Head of Automation Execution Hub | Manager

GEA is one of the largest suppliers for the food and beverage processing industry and a wide range of other process industries. Approximately 18,000 employees in more than 60 countries contribute significantly to GEA’s success – come and join them! We offer interesting and challenging tasks, a positive working environment in international teams and opportunities for personal development and growth in a global company.

Why join GEA

GEA is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will therefore receive consideration for employment without regard to age, sex, race, color, religion, world view, national origin, genetics, disability, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other protected characteristic required by applicable law. Applicants with disabilities are welcome and will be given special consideration if they are equally qualified.

Master’s degree in Electronics, Automation, or related engineering field.

Professional project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, etc.).

5+ years as an Automation Manager with strong project execution and team‑leadership experience.

Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills.

High competence in project management, risk handling, and financial controls.

Ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams and drive organizational development.

Strong customer orientation, cultural awareness, and negotiation ability.

Skilled in process improvement, change management, and standardization initiatives.

Willingness to travel across the APAC region.

Execute the regional Automation Strategy in alignment with BU Management and Automation CTC.

Define and lead APAC’s automation execution roadmap, ensuring capability development and delivery of complex MES and automation projects.

Drive continuous improvement, standardization, and adoption of new tools, processes, and engineering practices.

Develop long‑term collaboration with BU clusters, GEA entities, and key external partners.

Oversee the regional automation project portfolio, ensuring successful, high‑quality, and on‑time delivery.

Plan and allocate resources, balancing project needs, team utilization, and workforce well-being.

Maintain governance of project management processes, methodology compliance, and risk mitigation.

Lead achievement of financial KPIs (Order Intake, POC, Sales, GM, Risk Exposure, Treasury).

Manage crisis escalation and claims handling when required.

Recruit, onboard, and develop engineering and project management talent.

Lead performance management, appraisals, and training to build a strong, motivated, and future‑ready workforce.

Drive succession planning and maintain a strong leadership pipeline within the Automation Hub.

Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous learning, and collaboration.

Conduct monthly project reviews with Project Managers and Finance.

Provide monthly dashboards, project one‑pagers, and KPI reports for the Automation Hub.

Deliver accurate forecasting for OI, POC, Sales, and GM.

Engage with Automation Managers, Engineering Hub, Sales, Service, Supply Chain, HR, Finance, and Legal.

Interface with customers throughout project execution and during crisis situations.

Collaborate with external vendors, subcontractors, and automation software providers.

Ensure alignment with CTC on latest tools, standards, and technical developments.

Responsible for staffing and resource allocation for all Automation Hub projects.

Influences sales strategy, solution definition, and project execution planning.

Drives development of automation project management tools and contributes to BU business process evolution.