Head of Digital & Industrial Innovation

Nexans; Courbevoie; Sur place; EUR 80 000 - 120 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A leading industrial company is seeking a Head of Digital & Industrial Innovation to drive digital transformation and AI integration across its operations. This role requires a visionary leader with over 8 years of experience in industrial environments, focusing on automation and innovation. Candidates should possess strong project management skills and be fluent in English. Join a dynamic team shaping the future of industrial operations.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in a multi-site industrial environment.
• Strong track record in leading digital or innovation programs.
• Knowledge of industrial AI applications and robotics preferred.
• Experience in Operations management is a must.

Responsabilités

• Ensure continuity and evolution of the digital Industrial Transformation program for the plants.
• Secure and steer the progress of the current digital initiatives across all plants.
• Identify high-impact use cases for AI in manufacturing.

Connaissances

Innovation leadership

Digital transformation

Project management

AI integration

Robotics knowledge

Communication skills

Fluency in English

Formation

Degree in engineering (automation, industrial IT, or equivalent)

Description du poste

Job Description

Head of Digital & Industrial Innovation

Posting Start Date: 10/30/25

Industrial Operations

France

Nexans HQ - Courbevoie

Full Time

Experienced - over 5 years

ID: 78892

The company has initiated a major strategic orientation towards innovation to support its growth in value rather than in volume.

Digital business transformation is a journey to adopt and deploy digital technologies and business models to improve performance quantifiably. The first step is to grasp the need for change an imperative driven by the inevitability of digital disruption. Digital disruption now has the potential to overturn incumbents and reshape markets faster than perhaps any force in history. Simply put, digital disruption is the effect of digital technologies and business models on a company's current value proposition, and its resulting market position.

The portfolio rationalization is initializing to focus and invest only on profitable customers, and it relies on our capability to provide tailored Services solutions which shall create strong differentiation versus competition and increase Nexans' competitive advantage.

Nexans has already launched key partnership in the digital area in order to amplify its transformation.

Nexans partners with Schneider Electric on digital transformation program to bring industrial 4.0 to plant operations and amplify sustainability. The aim is to accelerate the transformation of Nexans into a business driven by clear, rich and actionable data as the foundation for improved business performance, safety and flexibility.

• Nexans announced a collaboration with Microsoft to electrify the future by accelerating the development of digital solutions, developing enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud solutions as the foundation for digital services and solutions that will drive the global energy transition.
• Nexans, in partnership with start-up Cosmo Tech, is offering a new network asset management service, using the "digital twin" concept.

For the past five years, a Group-wide digitalization program has been rolled out across approximately 50 manufacturing sites. This program has established solid foundations in areas such as MES, IoT, and data analytics. The Group is now entering a new phase, focused on consolidating existing gains, ensuring continuity, and defining the next frontier of its industrial transformation. Key new challenges include integrating artificial intelligence into core processes and initiating a strategic vision for plant robotics. This role is central to structuring and driving these innovation tracks in a scalable, sustainable, and business-aligned way.

The Head of Digital & Industrial Innovation will serve as the visionary leader and catalyst for advancing the organization's capabilities, driving the transformation of traditional industrial operations into a data-driven and ensuring the right continuity of the execution of the Digital roadmap at the service of industrial standardization and performance.

In addition, as the organization is at the early stages of AI adoption, the Head of Digital & Industrial Innovation will lead the development of AI-based solutions in our operations, build internal talent and expertise, and foster a culture of innovation and change. They will bridge the gap between industrial domain knowledge and emerging AI technologies to unlock value through improved efficiency, predictive maintenance, quality control, and automation in closed coordination with Digital & AI group Director.

Areas of responsibilities

• Ensure continuity and evolution of the digital Industrial Transformation program for the plants.
• Secure and steer the progress of the current digital initiatives across all plants.
• Assess digital maturity levels and identify areas for reinforcement or scaling.
• Ensure the animation of the Digital Leads network across the world. Deep adoption of the tools by the blue collar worker is a must.
• Define the next phase of the digital roadmap aligned with industrial strategy and standardization objectives.
• Support the plant leaders to ensure adoption and value creation from digital tools (debottlenecking, capacity management, S&OP process, industrial performance, safety, etc.).

Integrate AI into industrial processes

• Identify high-impact use cases for AI in manufacturing (customer service, differentiation, lead time, predictive maintenance, process optimization, quality control, energy efficiency, industrial performance, S&OP and load balance, standardization...).
• Drive collaboration between industrial, data science, and IT teams.
• Supervise pilots and ensure industrialization of validated AI solutions.
• Promote data-driven decision-making culture within operational teams.

Drive strategic thinking and pilots around plant robotics

• Map current levels of automation and robotics across the Group.
• Benchmark technologies and assess feasibility of robotics expansion (robotization, cobots, AGVs, etc.).
• Develop a mid / long-term robotics vision aligned with business and workforce evolution.
• Identify pilot projects with potential for scale-up.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Identify capability gaps and proactively bring in new talent or expertise to support strategic goals; including hiring, contracting, or partnering with external specialists as needed.
• Create an environment that supports continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and experimentation.

Business impact & Performance measurement

• Track the performance on cash generation, safety and quality of all initiatives.
• Report regularly to executive leadership on strategy progress, project outcomes, and capability maturity.
• Use insights and feedback to continuously improve AI solutions and processes.

Candidate profile

• Education: Degree in engineering (general, automation, industrial IT, or equivalent). Additional training in digital transformation or AI is a plus.
• Experience: Minimum 8-10 years of experience in a multi-site industrial environment. Strong track record in leading digital or innovation programs. Knowledge of industrial AI applications and robotics preferred. Experience in Operations management is a must.
• Key Competencies: Proven leadership in matrixed, cross-functional environments. Results-driven with the ability to turn innovation into business value and cash generation. Strong project management and communication skills, with ability to evolve between strategy and hands-on problem solving. Strategic thinking, technological curiosity, and pragmatism.
• Languages: Fluent in English (mandatory). Other languages (Spanish, Portuguese) are a plus depending on plant locations.

Why Join This Mission?

Shape the next chapter of a successful industrial digitalization journey. Be a key driver of innovation with tangible operational impact. Work in a dynamic, multicultural environment at the intersection of industry and technology.

Information at a Glance

...