Manufacturing Digitalization Manager

About Us

Essity is a global leader in health and hygiene headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with a North American headquarters in Philadelphia, PA. We are a multi-billion-dollar company with a purpose to break barriers to well-being for consumers, patients, caregivers, and customers worldwide. Our Professional Hygiene, Personal Care, and Health & Medical business units provide hygiene and health solutions to over a billion people daily through innovation.

About The Role

We are looking for a Manufacturing Digitalization Manager for the US Region to lead and accelerate the digital manufacturing agenda across our US factories. This position could be located in Neenah, WI; Harrodsburg, KY; or Cherokee, AL. The role will translate the global manufacturing digitalization strategy into a practical regional roadmap, drive adoption of standard digital tools, strengthen local ownership, and ensure digital initiatives deliver measurable operational value.

The successful candidate will act as a key bridge between US manufacturing sites, regional leadership, global Manufacturing Digitalization, IT/OT, Manufacturing Excellence/TPM, Maintenance, Production, Quality, RESH, and Supply Chain.

Responsibilities

• Translate the digital manufacturing vision, strategy, and roadmap of the Global Supply Chain Enablement into a practical execution plan for the US region.
• Contribute to the creation of global standards and set up digitalization governance models.
• Lead the US regional digitalization roadmap creation, aligned with global standards, operational priorities, and business value.
• Drive adoption of standard digital manufacturing tools across factories, ensuring they are embedded into daily routines and deliver measurable impact.
• Build and coordinate a network of site digitalization representatives or key users to support local ownership, training, adoption, data quality, and follow-up.
• Work closely with plant managers, production leaders, maintenance teams, engineers, operators, and technicians to understand operational needs and ensure digital solutions are practical and valuable on the shop floor.
• Support change management by engaging frontline teams early, listening to feedback, and ensuring digital tools simplify work, improve visibility, reduce manual effort, and support better daily execution.
• Lead or coordinate deployments of core digital manufacturing platforms such as MES, historians, dashboards, IIoT solutions, digital maintenance tools, and skills management tools.
• Promote consistent data practices, KPI alignment with global standards, data quality, and analytics usage across US factories.
• Partner with IT, OT, and Information Security to ensure digital manufacturing solutions follow cybersecurity, architecture, and governance standards.
• Identify and prioritize digital use cases that improve production efficiency, maintenance reliability, sustainability, quality, safety, standard work, and decision-making.
• Explore and support the deployment of advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, robotics, automation, and intelligent decision-support solutions where they create clear operational value.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics, Automation, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing, operations, engineering, maintenance, automation, or industrial digitalization, with strong manufacturing know-how.
• 3+ years of experience leading digital manufacturing, smart factory, automation, MES, OT, or data-driven improvement initiatives.
• Strong manufacturing background, preferably in large FMCG, Consumer Goods, hygiene, paper, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, or other high-volume manufacturing environments.
• Proven experience leading digital manufacturing transformation across multiple sites.
• Experience working in a global or regional matrix organization, translating global standards into practical site-level execution.
• Proven project/program management experience, including delivery of digitalization, automation, data, or manufacturing system projects from planning through deployment, adoption, and value realization.
• Demonstrated ability to drive adoption of standard tools and processes across factories with varying levels of digital maturity.

Skills

• Good understanding of manufacturing systems and technologies such as MES, historians, SCADA, PLC/DCS integration, IIoT, dashboards, SAP PM, digital maintenance, analytics, or shop floor execution tools.
• Strong leadership capabilities, including change management, coaching, communication, feedback, stakeholder engagement, critical thinking, and analytical problem-solving.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and build alignment across operations, IT/OT, maintenance, engineering, quality, RESH, manufacturing excellence, and supply chain.
• Strong business orientation, connecting digital initiatives to measurable improvements in efficiency, reliability, safety, quality, sustainability, standard work, and decision-making.
• Practical, hands-on mindset with the ability to balance global standardization, local site needs, cybersecurity requirements, and operational realities.
• Experience or exposure to AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, robotics, and automation projects is a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive annual salary + annual incentive bonus + benefits.
• United Healthcare PPO / EyeMed Vision Insurance / Delta Dental Insurance.
• Wellness program provided through Rally.
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).
• 401(k) with employer match and annual employer base contribution.
• Company-paid Basic Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• PTO offering with Paid Holidays.
• Scholarship program for children of Essity employees.