Director, Manufacturing Excellence – Engineering
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Reports to: AVP, Manufacturing Excellence
Supervises: Manufacturing Excellence Team, as applicable
Position Summary
As the Director of Manufacturing Excellence, you will play a pivotal role in driving innovation, quality and efficiency across jewelry product development and manufacturing processes.
You will collaborate closely with manufacturing partners to ensure the successful delivery of world-class jewelry collections.
As a senior technical leader for Manufacturing Excellence in Asia, you will provide hands-on engineering leadership, mentor the Manufacturing Excellence team and serve as a key technical authority for complex product engineering, manufacturing and process-development challenges from concept through production.
Key Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with external partners and manufacturers to support manufacturing initiatives.
- Partner directly with manufacturers on factory floors to troubleshoot engineering and manufacturing challenges in real time.
- Work alongside master craftsmen at the bench to validate manufacturing methods, jewelry construction, assembly techniques, stone-setting methods, mechanisms, finishing processes and repair techniques.
- Collaborate closely with Product Development and Design teams to ensure alignment between design aesthetics, technical feasibility and production processes.
- Lead hands-on evaluations of prototypes and first samples to validate construction methods, assembly sequences, setting techniques, mechanisms, finishing quality and overall manufacturability before production release.
- Prototype and demonstrate advanced bench techniques, manufacturing methods, tooling concepts and craftsmanship practices that improve product performance while maintaining design intent.
- Drive manufacturing excellence initiatives by optimising processes and implementing best practices to enhance quality and efficiency.
- Establish bench craftsmanship standards by demonstrating advanced jewelry fabrication, assembly, soldering, laser welding, polishing, finishing, repair and stone-setting practices.
- Mentor Manufacturing Excellence engineers and manufacturing partners on technical and craftsmanship standards.
- Oversee product costing, budget management and resource allocation to support operational efficiency.
- Personally evaluate prototypes, first samples and production samples alongside the Manufacturing Excellence team and recommend improvements relating to construction, durability, manufacturability, assembly efficiency and luxury craftsmanship.
- Ensure quality-control measures are maintained across manufacturing partners and meet required standards and regulations.
- Ensure adherence to project timelines, budgets and quality standards throughout the engineering and manufacturing process.
- Foster a culture of creativity, excellence and collaboration within the Manufacturing Excellence team and across functions.
Additional Responsibilities
- Serve as a Manufacturing Excellence bench expert by building, modifying, repairing and validating prototypes and production samples to establish benchmark manufacturing methods.
- Work directly alongside model makers, setters, polishers, assemblers and master jewelers to resolve complex product-construction challenges and improve manufacturing consistency.
- Develop reference samples and prototype modifications to demonstrate manufacturing best practices and support technical training for manufacturing partners.
- Lead technical reviews for complex engineering challenges, product failures and manufacturing issues requiring advanced engineering judgement.
- Validate new manufacturing technologies, tooling concepts, materials and production methods before implementation across the manufacturing network.
- Support the technical qualification and capability assessment of existing and prospective manufacturing partners.
- Represent Manufacturing Excellence in executive-level product reviews, communicating technical risks, mitigation plans and manufacturing readiness.
Candidate Profile & Location
The search is open to both Thai and international candidates.
Candidates should demonstrate exceptional depth within jewelry manufacturing, strong leadership capability, cross-functional effectiveness and the ability to operate successfully from Bangkok.
Thai-language capability is advantageous but not essential.
The role is based in Bangkok and requires substantial presence both in the office and on manufacturing-partner factory floors.
International candidates must be able to satisfy applicable Thai work-authorisation and relocation requirements.
