Team Leader Industrial Engineering

About the job

About VAT Group

At VAT, we change the world with vacuum solutions. As the world’s leading provider of high-performance vacuum valves, we have been driving innovation for over 60 years. With more than 3,200 employees worldwide, we operate from our headquarters in Haag (Switzerland) and run production sites in Switzerland, Malaysia, and Romania, as well as sales and service centres around the globe.

Our passion for integrity, teamwork, customer focus, and innovation guides us – always together as #oneVAT.

You will become part of a dedicated, international team where your voice counts, your ideas make a difference, and you can develop professionally.

Position Objective

As Head of Global Machining Engineering & Process Technology, this position is responsible for the development and assurance of excellence in the machining area within VAT’s global production network. The role leads the central machining team, establishes and manages global standards for machining and CAM, and achieves measurable improvements in productivity, capacity, quality, and costs through a structured, cross-site optimisation programme. In close collaboration with production, industrial engineering, and technology partners, consistent implementation, technical excellence, and sustainable operational performance across all sites are ensured.

Responsibilities

• Leadership, development, and coaching of the central machining engineering team, including setting clear priorities, supporting skills development, and ensuring succession planning.

• Coordination and alignment of machining contacts in Switzerland, Romania, and Malaysia, as well as establishing uniform standards, governance, and escalation processes.

• Responsibility for global machining standards, CAM guidelines, tooling concepts, and standardized process packages ("Golden Process Packages"), as well as their continuous development at all VAT production sites.

• Management of CAM systems, post-processors, program libraries, and work instructions to ensure controlled, traceable, and consistent application.

• Leading the global machining optimisation portfolio and prioritising initiatives based on production volume, cycle time impact, bottleneck relevance, feasibility, transferability, risks, and expected capacity gains.

• Managing optimisation initiatives through structured governance processes, including change request and express track processes with defined approval criteria, evidence requirements, and clearly regulated decision authorities.

• Translating machining improvements into measurable business results, including released machine hours, increased capacity, productivity gains in plants, and avoidance or deferral of CAPEX investments.

• Supporting production sites with test runs, machine trials, operator feedback, process validation, and stable implementation into series production.

• Defining standards for machining technologies in the areas of equipment, tools, automation interfaces, and CAM-related infrastructure, as well as supporting machine procurement, including technical specifications and FAT/SAT processes.

• Ensuring that all process optimisations are validated by appropriate technical evidence, including measurement protocols, surface and assembly inspections, tool life assessments, and required approvals before production release.

• Representing machining technology interests towards machine manufacturers, tool suppliers, and system providers, as well as in selected supplier-side optimisation initiatives.

Qualifications

• Completed technical vocational training or degree in machining, production engineering, polymechanics, tool engineering, automation technology, or a comparable field.

• Good written and spoken English skills required; German skills are an advantage.

• Several years of practical and leadership experience in CNC machining, CAM programming, tool engineering, fixture design, process engineering, and industrialisation of manufacturing processes.

• Proven experience in leading international and cross-functional teams in production or industrial engineering across multiple sites.

• Experience in implementing production standards, technology programmes, and process improvements in different countries, cultures, and operational maturity levels.

• Demonstrable success in achieving measurable improvements in productivity, quality, capacity, or costs through structured improvement programmes.

• Experience in machine procurement, preparation of technical specifications, definition of equipment standards, FAT/SAT processes, and supplier management is a great advantage.

• Experience with MES data, digital manufacturing systems, cycle time analyses, Power BI dashboards, or other data-based performance management tools is advantageous.

• Strong technical expertise in machining technologies, CAM systems, tools, fixture concepts, equipment standards, and their implementation on the shop floor.

• Strategic and analytical thinking with the ability to link operational improvements with capacity utilisation, plant performance, and investment decisions.

• Strong execution skills and experience in managing governance structures, documentation requirements, risk assessments, and escalation processes.

• Excellent leadership, coaching, stakeholder management, and communication skills in global and cross-functional environments.

• Strong quality and risk awareness and a clear commitment to product integrity, customer requirements, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.

• Ability to clearly communicate complex technical matters and translate operational performance metrics into business-oriented recommendations and decisions.