Section Head – Manufacturing Engineering (ME)

Department: Engineering / Manufacturing Engineering
Location: Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kulim, Kedah
Employment Type: Full-Time
Position Level: Section Head / Senior Engineering Leadership

Job Summary

The Section Head – Manufacturing Engineering (ME) is responsible for leading the Manufacturing Engineering function and ensuring manufacturing processes are capable, efficient, safe, cost-effective and ready to support production requirements.

The role will oversee Manufacturing Engineers supporting key manufacturing areas including:

• Front End
• Welding
• Master Assembly
• Other assigned manufacturing processes / sections

The Section Head is responsible for engineering support, process improvement, productivity, equipment and tooling readiness, manufacturing problem-solving and continuous improvement across the assigned production areas.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing Engineering Leadership

• Lead and manage the Manufacturing Engineering team across assigned production areas.
• Ensure adequate engineering support is available to Production.
• Plan and assign engineering resources based on production priorities and project requirements.
• Monitor team performance, workload and project execution.
• Coach and develop Manufacturing Engineers and support their technical competency growth.
• Establish engineering priorities and ensure timely closure of manufacturing issues.

Area Responsibility

The Section Head will oversee Manufacturing Engineers supporting:

• Front End
• Welding
• Master Assembly
• Other relevant manufacturing areas assigned by Management

Process Engineering

• Develop, review and improve manufacturing processes.

• Ensure manufacturing processes meet required quality, productivity and safety standards.

• Establish and maintain:

  • Process flow
  • Work Instructions
  • Manufacturing procedures
  • Process parameters
  • Cycle time
  • Standard work
  • Process control requirements

• Ensure production processes are stable, repeatable and capable.

Production Support

• Provide engineering support for daily production issues.

• Lead root cause investigation for recurring manufacturing problems.

• Work closely with Production and Quality to implement effective corrective actions.

• Support troubleshooting relating to:

  • Process
  • Equipment
  • Tooling
  • Fixtures
  • Work methods
  • Product quality

• Ensure timely response to production downtime and engineering issues.

Productivity & Cost Improvement

• Identify and implement productivity improvement initiatives.
• Reduce cycle time, manpower dependency, production waste and process inefficiencies.
• Improve manufacturing yield and process capability.
• Lead cost reduction and productivity improvement projects.
• Support automation and process simplification initiatives.
• Monitor and improve production efficiency indicators.

Welding Engineering Support

• Ensure welding processes are properly defined and controlled.
• Support welding parameter optimisation and process validation.
• Work with Production and Quality on welding-related defects and improvements.
• Support tooling, fixture and workstation improvements for welding processes.
• Ensure process requirements and technical standards are properly followed.

Front End & Assembly Engineering

• Support process readiness and optimisation for Front End and Master Assembly operations.
• Ensure tooling, fixtures, workstations and production methods are suitable for production requirements.
• Review assembly sequence and manufacturing flow.
• Improve ergonomics, productivity and manufacturing consistency.
• Support technical problem-solving for assembly issues.

Equipment, Tooling & Fixture Management

• Ensure manufacturing equipment, tools and fixtures are suitable and available for production.
• Review technical specifications for new equipment and tooling.
• Support equipment qualification, installation and process validation.
• Coordinate improvement and modification of jigs and fixtures.
• Work with Facility, Maintenance and external vendors where required.

NPI / Product Transfer Support

• Work closely with the NPI team during new product introduction and product transfer.
• Review manufacturing feasibility and process requirements.
• Support pilot builds and production readiness reviews.
• Ensure process documentation, equipment, tooling and manpower requirements are ready before mass production.
• Provide manufacturing engineering input during project planning.

Quality & Process Control

• Support PFMEA, Control Plan and corrective action activities.
• Work with QA on process-related quality issues and customer complaints.
• Ensure engineering corrective actions are properly implemented and sustained.
• Support process audits and manufacturing compliance requirements.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement activities.
• Lead Kaizen, productivity improvement, line balancing and waste reduction projects.
• Promote data-driven problem solving within the engineering team.
• Identify opportunities for automation, digitalisation and process optimisation.

Cross-Functional Coordination

Work closely with:

• Production
• QA / Quality Engineering
• NPI
• Maintenance
• Facility
• Purchasing
• Supply Chain
• Warehouse
• Safety / EHS
• Vendors and suppliers

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering or related field.

• Minimum 7–10 years of Manufacturing Engineering experience in a manufacturing environment.

• Minimum 2–3 years of supervisory / engineering leadership experience.

• Strong hands-on experience in manufacturing process engineering.

• Strong experience in production troubleshooting and process improvement.

• Experience managing engineers across multiple manufacturing areas.

• Strong understanding of:

  • Manufacturing Process
  • Production Engineering
  • Process Improvement
  • Cycle Time Reduction
  • Line Balancing
  • Root Cause Analysis
  • PFMEA
  • Control Plan
  • Work Instruction
  • Equipment / Tooling / Fixture

• Experience in welding, assembly or equipment manufacturing environment is highly preferred.

• Strong leadership and people management skills.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.

• Able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

• Good communication and coordination skills.

• Good command of English and Bahasa Malaysia.

Added Advantage

• Experience in welding process engineering.
• Experience in semiconductor equipment or precision manufacturing.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen or Continuous Improvement.
• Familiar with ERP systems such as QAD / SAP.
• Experience in automation and manufacturing digitalisation projects.
• Experience supporting NPI and product transfer.

Key Competencies

• Manufacturing Engineering Leadership
• Process Improvement
• Production Troubleshooting
• Welding / Assembly Process
• Productivity Improvement
• Cost Reduction
• Root Cause Analysis
• Lean Manufacturing
• Equipment & Tooling
• Engineering Project Management
• Cross-Functional Leadership