The Regional Smart & Automation Leader is the strategic architect and facilitator of digital disruption across the manufacturing landscape. This role is designed for a visionary leader who thrives in hyper-agile environments and possesses the unique ability to translate operational chaos into transformative digital strategies. Beyond traditional automation, this role orchestrates the radical evolution of shopfloor operations, leveraging disruptive technologies to fundamentally redefine manufacturing excellence.
This role acts as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for smart manufacturing technologies and leads the deployment of standardized, value-driven digital solutions aligned with the Minimum Mandatory requirements (MMR) for Smart Factory. The role partners closely with plant leadership, central digital teams, IT/OT, and external technology partners to deliver measurable business outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Smart Factory Leadership & Strategy
- Architect of change: Lead and govern shopfloor digitization initiatives across 10+ smart factories in alignment with the MMR framework.
- Define and execute the regional smart factory roadmap, ensuring consistency, scalability, and sustainability of solutions.
- Serve as the regional SME for smart manufacturing, advising sites on solution design, technology selection, and deployment strategies.
- Act as the deployment leader of smart factory solution roll outs, pilots, and scale-up of smart factory solutions, ensuring adherence to timelines, scope, and business value.
- Enforce global standard solutions (Best of breeds) within the factories in the region along
- Be part of Design authority influencing the evolution of best of breeds with respect to regional needs.
- Serve as an Automation SME and provide expertise on line automation activities, physical automation (AMR, ASRS, VLM etc) within the factory
Technology & Solution Expertise
- Drive adoption of best-of-breed shopfloor solutions rather than monolithic platforms, ensuring interoperability and future readiness.
- Provide deep expertise in:
- Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
- Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
- Shopfloor AI and Advanced Analytics
- Generative AI (Gen AI) use cases for operations, quality, maintenance, and workforce enablement
Program & Deployment Management
- Act as the deployment leader of smart factory solution roll outs, pilots, and scale-up of smart factory solutions, ensuring adherence to timelines, scope, and business value.
- Track and report benefits realization (productivity, quality, cost, safety, sustainability).
Stakeholder & Change Management
- Build strong partnerships with plant managers, operations leaders, engineering, IT, digital, and corporate leadership.
- Act as a trusted advisor to factory leadership teams, translating business problems into digital solutions.
- Drive change management, user adoption, and capability building at the shopfloor and leadership levels.
Required Skills & Competencies
Technical & Domain Expertise
- Strong understanding of manufacturing operations and shopfloor processes.
- Hands-on or program-level experience with MES, IIoT platforms, AI/ML solutions, and Gen AI applications in manufacturing.
- Proven ability to evaluate and deploy best-of-breed and automation solution in complex factory environments.
Leadership & Communication
- Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional, multi-site teams without direct authority.
- Ability to articulate digital value in clear business terms for senior leadership.
Strategic & Execution Capability
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a results-oriented mindset.
- Experience balancing standardization with site-specific needs across multiple factories.
- Comfortable operating in ambiguity and driving transformation at scale.
Experience & Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in manufacturing, digital transformation, smart factory, or industrial automation roles.
- Proven experience leading large-scale, multi-factory digitization programs in hyper agile environments
- Bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or management
- Exposure to global or regional manufacturing operations is strongly preferred.
Success Measures
- Successful deployment and scaling of smart factory solutions across 10+ sites as per the roadmap and compliance with MMR
- Measurable improvements in operational KPIs (DLP, CSC, OEE, Quality parameters)
- High adoption and satisfaction from factory and leadership stakeholders
- Establishment of the region as a benchmark for smart manufacturing excellence
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We are looking for IMPACT Makers; exceptional people who turn sustainability ambitions into actions at the intersection of automation, electrification, and digitization. We celebrate IMPACT Makers and believe everyone has the potential to be one.
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