India Head - Manufacturing Engineering

Department: Manufacturing Engineering

Location: Chennai / Hyderabad

Reporting: President

Purpose of the Role:

To lead the Manufacturing Engineering function across all manufacturing facilities by developing world-class manufacturing processes, improving productivity, reducing costs, and driving automation and digital manufacturing initiatives, while supporting new product industrialisation and ensuring best-in-class Quality, Safety, Delivery, and Cost (QSDC) performance. The role will also establish standardised manufacturing systems that strengthen the organisation's competitiveness across both domestic and global markets.

Key Responsibilities:

Manufacturing Strategy:

- Develop and execute the Manufacturing Engineering strategy in alignment with the organisation's business objectives and build manufacturing capability to support future growth.

- Establish technology roadmaps for all manufacturing plants, benchmark global best practices, and drive manufacturing competitiveness across every product division.

- Strengthen manufacturing performance by improving process capability, reducing cycle time, enhancing material yield and labour productivity, elimination of NVA and standardising processes across all manufacturing facilities.

Process Automation:

- Lead process automation and standardisation initiatives across all facilities in line with Industry 4.0 principles and digital manufacturing standards to eliminate human requirement or deskill.

- Introduce automated material-handling systems and vision-based inspection systems to improve product quality, process consistency, and throughput.

New Product Industrialisation:

- Partner with the R&D and Product Development teams to design products for manufacturability (DFM) and to develop robust, scalable manufacturing processes for new product introductions.

Capital Projects:

- Lead capital projects end to end, including technology selection and equipment specification, to ensure the most suitable manufacturing technologies are adopted across all plants.

Cost Optimisation:

- Drive sustained cost reduction through the deskilling of operations, process optimisation, automation, productivity improvement, and simplification of manufacturing processes.

Educational Qualification:

- Any Engineering degree in Mechanical, Production, Industrial, Polymer, Manufacturing Engineering, Rubber Technology & Mechatronics / Controls & Instrumentation.

- A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification, together with strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence methodologies, is preferred.

Behavioural Competencies:

- Effective conflict-resolution and team-building skills, combined with the perseverance and personal ability to drive complex initiatives through collaborative approach.

- A mindset that consistently challenges the status quo and champions continuous improvement across the organisation.

Experience:

- 18 - 25 years of experience in manufacturing engineering, including a minimum of 8 - 10 years in a senior leadership role.

- Experience in the rubber, polymer, automotive, belts, hoses, sealing systems, or process manufacturing industries.

- A proven track record of working in multi-plant manufacturing environments and of leading large-scale automation projects.

Areas of Particular Emphasis:

- Driving manufacturing excellence across multiple product businesses, including power transmission belts, hoses, sealing systems, and other polymer-engineered products.

- Standardising manufacturing processes and best practices across all plants.

- Accelerating automation in rubber processing, belt building, inspection, and material handling.

- Building a high-performance Manufacturing Engineering organisation capable of supporting future expansion, operational excellence, and sustainable growth.