Site Head / Managing Director - WaferFab (m,f,d)

Full P&L & Operational Leadership | 500-Person Manufacturing Site | Hesse, Germany | Global Semiconductor Group

Our client is a global semiconductor manufacturer employing over 20,000 people worldwide, with a network of factories spanning multiple business units. Known for an agile, fast-moving and people-first way of working, the business is now investing significantly in its wafer fab site in the Hesse region of Germany - and is looking for a Site Head to lead it through the next chapter of its transformation.

The Opportunity

This is a rare, full-scope leadership role: total ownership of a c.500-person wafer fab site, including production, engineering, maintenance, R&D and lab functions. Unlike narrower plant management positions, this role carries genuine managing-director-level authority over every function on site.

The site is in the middle of an ambitious transformation - improving cost competitiveness, lead times and delivery performance, while embedding a stronger, more unified culture and modern manufacturing systems. This isn't a role for someone who wants to maintain the status quo; it's a rare chance to lead visible, meaningful change and leave a lasting mark on a factory with real strategic importance to the wider group.

As part of a 20,000-strong global organisation, the successful candidate will also gain exposure to, and the ability to learn from, sister factories around the world - with a clear path to broader regional or global operations leadership over time.

What You'll Own

• Full site leadership across production, engineering, maintenance, R&D, lab operations, quality and EHS - true end-to-end accountability, not just production.

• Site P&L, cost base, delivery performance and customer commitments, with a mandate to restore competitiveness and profitability.

• Delivery of the site's transformation agenda - driving culture change, modernising manufacturing systems, and lifting operational discipline.

• Leadership, motivation and development of a c.500-person workforce, building a unified, high-performing site culture.

• Close collaboration with global business unit leadership, sharing and adopting best practice across the group's international factory network.

• Stakeholder management with works councils, local authorities, customers and the wider leadership team.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven leadership of a semiconductor wafer fab, or a comparable large-scale, highly technical manufacturing site.

• A strong engineering foundation, combined with genuine commercial and P&L accountability.

• A track record of leading operational or cultural transformation - someone energised by fixing and building, not just running an already-optimised site.

• Natural people leadership: the ability to unite, motivate and develop a large, diverse workforce through change.

• Confidence operating as a true site MD, engaging comfortably with global executives as well as shop-floor teams.

• Willingness to be based on-site in the Hesse region of Germany, with fluent German language skills required.