Your responsibilities
* Define and drive the global strategy for manufacturing automation with focus on welding & brazing automation incl. analyzing existing solutions as well as standardisation
* Work with site manufacturing engineering teams and automation vendors/integrators to:
o specify and procure robotic welding/brazing systems
o propose implementation strategy per site with focus on implementation
o commission, qualify and validate those systems (including weld procedure qualification, brazing parameter qualification, robot path programming, cycle time analysis, changeover optimisation).
o develop and maintain standardised welding/brazing process documentation across sites
* Ensure welding/brazing automation solutions meet required quality standards, internal specifications and external codes as well as safety/ergonomic requirements for cobot/robot interactions.
* Act as subject expert for automation technology: train and mentor site engineers/technicians, support root-cause analysis of welding/brazing/automation issues, lead site audits of welding-automation readiness.
* Collaborate with supply chain and maintenance functions to ensure spare part strategy, downtime minimisation and preventive maintenance programmes
* Lead business-case development and CAPEX justification for automation investments in welding/brazing; partner with finance and global manufacturing engineering leadership.
* Drive global standardisation and benchmarking: collect best practices from all sites, benchmark automation progress, recommend and deploy global CAPEX projects to elevate welding/brazing automation maturity.
Your profile
* Master's degree in Automation Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering,, Welding Engineering or equivalent.
* Certification in welding engineering (e.g., Certified Welding Engineer or CWB-WE) is a plus.
* Extensive (typically 8-15 years) hands-on experience in industrial automation or research institutes concentrating on automation.
* Deep technical knowledge of welding (MIG, TIG, MAG, Sub-Arc, etc) and brazing (e.g., vacuum brazing, flux brazing, induction brazing) processes, including material‐joint types, metallurgy, fixtures, weld/braze parameter development, weld codes/standards.
* Familiarity with factory automation frameworks such as Industry 4.0, digital twin, smart robotics, machine vision.
* Strong project management and change-management skills: capable of leading cross-functional teams across multiple manufacturing sites and geographies.
* Excellent data-driven mindset: use metrics and analytics to drive decisions, benchmark performance and report on ROI, OEE, quality, cost savings.
* Excellent communication skills (English written and oral), able to present to senior leadership, influence and convince stakeholders globally and build consensus
* Travel readiness to visit manufacturing plants worldwide (minimum 50%).