Senior Product Industrialization Expert - Hydraulic Hose

Company Description

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2024, Continental generated sales of €39.7 billion and currently employs around 190,000 people in 55 countries and markets.

Guided by the vision of being the customer's first choice for material-driven solutions, the ContiTech group sector focuses on development competence and material expertise for products and systems made of rubber, plastics, metal, and fabrics. These can also be equipped with electronic components in order to optimize them functionally for individual services. ContiTech\'s industrial growth areas are primarily in the areas of energy, agriculture, construction, and surfaces. In addition, ContiTech serves the automotive and transportation industries as well as rail transport.

Job Description

The Senior Industrialization Expert IAM – Hydraulic Hose is a critical member of the PPI BA Team, responsible for elevating industrialization excellence across the IAM organization. This role ensures that new products, technologies, and engineering changes are industrialized and transferred into serial production in a scalable, robust, and cost‑effective manner across multiple manufacturing sites. Serving as both a regional technical authority and a strategic partner to manufacturing plants, this position leads complex industrialization initiatives and ensures consistent launch readiness, process capability, and stable production performance. Leveraging deep expertise in hydraulic hose manufacturing processes and product–process interactions, the role drives problem solving, standardization, risk mitigation, continuous improvement, and alignment with global industrialization strategies. The position is responsible for the industrialization of products across multiple hydraulic hose plants within IAM, directly influencing the successful execution, industrialization, and continuous improvement of products representing approximately €300 M in annual revenue.

Location: ContiTech Fairlawn OH, Open to locating in Norfolk, NE or Mount Pleasant IA. Relocation within US possible. No international relocation

Tasks

Product Industrialization

• Serve as Business Area technical authority for hydraulic hose manufacturing processes, ensuring consistent standards and capability across all sites.
• Lead end‑to‑end industrialization of new products from design definition through launch and stable serial production.
• Provide expert guidance on manufacturing technologies, materials, and assembly processes, including escalation and problem‑solving support.
• Define and optimize processes, equipment concepts, tooling, and layouts to meet safety, quality, cost, scalability, and capability targets.
• Drive DFM/DFA alignment with Product Development, Quality, Operations, and cross‑functional teams.

Product and Process Improvement

• Provide technical support for engineering changes to ensure controlled, disruption‑free implementation.
• Lead improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Support structured problem‑solving using Lean and Six Sigma tools (A3, 8D, DMAIC, SPC, MSA).
• Lead optimization initiatives addressing cycle time, yield, scrap, and cost.
• Deploy and govern manufacturing best practices and technical standards to ensure consistency and long‑term process robustness.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Support PPI Leadership with reviewing post‑launch manufacturing performance to ensure stable serial production and compliance with industrialization standards.
• Support PPI Leadership with monitoring of KPIs for quality, efficiency, capability, and cost to ensure sustained technical performance.
• Identify and assess industrialization risks and coordinate mitigation actions with plant teams.
• Analyze trends and deviations to prevent recurrence and drive proactive improvement.
• Support PPI Leadership with reporting of performance, risks, and improvement actions to PPI, Business Area leadership, and Management.

Standardization & Trainings

• Drive implementation and adherence to global product and process standards across locations.
• Define, maintain, and deploy technical guidelines and best practices in alignment with sector and plant teams.
• Serve as subject matter expert for hydraulic hose industrialization, providing training, coaching, and technical support to engineers and plant teams.
• Support introduction of new technologies, materials, and processes through proper validation, documentation, and standardization.

Qualifications

Technical Expertise:

• Rubber and hydraulic hose technology, including braided and spiral designs and manufacturability
• Hydraulic hose production processes & equipment
• Core hose manufacturing processes (mandrel preparation, extrusion, braiding, cover, curing, blow‑out, pressure testing, etc.)
• Product and process industrialization technologies, systems, standards, and infrastructure
• Industrial engineering fundamentals and methods
• Design and product manufacturing test processes

Advanced Level:

• Problem‑solving and decision‑making tools (A3, 8D, DMAIC, SPC, MSA, etc.)
• Project management tools, methods, and execution
• Product lifecycle processes
• Quality Core Tools (PFMEA, APQP, MSA, R&R, flowcharting, process control plans)
• Lean production / CBS principles, methods, and tools
• Communication and stakeholder engagement

Basic Level:

• Financial product cost understanding

Travel Requirement: Ability and willingness to travel approximately 70–80% domestically and within the Americas region.

Education: Bachelor\'s degree: in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Chemical, or a related engineering or science fields

Professional Experience:

• More than 10 years of extensive experience in Process and Manufacturing Engineering, with deep expertise in hydraulic hose manufacturing processes.
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience in rubber and plastic production processes and ramp‑up projects.
• Deep expertise in the processes (Mandrel Preparation, Extrusion, Braiding, Cover, Assembly, Curing, Blow out, Pressure Test and Crimping)

Leadership & Intercultural Experience:

• Prefer: Leading Projects and specific teams (giving direction, feedback, motivation)
• Strong Communication skills
• Experienced working with international teams on production topics and understanding of foreign cultures
• Proficient in English is mandatory

Additional Information

Continental is committed to building an inclusive and discrimination‑free ecosystem. These principles are rooted in our corporate philosophy and culture. It is forbidden to request a pregnancy or HIV test as part of our selection processes.

Ready to drive with Continental? Apply online.