Director, Manufacturing Excellence Transformation - Malaysia Lead

Benefits

Additional Information

We are looking for our future Director, Manufacturing Excellence Transformation - Malaysia Lead to join our Global Manufacturing team. The role is based in Johor Bahru with onsite & travels requirements. Role purpose Lead the Malaysia Manufacturing Excellence transformation delivery-building the roadmap, team, and adoption system that enables high-touch assembly excellence and high-touch automation, creating Lighthouse-aligned use cases to support Malaysia's site master plans and rapid network growth. Why this role matters Malaysia's growth agenda requires rapid capability uplift while maintaining safety, quality, and delivery performance. This role ensures Manufacturing Excellence becomes the operating system for Malaysia: MES foundations, Lean maturity, disciplined digital routines, and practical high-touch automation use cases-delivered through strong people leadership and change adoption discipline. Reporting line and scope Geographic scope: Malaysia manufacturing footprint (existing + growth), aligned to site master plans and ramp timelines. People leadership: Build and lead a transformation team and cross-functional squads (direct + matrix). Key partnerships: Site Leadership, Operations, Engineering, Quality, IT/OT, Digital, Supply Chain, Finance, and People teams. Core accountabilities Own Malaysia's Manufacturing Excellence roadmap from strategy to execution Translate the global Manufacturing Excellence roadmap into a Malaysia plan spanning MES, Lean maturity, digital standardisation, and automation/Lighthouse use cases. Operate disciplined governance: stage gates, RAID, decision register, and benefits tracking. Sequence delivery to protect operational stability during ramp and expansion. Drive MES deployment and operational discipline to enable scale Partner with IT/OT and site operations to implement MES foundations and embed consistent execution visibility. Standardise daily performance routines and visual factory practices to support high-touch operations with high discipline. Establish data/KPI standards and ensure consistent reporting with minimal manual burden. Develop high-touch automation + Lighthouse-aligned use cases Build a pipeline of practical, high-touch automation and Lighthouse use cases suited to the Malaysia assembly environment. Deliver use cases end-to-end (define → pilot → scale → sustain) with documented standards and training. Partner with engineering/automation leaders to ensure solutions are reusable across the network where possible. Build and scale a high-performing transformation organisation Recruit/develop Lean, MES/digital, analytics, and automation enablement capability in Malaysia. Establish embedded sustainment ownership in operations (champions, standard work owners). Build bench strength to support multiple sites/lines as Malaysia grows. Deliver change management excellence during rapid growth Own the change system: readiness, training, communications, reinforcement, and sustainment controls. Coach leaders as sponsors; build frontline adoption discipline and psychological safety for continuous improvement. Proactively manage change saturation and protect performance during ramp. Accelerate Lean value creation and quality stability Embed problem solving, standard work, and CI routines to reduce variability and rework drivers. Validate productivity/value benefits and ensure sustainment evidence (90-180 days). What we measure Delivery : Milestone delivery across MES, Lean maturity, digital routines, and automation/Lighthouse use cases Value realisation : Validated productivity/value benefits with sustainment evidence (90-180 day hold). Adoption : Usage/adherence for standard work, daily management cadence, and digital workflows. Program health Decision cycle time, risk closure rate, and milestone predictability. People leadership : Team engagement, retention of critical transformation talent, capability progression/coverage. Growth readiness : Readiness indicators for ramp: training completion, stability during ramp, sustainment ownership in place. What great looks like (first 12-18 months) A Malaysia roadmap aligned to site master plans, delivering early wins without destabilising delivery performance. MES foundations and disciplined operating routines embedded to enable scale and reduce variability. A pipeline of high-touch automation/Lighthouse use cases delivered and standardised with adoption at line level. A strong transformation team and embedded champion network ensuring sustainment during growth. Your experience and capabilities Proven transformation delivery in manufacturing operations, ideally in high-touch assembly environments. Strong MES and IT/OT exposure; ability to partner effectively with engineering, quality, and digital teams. Demonstrated people leader who can build and scale teams rapidly during growth. Strong change leadership and adoption discipline; experience in Southeast Asia hubs strongly preferred. Strong financial acumen an