Head of Engineering – Manufacturing (AI Native)

Head of Engineering – Manufacturing (AI Native)

IFS | Staines-upon-Thames, ENG, GB

Posted 9 days ago

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Description

Head of Engineering – Manufacturing (AI Native)


  • Full-time

IFS is a billion-dollar revenue company with 7000+ employees on all continents. Our leading AI technology is the backbone of our award-winning enterprise software solutions, enabling our customers to be their best when it really matters–at the Moment of Service™. Our commitment to internal AI adoption has allowed us to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, ensuring our colleagues can unlock their creativity and productivity, and our solutions are always cutting-edge.


At IFS, we’re flexible, we’re innovative, and we’re focused not only on how we can engage with our customers but on how we can make a real change and have a worldwide impact. We help solve some of society’s greatest challenges, fostering a better future through our agility, collaboration, and trust.


We celebrate diversity and understand our responsibility to reflect the diverse world we work in. We are committed to promoting an inclusive workforce that fully represents the many different cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints of our customers, our partners, and our communities. As a truly international company serving people from around the globe, we realize that our success is tantamount to the respect we have for those different points of view.


By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to be part of aglobal, diverse environment;you will be joining awinning teamwith acommitment to sustainability;and a company where we get things done so that you canmake a positive impacton the world.


We’re looking for innovative and original thinkers to work in an environment where you can#MakeYourMomentso that we can help others make theirs. With the power of our AI-driven solutions, we empower our team to change the status quo and make a real difference.


If you want to change the status quo, we’ll help you make your moment. Join Team Purple. Join IFS.


We are looking for aHead of Engineering Leaderto lead in the Manufacturing, Sustainability and Supply Chain Product organization at IFS. This roleoperatesat astrategic and organizational level, overseeing a multi-layered engineering organizationcomprisingEngineering Directors, Architects, and Principal Engineers.


You willbe responsible fordefining and executingengineeringstrategyacross multiple teams and domains, ensuring alignment with product vision, architecture direction, and business priorities.


While this is a senior leadership role,technical depth and sound engineering judgment remain critical. You are expected to guide architectural direction, influence key technical decisions, and ensure strong engineering discipline across the organization.


AI is a core enabler and strategic priority in this role.You will drive enterprise-wide adoption of AI-assisted engineering and AI-powered product capabilities, ensuring measurable impact on both engineering productivity and customer value.


WhatYou’llDo


Organizational Leadership


Lead amulti-layered engineering organization, including Engineering Directors, Architects, and Principal Engineers


Define and execute theengineering strategy for Manufacturing, aligned with product and company-wide technology direction


Driveorganizational design, capability building, and succession planning


Build a culture ofownership, accountability, and continuous improvement


Scale leadership capability bycoaching and developing leaders of leaders


Delivery and Execution


Own delivery outcomes across multiple teams, ensuringpredictability, quality, andtimelyexecution at scale


Establish and evolve consistentengineering operating models and execution practices


Balancebusiness priorities, technical investments, and operational excellence


Ensure teamsoperatewith a“you build it, you run it” mindset


Technical & Architectural Leadership


Providestrategic technical directionacross teams, in close collaboration with Architecture


Influence and governingarchitecture decisions, platform evolution, and system design standards


Ensurehigh standardsacross:


Cloud-native architecture


CI/CD and DevOps practices


Automated testing, observability, and security


Maintain strong technical credibility and intervenehands-on where it adds the most value


Driveorganization-wide adoption of AI-assisted engineering practices


Enable teams to improvedelivery speed, quality, and confidence using AI


Guide development ofAI-enabled Manufacturing capabilities


Ensure AI usage ispractical, responsible, and outcome-driven


Cross-functional Collaboration


Partner closely withProduct Management, Architecture, and Manufacturing domain leaders


Aligningengineering execution withbusiness priorities and customer outcomes


Represent Engineering insenior leadership and strategic forums


Manufacturing Domain Leadership


Provide strong leadership across key Manufacturing domains, including:


End-to-end Manufacturing lifecycle (Plan, Build, Quality, Maintain


Regulatory and industry-specific requirements


Large-scale, configurable, multi-tenant ManufacturingSolutions


AligningManufacturing strategy withplatform, data, and integration capabilities


Required Background


Strong foundationinsoftware engineering and enterprise application development


Extensive experience leadingleaders (Directors/Managers) and senior technical experts


Proven track record deliveringlarge-scale, complex software systems across multiple teams


Deep understanding ofmodern architectures (cloud-native, APIs, distributed systems, agentic workflows)


Ability to operate effectively at bothstrategic and technical levels


Strongcommunication, decision-making, and stakeholder management skills


Customer obsession, ability to work hands on with customers on site, including travel to key manufacturing customer locations.


Preferred Experience


Manufacturing, ERP, or industrial enterprise software


Platform or multi-product engineering leadership


Experience scalingengineering organizations and driving transformation


WhatWe’reLooking For


You balancestrategic leadership with strong technical depth


You leadleaders and build high-performing organizations


You create clarity and alignment whileempowering teams to succeed


You care deeply aboutquality, sustainability, and customer value


You see AI as apractical enabler of transformation


You scale impactbyenabling others, not controlling them


Interviews and selections are being made continuously.


All final candidates will undergo a background check, to get us an understanding of our future employees.


IFS Fact
IFS develops and delivers enterprise software for customers around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. The industry expertise of our people and solutions, together with a commitment to delivering value to every one of our customers, has made IFS a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in our sector. Our team of 7,000+ employees and growing ecosystem of partners support more than 10,000 customers around the world challenge the status quo and realize their competitive advantage. Learn more about how our enterprise software solutions can help your business today at ifs.com.


We believe that coming together as a community, in person, is important for innovation, connection and fostering a sense of belonging. Our roles have the right balance of remote and in-office working to enable flexibility for managing your life along with ensuring a real connection with your colleagues and the broader IFS community.


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