About the role
Job Description
**Responsibilities:**
The primary mission of this position is to plan, coordinate, and track Business Area-level manufacturing engineering activities with strategic accountability, including:
* Drive the implementation of comprehensive production concepts, encompassing process flow optimization, machine specification development, and facility layout optimization to enhance operational efficiency. * Direct and support the execution of Group sector initiatives across all Business Area locations, with particular emphasis on automation and digitalization initiatives that drive competitive advantage. * Lead cost improvement initiatives across the Business Area and ensure systematic rollout of Best of Best (BoB) practices to establish operational excellence standards. * Optimize plant utilization rates and drive efficiency and throughput improvements through data-driven analysis and process refinement. * Oversee layout and workflow improvements to maximize productivity and operational performance across manufacturing facilities. * Establish and drive Business Area maintenance initiatives to harmonize and improve maintenance processes and activities across all plants, ensuring consistency and reliability. * Support the execution of strategic manufacturing projects in accordance with defined Business Area investment budgets, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and financial parameters.
Qualifications
* Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, or a comparable discipline * Long-term experience in manufacturing engineering, process, and/or equipment development, preferably within rubber or elastomer processing * Proven expertise in one or more rubber manufacturing domains, such as: Mixing and compounding, Fluid handling systems (hoses), Conveying solutions (belts) * Solid understanding of industrial machinery, tooling, and production equipment used in rubber processing * Experience in developing, reviewing, and approving machine and line specifications for equipment procurement * Proven capability in CAPEX evaluation, including ROI calculations, savings assessments, and economic justification of machine investments * Ability to work across disciplines, effectively combining mechanical, process, and automation perspectives * Strong analytical and structured problem‑solving skills in complex manufacturing and industrialization environments * High level of ownership, technical leadership, and ability to operate independently * Fluent in English (spoken and written) * Willingness to travel to production facilities in APAC (30-40%)