Manager Advanced Manufacturing Engineering

Role summary
The Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Manager - AC & DC Power EMEA is the manufacturing strategy and industrialization leader for AC and DC Power products across EMEA. The role owns NPDI readiness, prototype and pilot support, product transfers, process industrialization, capacity and test planning, CapEx roadmap, automation strategy, manufacturing standards and development of the regional AME team.

Why this role matters
• Build the AC & DC Power manufacturing system for EMEA growth, aligning product-line priorities, site capability, capacity, test strategy and investment needs.

• Turn new UPS and power-conversion platforms, product changes and transfers into factory-ready processes, not late-stage launch or high-power test firefighting.

• Connect industrial engineering, automation, digital traceability, automated test-data acquisition and Lean routines into one scalable Power operating model.

• Create repeatable standards for power-electronics assembly, cabinet integration, cabling, controls, software loading, electrical safety, functional test and high-power validation.

Key responsibilities Product-line AME leadership
• Lead the Advanced Manufacturing Engineering agenda for AC & DC Power EMEA, covering roadmap, execution, resource alignment, technical standards, priorities and leadership updates.

• Act as the primary AME interface for Power with the Business Unit, Product Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance and central EMEA AME.

• Lead, coach and develop direct and functional AME resources, building technical depth, succession readiness and consistent execution across EMEA manufacturing sites.

NPDI, industrialization and launch readiness
• Own manufacturing readiness for new products, product changes, transfers, localization and capacity programs through clear gate criteria, risks, timing, owners and escalation routines.

• Lead prototype, pilot, pre-production and ramp-up readiness covering process flow, equipment, tooling, fixtures, work instructions, software and test capability, operator training and capacity validation.

• Drive design for manufacturability, design for assembly and design for test with Product Engineering to reduce work content, improve quality, enable automation and avoid late technical changes.

AC & DC Power process capability and standards
• Standardize power-electronics and electromechanical assembly, magnetics and busbar integration, cable routing, torque-controlled joints, control wiring, firmware / software loading, inspection, electrical safety, functional test, burn-in and high-power validation where applicable.

• Define common process standards, line and test layouts, time standards, tooling and fixture concepts, PFMEA controls, control plans, traceability, test acceptance criteria, documentation and production handover requirements.

Automation, digitization and CapEx roadmap
• Own the Power manufacturing technology roadmap, prioritizing assembly and test automation, robotics, vision, digital work instructions, MES connectivity, automated test-data acquisition, traceability and production dashboards where they deliver value.

• Prepare, justify and execute CapEx for industrialization, automation, high-power test capacity, productivity and quality improvement using clear ROI, NPV, payback and benefit-realization assumptions.

• Challenge suppliers and internal teams on technical architecture, cycle time, electrical safety, test coverage, maintainability, cybersecurity interfaces, acceptance criteria, validation plans and handover quality.

Capacity, flow and operational excellence
• Lead capacity planning for customer growth, transfers and expansions; validate takt, bottlenecks, labor and skills, shift models, equipment and test-bay utilization, floor space, energy demand and material flow.

• Apply Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, line balancing, standard work and structured problem solving to improve productivity, quality, test throughput, first-pass yield, lead time, inventory and cost.

Governance and stakeholder management
• Provide disciplined program governance through readiness scorecards, capacity and CapEx pipelines, risk registers, KPI impact, action tracking and clear leadership communication.

• Maintain clear separation between AME change-the-business scope and local plant Manufacturing Engineering run-the-business ownership, while ensuring robust handover, training and sustainment.

What success looks like in the first 12 months
• AC & DC Power EMEA industrialization roadmap approved, with prioritized NPDI, transfer, capacity, automation, test and standardization initiatives across the product-line network.

• A common Power launch-readiness process deployed: gate reviews, manufacturing risk register, DFMA / DFT, PFMEA and control-plan discipline, readiness scorecards and escalation routines.

• At least two high-impact projects delivered with validated business benefits in productivity, quality, capacity, safety, test throughput, lead time or labor efficiency.

• Common assembly and test standards, tooling / fixture philosophy, layout principles, traceability requirements and production handover checklist established and actively used.

Required qualifications and experience
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical, Power Electronics, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, Mechatronics, Automation Engineering or a related technical discipline.

• 10+ years in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, industrialization, manufacturing engineering or technical operations; 5+ years leading engineers or major cross-functional programs.

• Proven leadership of NPDI manufacturing readiness, product transfers, line and test-system design, process validation, ramp-up stabilization, automation roadmap and CapEx delivery.

• Strong technical understanding of power-electronics and electromechanical manufacturing; UPS, rectifiers, inverters, converters, switch-mode power systems or related high-power products strongly preferred.

• Hands-on capability in layout development, time studies, capacity modelling, tooling / fixture specification, process flow design, PFMEA, control plans, electrical test strategy, work instructions and training.

• Demonstrated ability to create business cases and Capital Appropriation Requests with validated benefits, risk assessment, timing, supplier scope and financial justification.

• Solid Lean foundation: standard work, line balancing, visual management, waste elimination, root-cause analysis, Kaizen and KPI-driven improvement; Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.

• Fluent English, strong executive communication and confidence to influence across Product, Plants, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance and senior leadership.

Preferred background
• Experience in high-growth, low-maturity, greenfield, brownfield or turnaround manufacturing environments where common standards, test capability and governance had to be built from the ground up.

• Practical knowledge of automation, PLC / SCADA interfaces, robotics, vision, MES / IIoT connectivity, digital work instructions, automated electrical test, data acquisition and production traceability.

• Experience working between regional AME, plant operations and Power product business units in a matrix organization across multiple countries and cultures.

Leadership profile
The right candidate is a high-ownership manufacturing leader who can set product-line strategy, but also go to the shopfloor and test area, review tooling and automation concepts, challenge cycle-time and test-coverage assumptions, unblock commissioning issues, align stakeholders and develop engineers. This person must build common standards where they do not yet exist and make the EMEA Power manufacturing network a benchmark for scalable execution.

Initial deployment focus
• Assess current AC & DC Power manufacturing maturity and define the roadmap for launch readiness, process stability, capacity, test capability, automation, digital traceability and Lean operating routines.

• Build a prioritized CapEx and automation funnel linked to electrical safety, quality losses, test bottlenecks, labor-intensive operations, product complexity, energy infrastructure and customer-growth needs.

• Establish the AME governance cadence for Power: readiness reviews, launch risk management, test and capacity visibility, benefits tracking, cross-site standardization and leadership reporting.

Hands-on expectations
• Spend significant time at Gemba and in test areas during critical programs, validating process flow, line readiness, tooling usability, operator method, test sequence, software loading and cycle-time reality.

• Review technical details directly - line and test layouts, fixtures, automation proposals, process capability data, electrical safety controls, test coverage, maintainability and commissioning plans.

• Lead supplier design reviews, factory acceptance tests, site acceptance tests and production readiness reviews with a strong bias for closing issues before handover to Operations.

• Verify that benefits are real after launch by measuring throughput, labor efficiency, quality losses, first-pass yield, test utilization, downtime, lead time and customer-readiness impact.

Strategic deliverables
• Create the AC & DC Power manufacturing playbook for EMEA: standard process architecture, line and test design rules, tooling principles, data and traceability requirements, and handover criteria.

• Build the capability plan for the Power AME team so engineers can independently lead launches, test-capacity projects, Kaizen events, automation programs and product transfers.

• Establish a visible roadmap that connects customer growth, product and test complexity, site capability, capacity constraints and investment priorities into one aligned execution plan.

Why join us

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of AC and DC Power manufacturing in a high-growth EMEA network. You will directly influence strategic capacity, new product launches, high-power test capability and factory competitiveness, with exposure to senior Operations and Engineering leadership. You will define the standards, technologies and engineering capability that make future Power growth possible across EMEA.