Job Description

BE GREAT TOGETHER WITH US.

Innovation, Efficiency and Ambition: this is what VAT has stood for over 50 years.

With this passion, VAT has grown to become the leading international developer, manufacturer and supplier of high-performance high-end vacuum valves and vacuum sealing technology, employing over 2000 people worldwide. The headquarters are located in Haag (Switzerland), the production centers in Switzerland, Malaysia, Romania and Taiwan.

We are looking for Service Center Team Leader to lead the service center team as the primary operational owner for after-sales service, repair, failure analysis, customer support, and service performance.

Your responsibilities include, but not limited to:

• Plan, prioritize, and control daily service center operations including manpower allocation, failure analysis, repair and rework execution, spare parts availability, system transactions, service lead-time adherence, and shipment coordination.
• Supervise and develop service engineers, technicians, and coordinators through clear work direction, coaching, skills assessment, performance feedback, discipline, and capability development plans.
• Build an effective team structure by maintaining the skill matrix, identifying competency gaps, ensuring adequate cross-training, and preparing succession or backup coverage for critical service activities.
• Ensure all products requiring servicing, repair, or failure analysis are properly registered, traceable, and processed according to the defined service workflow without omission.
• Coordinate product receiving, outgoing shipments, customer returns, and decontamination documentation with internal stakeholders, logistics partners, and customers.
• Drive achievement of service center KPIs including safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, service lead time, customer response time, inventory accuracy, and on-time system updates.
• Lead customer escalation handling by coordinating technical investigation, containment actions, root cause analysis, corrective actions, reporting, and timely communication with relevant stakeholders.
• Lead large-scale service center projects such as capacity expansion, new product service readiness, process industrialization, layout changes, digitalization, automation, equipment ramp-up, and service workflow transformation.
• Plan and manage project execution across scope, timeline, resources, risks, stakeholder alignment, communication, implementation readiness, and sustainable handover to daily operations.
• Ensure sufficient equipment, tools, jigs, fixtures, test flanges, spare parts, documentation, and technical resources are available to support daily service, repair, testing, and packaging activities.
• Provide technical leadership for vacuum valve servicing, functional leak testing, troubleshooting, replication activities, final inspection, customized packaging, and release for shipment.
• Ensure service work is performed within required quality standards, planned cycle time, approved cost expectations, safety requirements, procedures, and work instructions.
• Maintain accurate and timely information in D365, including inventory, cost, quality, delivery lead time, service status, and other required transactions or records.
• Monitor inventory and spare parts readiness by maintaining optimal stock levels, coordinating shortages, and escalating availability risks that may impact service delivery commitments.
• Lead continuous improvement, 5S, safety, productivity, and quality initiatives to improve service center maturity, standard work adherence, operational stability, and customer satisfaction.
• Ensure preventive maintenance of equipment, devices, jigs, and fixtures is planned, completed, recorded, and escalated when technical or capacity risks are identified.
  Prepare, review, and communicate accurate service reports, project updates, KPI performance, capacity status, risks, and recovery plans to management and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Production, Planning, Customer Service, and global service organizations to resolve issues and align service center priorities.
• Support or lead on-site servicing and technical support activities for customers when required, ensuring professional representation and effective closure of technical concerns.
• Promote a disciplined, accountable, and collaborative team culture by reinforcing safety behavior, quality mindset, ownership, communication, and continuous learning.
• Identify operational risks, resource constraints, technical bottlenecks, and customer delivery concerns early, and drive structured mitigation or escalation actions.
• Perform any other leadership, operational, project, or technical duties as assigned by the superior.

Key Competencies and Skills

• Degree in Mechanical / Mechatronics / Electrical / Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent qualification.
• Preferably a minimum of 8 years’ experience in similar vacuum valve servicing processes.
• Preferably possesses knowledge in leak testing, store min/max maintenance, and material handling/kitting.
• Excellent customer service and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to quality.
• Ability to work well under deadlines and manage multiple tasks.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with Dynamic D365 MRP system will be an added advantage.
• 8D problem solving, or other equivalent problem solving methods.

VAT is an equal opportunity employer. We see ourselves as a responsible and far-sighted employer that offers not only jobs, but also career and personal development opportunities through various training programs. We recognize the value of employee diversity and provide equal employment opportunity for all qualified application that contributes to innovation, improves customer orientation and employee satisfaction. One-step in this direction is to ensure that people are recognized and fairly compensated for their contributions to the company. In 2021, VAT received the Fair-ON-Pay+ certificate as an acknowledgement for our commitment in ensuring equal pay for equal work between men and women.