HOD - Process Design & Costing

Job Purpose

• To lead the Process Design & Costing function for the wire and cable manufacturing business, covering LAN cable, power cable, house wire cable, instrumentation cable and cable assemblies.
• The HOD is responsible for establishing robust process design standards, accurate and competitive product costing, and continuous cost optimisation, while ensuring alignment with production capability, quality standards and business profitability targets.

Key Responsibilities

• Process Design & Engineering Leadership
• Establish and own end-to-end process flow designs (drawing, stranding, insulation extrusion, sheathing, armouring, cabling, and assembly operations) for LAN, power, house wire, instrumentation cables and cable assemblies.
• Define machine-wise process parameters, line speeds, tooling and die specifications for new products and new customer approvals.
• Approve process route cards, work instructions and standard operating procedures (SOPs) before release to production.
• Lead process improvement, automation and de-bottlenecking initiatives to enhance throughput, yield and first-pass quality.
• Review and approve process changes arising from new raw materials, machine upgrades or customer specification changes.
• Drive New Product Development (NPD) process design from concept/sample stage through to mass production readiness.
• Costing & Commercial Support
• Own the standard costing framework (material, conversion, overhead) for all product categories and ensure it is updated in line with input cost movements (copper, aluminium, PVC, XLPE, PE, etc.).
• Review and approve product costing sheets, BOM-based cost builds and quotations for new enquiries, tenders and key accounts.
• Provide costing inputs for pricing decisions, margin analysis and profitability reviews in coordination with Sales, Marketing and Finance.
• Benchmark costs against competitors and industry standards; identify and lead cost-reduction and value-engineering projects.
• Validate costing impact of engineering changes, alternate raw materials, and process modifications.
• Cross-Functional Coordination
• Work closely with Production, Quality, R&D, Procurement, Sales and Finance to ensure process and cost data integrity across the value chain.
• Coordinate with Procurement on raw material specifications, alternate vendor qualification and cost-saving substitutions.
• Support Sales/Business Development with technical-commercial inputs for tenders, RFQs and customer negotiations.
• Liaise with R&D and Quality on new product qualification, testing requirements and regulatory/standard compliance (BIS, IS, IEC, UL, RoHS as applicable).
• Team Leadership & Governance
• Lead, mentor and develop the Process Design & Costing team, including Executives and Engineers.
• Set departmental KPIs/targets, review performance and build technical capability within the team.
• Establish document control, version management and audit trail for all process design and costing records.
• Ensure compliance with ISO/quality management system requirements relevant to process and costing documentation.
• Present periodic reports to senior management on cost trends, margin performance, process efficiency and improvement initiatives.

Key Result Areas (KRAs) / KPIs

• Costing accuracy (variance between estimated vs. actual cost)
• Process yield improvement and scrap/wastage reduction
• Turnaround time for new product costing and process design release
• Cost savings achieved through value engineering / process optimisation
• On-time NPD process readiness
• Team productivity and capability development Qualifications
• B.E./B.Tech in Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical, Polymer or Production Engineering (Master''s/MBA preferred).
• Experience
• 18 years of experience in the wire & cable manufacturing industry, with at least 5 years in a process design and/or costing leadership role.
• Proven experience across multiple cable categories
• LAN, power, house wire, instrumentation cables and cable assemblies
• preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong technical knowledge of cable manufacturing processes: drawing, stranding, extrusion, insulation, sheathing, armouring, testing.
• Expertise in product costing, BOM structuring and cost-benefit analysis.
• Working knowledge of relevant standards (IS, IEC, BIS, UL, RoHS) and raw materials used in cable manufacturing.
• Proficiency in ERP systems, MS Excel and costing/estimation tools.
• Strong leadership, cross-functional coordination and decision-making skills.
• Analytical mindset with a continuous improvement and cost-consciousness orientation.