AGM / Deputy Head – Foundry & Railway Products Production

Job Description:

Employment: Full-time, plant-based
Experience: Preferably 10–18 years of relevant experience
Reporting to: GM – Foundry, with regular reviews by company management

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced production professional to work closely with the existing Foundry GM and take end-to-end responsibility for daily manufacturing operations.

Our railway-product focus includes freight wagon bogies, couplers and draft gears, alongside cast manganese steel (CMS) crossings for railway tracks. We intend to expand into additional railway products and casting applications.

The candidate should understand the production requirements of these product families and progressively assume broader responsibility for the foundry and railway-products operations.

This is a long-term leadership role with potential to progress to Foundry Head / General Manager, based on capability, performance and business requirements.

Key Responsibilities

1. End-to-End Production Ownership

• Translate orders and delivery commitments into product-wise production plans.

• Coordinate the complete manufacturing flow: patterns and tooling, moulding, core making, melting, pouring, fettling, heat treatment, finishing, machining, assembly, testing and dispatch, as applicable.

• Take responsibility for daily output, work-in-progress, material availability, manpower utilisation and delivery schedules.

• Identify bottlenecks and coordinate timely corrective action across departments.

• Plan production across existing products and new product introductions.

2. Railway-Product Manufacturing

• Oversee production of freight wagon bogie castings and associated components, coupler components and assemblies, draft gear components and assemblies, and CMS crossings, according to the manufacturing scope.

• Understand the different casting, machining, bought-out component, assembly and testing requirements of each product family.

• Coordinate with engineering, quality, procurement and external processors to complete the full production cycle.

• Ensure shop-floor execution follows approved drawings, process instructions and applicable specifications.

• Support trial production, product development and expansion into additional railway products.

3. Foundry Processes and Quality Improvement

• Supervise process control for steel and high-manganese steel castings with the metallurgy and quality teams.

• Review casting methods, mould and core quality, metal quality, pouring practices and heat-treatment execution.

• Investigate casting defects, dimensional problems, rejections, rework and customer complaints.

• Improve casting yield, first-pass acceptance, productivity and consistency.

• Ensure heat-wise, batch-wise and component-wise traceability as applicable.

• Coordinate inspection, non-destructive testing, mechanical testing and functional testing with qualified personnel.

4. RDSO and Customer Requirements

• Work with quality and technical teams on applicable RDSO requirements, approved drawings, quality assurance plans and customer specifications.

• Prepare production areas and records for customer inspections, audits and product trials.

• Close production-related observations and corrective actions.

• Support new-product qualification and approval activities through consistent manufacturing and documented process control.

5. People, Maintenance and Cost Control

• Lead supervisors, operators, workers and contractors across the production departments.

• Plan shifts, allocate responsibilities and develop capable departmental backups.

• Coordinate preventive maintenance, breakdown response, critical spares and equipment availability.

• Monitor metal yield, energy, consumables, labour productivity, rework and product-wise manufacturing costs.

• Maintain safe working practices, housekeeping and operating discipline.

6. Knowledge Transfer and Leadership Development

• Work closely with the existing GM to learn product-specific practices, process decisions, historical quality issues and operating priorities.

• Document established know-how, validated process parameters, troubleshooting practices and operating procedures.

• Progressively take independent responsibility for production reviews, problem-solving and departmental coordination.

• Develop the team and systems needed for continuity of operations and future growth.

Candidate Profile

• Strong practical experience in steel foundry and railway-product manufacturing.

• Working understanding of bogies, couplers, draft gears and CMS crossings, with demonstrable hands-on responsibility in relevant product lines.

• Experience managing multiple production stages and coordinating casting, machining, assembly and testing.

• Exposure to RDSO/customer inspections, manufacturing documentation and quality requirements.

• Proven ability to improve output, reduce rejection, control costs and meet delivery commitments.

• Degree or diploma in metallurgy, foundry technology, mechanical or production engineering preferred.

• Ability to work constructively with an experienced GM, lead shop-floor teams and gradually assume wider leadership responsibility.

Initial Priorities

• Understand the existing product range, production routes, team structure and order book.

• Establish reliable daily production, quality, cost and delivery reporting.

• Identify major bottlenecks and prepare a practical improvement plan.

• Begin structured documentation and knowledge transfer with the GM.

• Agree a phased allocation of operating responsibilities with management.

Guidance for Recruitment

Please identify candidates capable of becoming the future head of the foundry and railway-products production operations.

For each candidate, provide a product-wise experience summary covering bogies, couplers, draft gears and CMS crossings, clearly distinguishing direct production responsibility from general exposure.

Please share the candidate’s CV, plants and production volumes handled, team size managed, examples of operational improvements, inspection experience, current and expected CTC, notice period and willingness to relocate.