VP Global Automation & Innovation

Head of Innovation & Automation Engineering

Location: Mumbai, India

Travel: Global, frequent especially in the first year

Reporting to: Senior Executive Leadership

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a large, global manufacturing organisation to appoint a Head of Innovation & Automation Engineering, a newly created, highly strategic role with genuine board-level backing.

This position has been created to transform how manufacturing is done, not to optimise around the edges. The organisation is investing in the future and is committed to advanced automation, digital manufacturing, and innovative operating models to drive long-term competitiveness, efficiency, and growth.

For the right individual, this is a rare opportunity to build something from the ground up, shape strategy, and leave a lasting legacy across a global manufacturing network.

The Role

As Head of Innovation & Automation Engineering, you will define and deliver the automation and innovation roadmap across multiple manufacturing sites globally. You will operate at the intersection of engineering, manufacturing, quality, and digital, translating vision into practical, compliant, and commercially viable solutions.

This role combines strategy and execution, and requires someone who can think big, but also understands how things actually work on the shop floor.

Key responsibilities include:

• Defining and executing a multi-year automation and innovation strategy aligned to business growth
• Driving digital transformation and Industry 4.0 initiatives across manufacturing operations
• Leading the evaluation and implementation of advanced automation technologies, data-driven manufacturing, and smart factory concepts
• Supporting the evolution from traditional batch manufacturing towards more advanced and efficient operating models
• Ensuring all initiatives are GMP compliant, validated, and deliver measurable business impact
• Building and leading a high-performing automation and innovation function, initially with limited structure
• Working closely with senior stakeholders across operations, quality, engineering, and IT

The Challenge

This is not a maintenance role. You will be:

• Operating in complex, regulated manufacturing environments
• Challenging established ways of working and driving change at scale
• Making innovation feasible within existing plants, regulatory constraints, and financial realities
• Influencing senior leaders and site teams across regions
• Balancing speed, compliance, and commercial outcomes

Success in the first 12 months will be defined by clarity of vision, credibility with stakeholders, and a clear, actionable roadmap for the future.

The Ideal Profile

You are a technically strong engineering leader with deep manufacturing experience and a track record of driving automation and transformation.

You will likely bring:

• Strong experience in GMP-regulated manufacturing environments
• Deep exposure to automation, digitalisation, and industrial control systems
• Experience delivering large-scale automation or transformation initiatives
• Understanding of validation, regulatory requirements, and change control
• The ability to link innovation to efficiency, throughput, and P&L impact
• A mindset that is open, curious, pragmatic, and not constrained by legacy thinking

Backgrounds from pharmaceuticals or adjacent highly regulated manufacturing sectors will be considered.

Why This Role

• A newly created role with real mandate and senior leadership support
• Opportunity to shape the future of global manufacturing operations
• High visibility, strategic impact, and long-term career progression
• A platform to build, lead, and scale a global capability

If you are motivated by transformation, complexity, and building what doesn't yet exist, this role offers a genuinely career-defining opportunity.