Head of Engineering and Automation

Kinrise is a growing, privately owned powerhouse in Australian food manufacturing with some of Australia’s most loved and innovative brands. We describe ourselves as a ‘start up with scale’ and have a burning ambition to grow our business. Formed in 2018 the Kinrise portfolio covers Biscuits, Breakfast, Baking, Bakery, and Snackfood categories and has 40+ years making iconic Australian food, with a rich Australian heritage that’s grounded in family origins. The Head of Engineering and Automation is accountable for defining and delivering the Kinrise engineering, automation and manufacturing-technology strategy across all operating sites. The role converts business strategy into a prioritised program of capital, engineering and automation initiatives that: improve labor productivity and reduce the labor cost required to make and pack each unit; create consistent, scalable, secure and supportable engineering solutions across Kinrise. remove or reduce exposure to hazardous, repetitive and ergonomically demanding work; improve product quality, food safety, process control and traceability; increase manufacturing capacity, throughput, reliability and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE); and reduce process variation, waste, giveaway, rework and unplanned downtime; The role is accountable for progressing major initiatives from opportunity identification and business-case development through design, procurement, installation, commissioning, operational handover and verified benefits realisation. It partners closely with the business functional teams in Operations, Safety, Quality and Finance and provides technical and commercial challenge across the Group. Primary Outcomes A clear three-to-five-year engineering, automation and asset roadmap is maintained and translated into an executable annual capital plan. Automation investment demonstrably improves safety, quality, food safety, capacity, efficiency, reliability and labor cost. Major capital projects are delivered safely to approved scope, schedule, budget and performance requirements. Expected project benefits are baselined, measured, validated and sustained after operational handover. Kinrise sites operate with consistent engineering, automation, reliability and asset-management standards. Key Accountabilities Engineering and Automation Strategy · Develop, maintain and deliver the Kinrise engineering, automation and manufacturing-technology strategy. · Translate the Group strategy into a prioritised, costed and sequenced roadmap for each manufacturing site. · Define the target automation maturity for critical production, process, material-handling and packaging activities. · Balance immediate operational priorities with long-term network capability, technology lifecycle, capacity and sustainability needs. · Provide the Kinrise Leadership Team and Capital Steering Committee with clear recommendations on investment priorities, sequencing, dependencies and risk. · Review the strategy and roadmap regularly to reflect changes in customer requirements, product mix, labor availability, technology, operating performance and business strategy. Automation Opportunity Pipeline · Establish and maintain a Group-wide pipeline of engineering and automation opportunities across all manufacturing sites. To improve efficiencies and reduce labour costs and waste · Prioritise opportunities using agreed criteria, including safety and quality risk, strategic alignment, operational benefit, implementation complexity, capital requirement, return on investment and speed to value. · Develop concept options and determine whether automation, equipment modification, process redesign, maintenance improvement or standard work is the most effective response. · Maintain a rolling three-to-five-year opportunity pipeline and an annual implementation plan. · Ensure opportunities have an accountable business sponsor and clear operational ownership before progressing to investment. Capital Strategy and Portfolio Governance · Lead development of the annual Kinrise capital plan and ensure it is aligned with strategic priorities and site requirements. · Review and technically endorse major capital expenditure proposals before approval. · Challenge or return proposals that do not contain adequate scope, evidence, risk assessment, options analysis, resource planning or financial justification. · Lead the fortnightly Kinrise Capital Steering Meeting and maintain clear visibility of portfolio scope, schedule, expenditure, forecast, risks, issues, dependencies, decisions and benefits. · Recommend the prioritisation, deferral, redesign or cessation of projects where value, risk, capacity or strategic alignment does not support continued investment. Major Capital and Automation Project Delivery · Lead and oversee major capital and automation projects valued above $100,000 · Control scope changes and ensure the operational, commercial and benefits impacts are assessed, approved and communicated before implementation. · Ensure project risks, issues, decisions and actions are documented, assigned, reviewed and closed. · Oversee supplier and contractor performance and hold delivery partners accountable for safety, technical quality, schedule, cost, documentation and performance. Automation Technology and Deployment · Identify and deploy appropriate technologies, including robotics, automated material handling, machine vision, process controls, PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, instrumentation, manufacturing data systems and digital performance reporting. · Ensure automation solutions improve one or more defined outcomes in safety, quality, food safety, traceability, throughput, reliability, labor productivity, waste or operational control. · Ensure solutions integrate effectively with existing equipment, utilities, production processes and relevant business systems. · Define standard technical architectures, control philosophies, equipment specifications, documentation requirements and preferred technology platforms. · Manage automation obsolescence and lifecycle risks, including unsupported controls, unavailable components, ageing equipment and dependence on single suppliers or individuals. · Ensure source code, licences, passwords, configuration files, drawings and software backups are transferred to Kinrise and stored in controlled repositories. · Monitor automation performance after implementation and initiate corrective action where expected performance or benefits are not achieved. Reliability and Asset Management · Establish the Kinrise Group reliability and asset-management framework, including common standards, measures and reporting requirements. · Define minimum expectations for planned, preventive and predictive maintenance, critical spares, asset hierarchies, equipment history and failure analysis. · Establish asset criticality assessments and ensure risks to safety, quality, service and production continuity are understood and addressed. · Ensure project designs consider reliability, maintainability, component availability, technical support, cleanability and whole-of-life cost. · Establish consistent maintenance data and performance reporting across sites. · Build technical capability across site engineering and maintenance teams through standards, coaching, communities of practice and supplier support. Engineering Standards and Technical Governance · Develop, approve and maintain Group engineering, automation and equipment standards. · Define preferred equipment, controls, components, software platforms and suppliers where standardisation provides safety, quality, reliability, cost or support benefits. · Ensure standards address machinery safety, hygienic design, food safety, electrical and mechanical design, controls, documentation, cybersecurity, maintainability and energy efficiency. · Maintain a controlled repository of drawings, specifications, control programs, manuals, certificates, risk assessments, commissioning records and asset information. · Establish technical assurance and independent design-review requirements based on project value, complexity and risk. Sustainability and Resource Efficiency · Ensure projects consider energy, water, waste, packaging, emissions and resource-efficiency impacts. · Include sustainability benefits and lifecycle costs in project options and investment recommendations. · Ensure completed initiatives are measured against approved environmental and resource-efficiency outcomes where applicable. Stakeholder, Supplier and Change Leadership · Build strong working relationships across Business Units, sites and functions and create shared ownership of engineering and automation outcomes. · Develop and execute communication, consultation, workforce-transition and change plans for affected teams. · Engage employees and subject-matter experts in process mapping, design reviews, testing and implementation. · Create a capable and accountable supplier ecosystem across equipment manufacturers, integrators, consultants and contractors. · Build internal capability so improvements are owned and sustained after project teams and suppliers exit. Organisational Accountabilities – Leaders, People Leaders Values & Culture · Role model the Kinrise Values in everything you do. Set the standard for your team and hold team members accountable for living our values in both what they deliver and how they deliver it. · Build high levels of trust within your team so people speak openly and directly, fostering a feedback culture where team members hold one another accountable for their commitments. Performance and Development · Lead the Kinrise Performance and Development process for your team, including facilitating goal setting and conducting meaningful mid-year and year-end performance reviews. · Provide regular coaching and feedback to team members through structured 1:1s and informal conversations, reinforcing strengths, identifying development opportunities and addressing early signs of underperformance promptly and sensitively in partnership with People & Culture. · Support each team member to develop and maintain a meaningful Development Plan aligned with the Kinrise 70-20-10 development philosophy and the Rise Up Leadership Competencies, creating opportunities for professional and personal growth. · Proactively manage underperformance in accordance with the Kinrise Guide to Performance Management and Disciplinary Policy, ensuring processes are fair, timely and consistent with our performance guidelines. Engagement · Champion employee engagement within your team by encouraging full participation in the Kinrise Engagement Survey and transparently sharing the results with your team. · Develop, own and execute a targeted engagement action plan for your team, Business Unit or Function, aligned with the Kinrise Group engagement action plan, and review progress regularly. · Drive a culture of recognition, communication and feedback within your team, using Kinrise programs such as the Rise Awards and other recognition initiatives to celebrate achievements and reinforce our values. Code of Conduct · Ensure all team members are aware of, understand and comply with the Kinrise Code of Conduct by regularly communicating its principles and expectations and reinforcing that we never walk by. · Act as the first point of contact for Code of Conduct concerns raised by team members, managing them confidentially and sensitively in accordance with Kinrise policies and escalating to People & Culture or the Kinrise Ethics Officer as appropriate. · Apply all Kinrise policies consistently and fairly across your team, ensuring equitable treatment and compliance with organisational standards and legislative requirements. Measures of Success Strategy and Portfolio · An approved three-to-five-year engineering and automation roadmap is maintained and refreshed at agreed intervals. · The annual capital plan is agreed, prioritised, resourced and aligned with Group strategy. · Portfolio reporting provides accurate and timely visibility of forecast, expenditure, schedule, risk and benefits. · The automation opportunity pipeline contains quantified and prioritised opportunities across all sites. Safety, Quality and Food Safety · Reduction in identified high-risk manual-handling, repetitive and hazardous-interaction tasks through engineered controls. · Required safety-by-design, machinery-risk, hygienic-design and food-safety reviews are completed at the defined project stages. · Safety and validation actions are closed before normal operation or are subject to formally approved controls. · Targeted projects deliver agreed improvements in defects, process variation, waste, giveaway, rework, complaints or quality-related downtime. Automation, Productivity and Labour · The agreed annual automation roadmap is delivered. · Completed initiatives deliver verified improvements in labor hours per unit, labor cost per unit or labor-to-sales ratio. · Automation projects achieve approved throughput, cycle-time, capacity and operational-control outcomes. · Benefits are sustained following commissioning and handover. Reliability and Asset Performance · Targeted lines improve OEE and reduce unplanned downtime and repeat failures. · Preventive-maintenance compliance and critical-asset risk controls improve against agreed targets. · Root-cause corrective actions for major and recurring failures are completed and effective. · Engineering standards and asset information are adopted consistently across Kinrise sites. Project and Commercial Delivery · Projects are delivered to approved scope, schedule, budget and technical performance. · Project charters, stage gates, risk registers and change controls are current and effective. · Forecast and realised returns are monitored, with variances explained and recovery actions implemented. · Formal handover, documentation, operational-readiness and post-implementation reviews are completed. · Appropriate procurement agreements are in place for projects valued above $200,000. · Supplier performance meets agreed safety, quality, cost, schedule, documentation and technical requirements. Specific annual targets for these measures will be agreed through the Kinrise Performance and Development process. Experience · Extensive senior-level engineering, automation or capital-project experience in FMCG, food manufacturing or another regulated manufacturing environment. · Demonstrated experience leading multi-site engineering transformation and major capital portfolios. · Demonstrated experience identifying manufacturing losses and risks and converting them into a prioritised engineering and automation roadmap. · Proven delivery of automation projects producing measurable improvements in safety, quality, OEE, throughput, waste, reliability and labor productivity. · Experience developing robust business cases using operational baselines, financial analysis, risk assessment and sensitivity testing. · Strong knowledge of industrial automation and controls, including PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, robotics, machine vision, instrumentation and manufacturing data systems. · Experience integrating automation into brownfield manufacturing operations and managing interfaces with existing assets and systems. · Experience with hygienic equipment design, machinery safety, commissioning and validation in a GMP and HACCP-regulated environment. · Experience establishing engineering standards and preferred technology platforms across multiple sites. · Experience managing systems integrators, original equipment manufacturers, contractors, consultants and engineering service providers. · Demonstrated capability in operational readiness, commissioning, ramp-up, change leadership and benefits realisation. · Experience using OEE, downtime, waste, labor and process data to prioritise improvement opportunities. · Working knowledge of Lean and structured continuous-improvement methodologies. Skills and Attributes · Strategic thinking with the ability to translate long-term manufacturing needs into practical and sequenced action. · Strong technical judgement across engineering, automation, project delivery, reliability and manufacturing operations. · Strong commercial and financial acumen, including capital governance, lifecycle costing and investment evaluation. · Highly developed problem-solving, root-cause analysis, risk assessment and decision-making capability. · Ability to influence senior leaders, site teams and technical specialists without relying solely on formal authority. · Ability to challenge constructively, make disciplined trade-offs and maintain accountability for outcomes. · Strong project, program, contractor, supplier and resource-management capability. · Clear communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical and commercial matters to different audiences. · Demonstrated ability to lead change, build capability and earn trust across functions and sites. · Commitment to safety, food safety, quality, integrity and the Kinrise Values. Qualifications · Recognised degree qualification in mechanical, electrical, mechatronics, automation, manufacturing, process or another relevant engineering discipline, or an equivalent qualification and experience. · Additional training or certification in project management, continuous improvement or asset management, such as PRINCE2, PMP, Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent, is desirable. · Training or demonstrated capability in machinery safety, functional safety, hygienic design, automation controls or operational technology is desirable. Why Join Us? Kinrise is a fast paced, agile business that focuses on your talents and challenges you to perform at your best. An opportunity with us would mean: An opportunity to work with leading Australian-made brands and products An exciting role in a growing business with a great history and an ambitious growth agenda Supportive and collaborative team culture Kinrise is committed to creating an environment that welcomes all, celebrates our diversity in all its forms and fosters an environment of inclusion. We recognise that our unique differences are what sets us apart and how we succeed as a team. We are an equal opportunity employer. Kinrise is a proudly Australian, family-owned food company on a bold growth journey, creating moments of joy through food Australians know and love. Our promise to our people is Reach for More. It means being part of a team with the courage to aim high, roll up its sleeves and have each other's backs. Here, your ideas make an impact, your effort gets noticed and your growth comes through real opportunities. We're just getting started. If you love a challenge, you'll love working at Kinrise.