analytics, and capacity optimization

- Implement smart factory systems, MES, digital dashboards, and real-time performance monitoring

- Balance technology adoption with workforce capability building

Safety, Compliance & Sustainability:

- Own enterprise-wide safety performance and HSE standards

- Ensure compliance with global and regional regulatory standards (21 CFR, US FDA, ECEP, local regulations)

- Drive green manufacturing and sustainable practices without compromising growth

Continuous Improvement & Lean Transformation:

- Lead large-scale Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, 6S, 7QC, Kanban initiatives

- Institutionalize continuous improvement culture across all levels

- Deliver measurable gains in productivity, quality, cost, and delivery

New Product Development & Industrialization:

- Assess feasibility and manufacturability of new product concepts

- Define priorities and targets for NPD, Application Engineering, and PMO

- Ensure stage-gate discipline, structured documentation, and design-to-manufacture alignment

- Support faster product launches and version upgrades

Project Management & Governance:

- Oversee execution of strategic and operational projects via PMO

- Review progress, manage escalations, and provide corrective guidance

- Chair or participate in project steering committees and governance reviews

People Leadership & Capability Building:

- Build a high-performance, accountability-driven leadership team

- Drive succession planning, leadership development, and skill upgrading

- Foster employee engagement, ownership, and continuous learning

- Support HR in hiring senior technical and operational leaders

Key Result Areas (KRAs):

- Plant utilization & capacity effectiveness

- Production vs plan achievement

- Operational cost control & margin improvement

- Process standardization & digital maturity

- Product quality deviations & rework reduction

- On-time delivery performance

- Safety & compliance metrics

- New product launches & time-to-market

- Continuous improvement impact

Education & Experience:

Minimum:

- B.Tech / M.Tech / MS in Engineering

- 12-15 years in manufacturing / engineering operations

Preferred:

- 20+ years in precision engineering, pharmaceutical machinery, or complex B2B manufacturing

- Exposure to multi-plant operations, automation, and digital transformation

- MBA / M.Tech / MS in Industrial Engineering or Operations (Tier-1 institutions preferred)

Career Path:

Head Operations Chief Operating Officer (COO)