Head, Global Engineering

SD Guthrie International; Petaling Jaya; On-site; MYR 300,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

SD Guthrie International is seeking a senior Enterprise Engineering Leader in Malaysia to shape the Group-wide engineering roadmap, drive cross-business integration, and ensure delivery excellence across major initiatives.

You will oversee portfolio governance, investment optimisation, and capability building to support strategic growth, sustainability, and operational performance across asset-intensive operations.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from a recognised university.
• Professional Engineering certification or registration preferred.
• Postgraduate qualification in Engineering Management, Business Administration or related discipline.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering programmes across large organisations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and drive the Group-wide engineering roadmap aligned to business priorities.
• Establish and oversee a Group engineering portfolio management framework.
• Prioritise and optimise capital allocation across projects.
• Champion engineering standards, frameworks and best practices.
• Align stakeholders and influence senior leadership with data-driven insights.
• Build engineering leadership capability and culture of innovation.
• Provide governance and reporting on portfolio health and strategic risks.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Portfolio management

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering

PE certification/registration

Postgraduate qualification in Engineering Management or MBA

Job description

Job Description:

1. Enterprise Engineering Strategy & Integration

• Develop and drive the Group-wide engineering roadmap aligned to business priorities and transformation objectives.
• Identify opportunities to integrate engineering initiatives across businesses to maximise synergy, eliminate duplication and enhance enterprise value.
• Ensure engineering investments support long-term strategic growth, operational excellence and sustainability ambitions.

2. Portfolio Governance & Delivery Oversight

• Establish and oversee a Group engineering portfolio management framework covering major engineering projects and programmes.
• Monitor progress, risks, dependencies and performance of critical engineering initiatives across business units.
• Escalate key issues and recommend interventions to ensure successful delivery against agreed outcomes, timelines and budgets.

3. Engineering Investment Optimisation

• Facilitate enterprise-wide prioritisation and sequencing of engineering projects to optimise capital allocation and resource utilisation.
• Drive value engineering principles to improve cost effectiveness without compromising safety, quality or operational performance.
• Assess opportunities for shared services, common platforms and economies of scale across the Group.

4. Engineering Standards & Best Practice Leadership

• Champion the development and adoption of engineering standards, frameworks and methodologies to enhance consistency and execution excellence.
• Promote the sharing of engineering expertise, lessons learnt and innovative practices across businesses.
• Benchmark Group engineering practices against industry leaders to continuously improve organisational capability.

5. Stakeholder Alignment & Influence

• Act as the strategic interface between Group leadership and business unit engineering teams to drive alignment and collaboration.
• Build strong partnerships with operational leaders, project sponsors and functional experts to ensure enterprise-wide commitment to engineering priorities.
• Influence decision-making through data-driven insights and recommendations.

6. Capability Building & Future Readiness

• Identify emerging engineering trends, technologies and capabilities relevant to the Group’s strategic ambitions.
• Support the development of engineering leadership capability across the organisation.
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and cross-functional collaboration within the engineering community.

7. Performance Reporting & Governance

• Establish key performance indicators and reporting mechanisms for Group engineering initiatives.
• Provide regular updates to the Chief Transformation Officer and relevant governance forums on project performance, portfolio health and strategic risks.
• Ensure transparency, accountability and effective governance of engineering investments across the Group.

Job Requirements:

• Minimum 15 years of progressive engineering leadership experience, including direct responsibility for delivering large-scale, complex engineering initiatives.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from a recognised university.
• Professional Engineering certification or registration with a recognised engineering body is preferred.
• Postgraduate qualification in Engineering Management, Business Administration or related disciplines will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrated success in leading multi-disciplinary engineering programmes across large organisations operating in multiple geographic locations.
• Proven track record in managing significant engineering portfolios involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Experience in sectors such as industrial operations, manufacturing, energy, agribusiness, infrastructure or other asset-intensive industries would be advantageous.
• Exposure to enterprise transformation initiatives, capital project governance and organisational change management is highly desirable.