Director, Manufacturing Engineering
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 9, 2026. First seen by Alion on Nov 9, 2026. Bluefors scores B on the Alion truth index.
We are looking for a Director, Manufacturing Engineering to join our DR Operations & Supply Chain organization in Helsinki. In this key leadership role, you will build the capabilities and ways of working that turn new product innovations into manufacturable, scalable, and reliably deliverable products. You will lead Manufacturing Engineering across industrialization, new product introduction, production support, test development, manufacturing data, and engineering change implementation, while developing and leading a team of approximately 20 professionals. Interested? Keep reading!
You will own the Manufacturing Engineering strategy, operating model, and capability roadmap. A central part of your role is to create and lead a systematic end-to-end process for transferring new products from Offering Development into normal order-to-delivery operations. You will ensure that manufacturability, supply chain ramp-up, test and validation capability, product data, documentation, training, and production readiness are in place before release. You will also strengthen the management of product changes and support the performance and continued development of the existing product portfolio.
Success requires close cross-functional leadership. You will be a key link between Operations and Offering Development, proactively building visibility into product roadmaps and ensuring that technical requirements and manufacturing readiness are addressed early enough. You will work closely with Production, Supply Chain, Quality, Service, Customer Delivery, IT, and product and engineering leaders across the organization. As Bluefors develops its international manufacturing footprint, you will also help build common ways of working that support controlled new product ramp-ups and product maintenance across sites.
We are looking for an experienced manufacturing engineering leader who has seen complex industrial environments, managed product and production ramp-ups and ramp-downs, and helped build a scalable supply chain. You combine strong process and systems thinking with pragmatic execution and the confidence to set clear expectations across organizational boundaries. You do not need to be the deepest technical expert in every area, but you must be able to lead experts, understand what manufacturing readiness requires, and turn complexity into clear priorities, ownership, and action.
Why join us?
At Bluefors, you have the opportunity to help build the technologies that enable the future of quantum technology. Our solutions provide the ultra-low-temperature environments needed to turn some of the world's most ambitious scientific and technological ideas into reality.
In this role, you will be at the heart of that journey, turning ambitious R&D innovations into manufacturable, scalable products and production capabilities. You will have a direct influence on how Bluefors grows, how new technologies are industrialized, and how successfully we can serve our customers around the world.
This is a rare opportunity to shape the future product portfolio of a global technology leader, build new ways of working across functions and manufacturing sites, and create capabilities for the next phase of growth. At Bluefors, your work will not only shape how we manufacture today, but help enable technologies that can change the world.
Main responsibilities:
Own and develop the Manufacturing Engineering strategy, operating model, standards, competencies, and capability roadmap, and lead an organization of approximately 20 professionals.
Own the Operations industrialization and manufacturing-readiness process within the end-to-end NPI process, ensuring a controlled transfer of new products from Offering Development into normal order-to-delivery operations.
Ensure manufacturability and predictable supply chain ramp-up, including production processes, tooling, test and validation capability, product data, documentation, training, and release readiness.
Lead manufacturing and service engineering support, production test development, manufacturing data and traceability, structured problem solving, and the controlled implementation of engineering changes.
Build strong cross-functional and multi-site ways of working across Operations, Offering Development, Production, Supply Chain, Quality, Service, Customer Delivery, and IT.
What we expect from you:
Master's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
At least 10 years of relevant experience in high-tech or industrial manufacturing, engineering, industrialization, manufacturing engineering, or production operations.
Proven leadership experience in manufacturing engineering, industrialization, or operational development, including leading managers, specialists, and technical experts through change and growth.
A strong track record in new product industrialization, production ramp-ups, engineering change implementation, and building scalable processes and supply chain capabilities, together with fluent written and spoken English.
We also appreciate
Experience from a complex low-volume/high-mix manufacturing environment and from developing operations across more than one manufacturing site.
A people-centered leadership style that combines clear direction and accountability with trust, delegation, coaching, and the ability to remain calm and adaptable in a rapidly changing environment.
Experience with Lean and continuous improvement, production test and data environments, and digital manufacturing principles across systems such as ERP, PLM, MES, test systems, and reporting platforms.
Please apply as soon as possible, on November 24, 2026 at the latest, through our recruitment system at BLUEFORS.COM. We review applications on an ongoing basis, and the position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found. Please note that we are unable to accept applications via email.
For more information, please contact our Vice President, DR Operations & Supply Chain Janne Nieminen, [email protected]. Janne can also be reached at +358 50 3639690 during the following times: Nov. 10, 14:00-15:00, Nov. 16, 10:00-11:00 and Nov. 19, 13:00-14:00.