Location : Gorgonzola, Italy
Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea, and air. From early warning to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short-range systems to extended protection across the entire battle-space, including Airspace Mobility Solutions, Vehicles and Tactical Systems, Missile Defence, Optronics, and Radar.
Gorgonzola hosts the Navigations Air Systems (NAS) domain. The NAS domain activity includes avionics, navigation, and radar systems for civil air traffic and technologies supporting civilian and military pilots, ATC controllers, and technicians worldwide. Italy is the Group’s Competence Center for the design, production, and delivery of Navigation Aids products and non-Radar Surveillance Products.
JOB OBJECTIVE
The Head of Manufacturing at Thales is a member of the Industry team and acts as the manufacturing subject matter expert with end-to-end visibility and responsibility over shopfloor Integration & Testing activities at the Italian manufacturing plant, implementing Lean practices in coordination with the Business Segment and international organization. He/she is responsible for overseeing and managing all operations on the manufacturing shop floor, ensuring production targets are met, maintaining quality standards, managing the shopfloor workforce, and implementing continuous improvement initiatives. The I&T Manager will work closely with other departments to ensure smooth production flow and adherence to safety protocols.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Head of Manufacturing oversees shopfloor management, Production Control, and Incoming Inspection. Responsibilities include planning, coordinating, and controlling manufacturing processes to meet production schedules, monitoring activities, and making adjustments as necessary. Ensuring efficient use of resources, implementing quality control standards, and addressing quality issues are key duties. The role involves lean deployment, supporting operational teams, coaching, and communication to foster a lean approach, and identifying process improvement opportunities.
He/she will supervise, train, and evaluate shopfloor employees, ensuring they have the necessary skills and fostering a positive work environment that promotes teamwork and engagement.
SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
APICS certification is advantageous. A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in engineering is preferred. A minimum of 5 years experience in production management and Lean project implementation within electronics, automotive, or mechanical environments is mandatory. Experience in electronic sourcing and automotive sectors is a plus.
Skills required : Ability to manage and motivate diverse teams, strong organizational and time management skills, ability to work under pressure, and meet tight deadlines. Strong leadership, team-building, and consensus-driven skills are essential, especially for liaising with international counterparts and internal customers across different regions. Good ERP knowledge (MRP/MPS/Forecast management), fluency in English (spoken and written), and IT proficiency are mandatory. Soft skills include responsibility-taking, openness to challenges, agility, proactivity, ownership of projects, collaboration, solution-focus, and excellent communication skills.
At Thales, we provide CAREERS, not just jobs. With 80,000 employees in 68 countries, our mobility policy enables employees to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing fields or new areas. Embracing flexibility is part of our smarter way of working. Great journeys start here, apply now!
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