Manufacturing AI Expert

About Molex

Molex is a global leader in connectivity solutions, serving customers across the automotive, industrial, data communications, consumer electronics, healthcare, and telecommunications industries.

As part of our digital transformation journey, we are accelerating the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across our manufacturing operations to drive improvements in productivity, quality, maintenance, planning, inventory management, and supply chain performance.

Role Purpose

Molex is establishing a team of Manufacturing AI Experts to apply AI and advanced analytics to real-world manufacturing challenges and deliver measurable improvements across key sites.

This role is designed for a hands-on, business-oriented AI expert who can connect manufacturing needs with practical AI solutions—not an AI-modeling role in isolation.

Priority Focus Areas

·Quality improvement, including real-time inspection, defect reduction, and closed-loop quality systems.

·Predictive maintenance and AI-enabled equipment management.

·Production and supply planning optimization, including forecasting, scheduling, resource allocation, and decision support.

·Manufacturing productivity and throughput improvement, including bottleneck identification and OEE improvement.

·Inventory and supply chain optimization where AI can improve planning, risk identification, replenishment, and inventory performance.

·Digital transformation and practical adoption of AI across manufacturing operations.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing & Quality Improvement

·Identify high-impact manufacturing problems and opportunities where AI and advanced analytics can improve quality, productivity, cost, or operational performance.

·Develop and deploy practical AI solutions for real-time inspection, defect detection, root-cause analysis, and closed-loop quality improvement.

·Analyze manufacturing bottlenecks and improve throughput and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

·Partner with operations, quality, engineering, and site teams to implement data-driven continuous improvement.

Predictive Maintenance & Equipment Management

·Identify equipment and maintenance use cases suitable for AI and predictive analytics.

·Develop and deploy predictive maintenance solutions and AI-enabled equipment-management capabilities.

·Translate equipment data into actionable recommendations that improve reliability, availability, and maintenance decision-making.

Production, Supply & Planning Optimization

·Apply AI and advanced analytics to production planning, scheduling, resource allocation, demand forecasting, and supply planning.

·Improve inventory performance through forecasting, safety-stock, replenishment, and planning analytics where appropriate.

·Develop predictive analytics to identify and mitigate supply chain risks and support end-to-end planning decisions.

AI Deployment & Transformation

·Identify, evaluate, and prioritize high-impact AI use cases at manufacturing sites.

·Move AI solutions from concept or research into practical production environments and measure business outcomes.

·Work cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, IT, and other stakeholders.

·Translate business and manufacturing requirements into scalable AI applications.

·Support AI adoption and continuous improvement, including communicating results, lessons learned, and business value.

Candidate Profile

We are open to two complementary talent profiles:

·Manufacturing-led profile: Strong manufacturing operations experience combined with demonstrated AI/advanced analytics expertise.

·AI/research-led profile: Strong academic or AI research background with the practical ability to apply AI to real-world manufacturing problems.

Required Qualifications

·Proven experience in manufacturing operations, preferably in connector manufacturing, electronics, automotive, semiconductor, or other high-volume manufacturing environments.

·Strong understanding of AI, advanced analytics, and data-driven technologies applied to manufacturing environments.

·Demonstrated ability to identify and implement AI solutions that improve manufacturing performance, quality, productivity, maintenance, planning, or cost.

·Hands-on experience bridging manufacturing expertise and AI/advanced analytics rather than AI theory alone, or demonstrated ability to translate advanced AI research into practical manufacturing applications.

·Practical knowledge of manufacturing processes, operational challenges, and decision-making.

·Track record of successfully deploying or supporting digital transformation and AI adoption in manufacturing.

·Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to translate business needs into scalable AI applications.

·Excellent collaboration and communication skills across manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, and IT teams.

·Ability to work effectively across regions and cultures and influence stakeholders without relying on direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

Strongly Preferred

·Experience with smart factories or digital manufacturing implementations.

·Experience in electronics, connectors, automotive, semiconductor, or high-volume manufacturing industries.

·Smart Factory implementation experience.

·Experience establishing or leading an AI Center of Excellence (CoE).

·Experience working in multinational manufacturing companies.

·Demonstrated success leading enterprise-scale AI transformations.

Additional Advantages

·Microsoft 365 Copilot implementation experience.

·Copilot Studio experience.

·Azure Cloud Architecture experience.

·Computer Vision implementation experience.

·Predictive Maintenance deployment experience.

·Certification in AI, Data Science, Cloud Computing, or related technologies.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate can demonstrate:

·Successful delivery of multiple AI projects within manufacturing environments.

·Quantifiable improvements in productivity, quality, inventory, or supply chain performance.

·Strong communication skills with both technical and business stakeholders.

·Ability to influence leadership and drive organizational change.

·A passion for transforming manufacturing operations through data, AI, and innovation.

*At Molex, we are looking for more than an AI expert. We are looking for a manufacturing transformation leader who has leveraged AI to deliver measurable operational and business results.