Senior Manager - Digital Transformation (Medical Device Manufacturing)

Flex•Buffalo Grove, IL

1d•$122,600 - $168,600

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Digital Transformation executes the site’s digital manufacturing and Industry 4.0 strategy established by the Director of Engineering & Digital Transformation. The role leads implementation of technologies that connect manufacturing equipment, OT infrastructure, data platforms, analytics, and business systems to improve operational performance, reliability, quality, and manufacturing intelligence. This technical digital transformation leadership role bridges Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT). It requires significant experience with industrial networking and IT/OT architecture, along with the ability to lead technical discussions with IT, cybersecurity, controls engineering, equipment suppliers, and manufacturing stakeholders. The position balances enterprise IT requirements with manufacturing constraints such as availability, latency, lifecycle, protocols, support, and operations. The Senior Manager translates the digital transformation roadmap into executable programs, resolves technical and organizational barriers, establishes scalable architectures with relevant stakeholders, and drives initiatives from concept through deployment, adoption, and sustained operation. The role leads and develops digital transformation and manufacturing intelligence resources, including the Principal Manufacturing Intelligence Engineer and other assigned technical personnel. Travel is up to 10%, for example to the Austin, Texas headquarters.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related degree.
At least 7 years of experience in manufacturing technology, automation, OT, industrial IT, digital manufacturing, or related technical environments.
At least 3 years of leadership and/or significant cross-functional technical program leadership.
Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, or leading IT/OT network and infrastructure solutions in manufacturing environments.
Strong working knowledge of industrial Ethernet networks, managed switching, VLANs, routing concepts, firewalls, network segmentation, industrial DMZ architecture, remote access, virtualization, and OT cybersecurity principles.
Strong understanding of industrial protocols and technologies such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA, MQTT, and related manufacturing communication technologies.
Experience working directly with enterprise IT and cybersecurity organizations to implement manufacturing systems in production environments.
Experience integrating industrial PLC controls/equipment, SCADA systems, edge platforms, historians/databases, analytics platforms, and enterprise systems.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives from concept through production deployment and sustained operation.
Experience in highly regulated, high-availability, or complex discrete manufacturing environments.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing or deploying enterprise-scale IT/OT reference architectures across multiple manufacturing areas or sites.
Experience with manufacturing data architecture, edge computing, virtualization/high-availability environments, cloud integration, and modern analytics platforms.
Experience scaling successful proofs of concept into standardized production solutions.

Responsibilities

Execute the digital transformation strategy and roadmap set by the Director of Engineering & Digital Transformation, converting priorities into technical workstreams, milestones, resource plans, and measurable deliverables.
Lead cross-functional implementation with Engineering, Operations, IT, cybersecurity, Quality, equipment suppliers, and technology partners.
Drive initiatives from concept and proof of concept through validated production deployment, adoption, support, and sustained operational ownership.
Identify and resolve infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, data, integration, and equipment-connectivity dependencies.
Establish implementation discipline, governance, KPIs, risk management, and executive-level reporting for the digital transformation portfolio.
Serve as a primary Engineering interface between manufacturing OT organizations and corporate or site IT for digital transformation initiatives.
Lead technical discussions concerning IT/OT network architecture, segmentation, connectivity, data flows, industrial Ethernet, edge computing, virtualization, firewall requirements, remote access, and system integration.
Translate manufacturing and equipment requirements into technical infrastructure requirements that IT, cybersecurity, vendors, and Engineering teams can execute.
Ensure architectures account for production availability, latency and deterministic communications, equipment lifecycle, vendor support, maintenance access, change control, and production continuity.
Partner with IT and cybersecurity to develop secure, scalable architectures that connect manufacturing assets to enterprise and cloud-based systems while appropriately separating and protecting OT environments.
Apply working knowledge of managed switching, VLANs, routing concepts, firewalls, network segmentation, industrial DMZs, secure remote/vendor access, least-privilege access, asset inventory, certificates, and OT patching constraints.
Understand and navigate industrial communication technologies and protocols, including EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA, MQTT, and other common industrial standards.
Participate in architecture and cybersecurity reviews and challenge proposed solutions as appropriate to address enterprise governance and OT operational requirements.
Lead implementation of manufacturing intelligence architecture supporting equipment connectivity, data acquisition, contextualization, visualization, analytics, and decision support.
Oversee integration of PLCs, industrial equipment, SCADA/OT systems, edge platforms, historians/databases, analytics platforms, and enterprise environments.
Lead manufacturing intelligence capabilities including Grafana-based visualization, OEE, downtime, yield, equipment performance, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics.
Support implementation and integration of strategic technologies such as AR/AI-enabled work instructions, equipment connectivity, virtualization, and future Industry 4.0 capabilities to drive data-based decisions.
Ensure solutions are interoperable, maintainable, scalable, cybersecurity-conscious, supportable, and aligned with long-term manufacturing architecture.
Partner with Engineering, IT, cybersecurity, and other technical stakeholders to establish reference architectures and technical standards for digital manufacturing.
Standardize connectivity, edge, data, integration, security, and deployment patterns for reuse across equipment and manufacturing areas, reducing one-off solutions.
Ensure pilots and proofs of concept have a defined path to production scale, including infrastructure, cybersecurity, ownership, support, lifecycle, and sustainment requirements.
Document architectural decisions, interfaces, standards, and technical dependencies to support repeatable deployment and long-term support.
Lead and develop digital transformation and manufacturing intelligence resources, including the Principal Manufacturing Intelligence Engineer and other assigned technical personnel.
Build partnerships across Engineering, Operations, IT, cybersecurity, Quality, and business leadership while maintaining accountability for execution.
Translate effectively between controls engineers, network engineers, cybersecurity teams, software/data teams, equipment vendors, manufacturing leaders, and executive stakeholders.
Communicate technical risks, tradeoffs, dependencies, and decisions in clear business terms.