Mechanical Design Manager

1. Mechanical Design Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, coach and develop the mechanical design team, including skills assessment, training and succession planning.

• Plan manpower, assign design work and balance resources across projects based on priority and schedule.

• Set clear goals and KPIs, conduct performance reviews and address capability or performance gaps.

• Build a collaborative, accountable and safety-focused engineering culture.

• Support recruitment and onboarding of mechanical design talent as the Malaysia operation grows.

2. Concept Design, Technical Proposal & Quotation Support

• Lead technical evaluation, concept development and feasibility studies for new automation projects.

• Work with Sales, Project Management and HQ to clarify customer specifications, cycle time, layout and technical risks.

• Review and approve mechanical concepts, technical proposals, design assumptions and cost inputs before quotation submission.

• Identify major technical, cost and schedule risks and define practical mitigation plans.

3. Project Design Planning & Execution

• Own the mechanical design plan, deliverables, milestones and resource allocation for assigned projects.

• Review and approve 3D designs, 2D drawings, BOMs, calculations, material selection and engineering changes.

• Ensure designs meet customer requirements, project budget, manufacturing capability and delivery schedule.

• Monitor design progress, resolve constraints and escalate critical risks early to Project Management and management.

• Ensure proper interface coordination between mechanical, electrical, software, assembly and supply chain teams.

4. Design Governance, Quality & Compliance

• Establish and maintain mechanical design standards, checklists, templates and approval workflows.

• Ensure designs follow company processes, internal procedures, safety requirements and customer standards.

• Chair concept, preliminary and detailed design reviews and ensure actions are closed on time.

• Control drawing release, revision, document version and engineering change processes.

• Drive design quality improvement by reviewing errors, rework, lessons learned and recurring technical issues.

5. Cross-Regional & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Act as the main mechanical design contact between the Malaysia team, HQ engineering and other regional teams.

• Align technical direction, design responsibilities, standards and project progress with HQ.

• Lead customer and supplier technical discussions when mechanical design decisions or escalations are required.

• Ensure effective knowledge transfer and localization of HQ designs for Malaysia manufacturing conditions and suppliers.

6. Assembly, Commissioning, FAT & Customer Support

• Provide technical leadership during assembly, debugging, commissioning, FAT and site installation.

• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective action for critical mechanical issues.

• Approve design modifications arising during project execution and ensure related documentation is updated.

• Review project technical summaries, lessons learned and improvement actions after FAT or project completion.

7. Standardization, Cost & Continuous Improvement

• Drive modular design, reusable standards, value engineering and design-for-manufacturing initiatives.

• Improve design efficiency, component standardization, quality, lead time and project cost.

• Develop and monitor department KPIs and implement corrective actions where performance is below target.

• Support supplier technical development and make-or-buy evaluations when required.

Job Requirements: -

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics or a related field.

• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in industrial automation, customized equipment or machine design, including at least 3 years in a team lead or managerial role.

• Strong experience in full project lifecycle delivery, from concept design and quotation through detailed design, assembly, commissioning and FAT.

• Strong skills in 3D CAD and 2D drawing tools such as SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor or AutoCAD.

• Strong knowledge of machine structures, motion systems, pneumatics, fixtures, tolerances, material selection and design for manufacturing and assembly.

• Able to review complex designs, identify technical risks and make sound engineering decisions.

• Able to lead engineers, manage multiple priorities and deliver projects on schedule and within budget.

• Good communication and stakeholder management skills. Good English is required; Mandarin is an advantage for coordination with headquarters.

• Able to travel locally and overseas when required.