Production & Automation Lead — Scale High-Precision Manufacturing

Bota Systems AG; Zürich; On-site; CHF 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Direct impact on company growth

Small ambitious team

Employee participation

Job summary

Bota Systems AG in Zürich is seeking a Production & Automation Lead to transform today's manual cell-based assembly into a scalable, cost-efficient production system across multiple sites. You own production cost, capacity and process quality end to end, and you thrive when priorities shift as the company grows.

Your role combines hands-on shop-floor work with strategic supplier negotiations, DFx feedback to R&D, and the rollout of standardized work instructions.

Qualifications

• Degree in mechanical, mechatronics, production or industrial engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in production, manufacturing engineering or operations for precision electromechanical products.
• Proven record of reducing labor cost per unit through automation, standard work and lean, plus supplier negotiation.
• Hands-on mindset: you build fixtures, troubleshoot assemblies and work alongside technicians.
• Experience leading or coordinating a technical team.
• Fluent English; German is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Drive labor cost per unit down (top priority) and reduce costs through automation and standard work.
• Own labor hours per unit as KPI; set targets and report monthly.
• Automate assembly, calibration and test steps where it reduces labor per unit.
• Write and maintain standardized work instructions for consistent cycle times and quality.
• Run time studies, balance the line and remove waste using lean methods.
• Manage and coach the technician team for output, cross-training and continuous improvement.
• Own the bill-of-materials and unit-cost roadmap; set annual cost-reduction targets.
• Consolidate volumes and secure volume discounts; feed DFx/DFM back to R&D.
• Negotiate prices, lead times, MOQs and quality terms with suppliers.
• Plan production capacity against the sales forecast; hire and train technicians.
• Roll out additional production cells and sites; work hands-on on the shop floor.
• Track production data in ERP (Odoo) and ensure data accuracy.
• Align processes with quality standards and customer quality agreements; support audits.

Skills

Production management

Automation

Lean manufacturing

Supplier negotiation

Education

Degree in mechanical engineering

Mechatronics degree

Industrial engineering degree

Tools

Odoo ERP

SolidWorks

Job description

Bota Systems AG in Zürich is seeking a Production & Automation Lead to transform today's manual cell-based assembly into a scalable, cost-efficient production system across multiple sites. You own production cost, capacity and process quality end to end, and you thrive when priorities shift as the company grows.

Your role combines hands-on shop-floor work with strategic supplier negotiations, DFx feedback to R&D, and the rollout of standardized work instructions.