John Cockerill, enablers of opportunities
Driven since 1817 by the entrepreneurial spirit and thirst for innovation of its founder, the John Cockerill Group develops large-scale technological solutions to meet the needs of its time: facilitating access to low carbon energies, enabling sustainable industrial production, preserving natural resources, contributing to greener mobility, enhancing security and installing essential infrastructures.
Its offer to businesses, governments and communities consists of services and associated equipment for the sectors of energy, defence, industry, the environment, transports, and infrastructures. With more than 8,000 employees, John Cockerill achieved a turnover of € 1.417 billion in 2024 in 28 countries, on 5 continents.
Department: E&A
Reports To: Engineering Head
Role Purpose
Provide strategic and technical leadership for all Electrical, Instrumentation & Automation functions across JCIL products. Ensure high reliability of power distribution and automation systems in our main products for process line and rolling mills. Drive safety, innovation, digitalisation, energy optimisation and compliance in a high-load, continuous-process steel environment. Reinforce JCIL E&A team and our market position as E&A direct player and downstream line suppliers.
Key Responsibilities for Process lines and Mills:
1. Electrical Systems Management
- Lead maintenance and reliability of HT/LT networks, substations, transformers, rectifiers, and heavy-duty motors.
- Ensure uninterrupted power supply to critical units.
- Approve protection coordination, relay settings, load flow analysis, and power factor optimisation.
- Drive predictive maintenance (thermography, condition monitoring, PD testing).
2. Automation & Process Control
- Oversee automation architecture for steel process line and Mills (Level 1/Level 2 systems, PLC/DCS/SCADA).
- Lead upgrades for drives (VFDs/AC-DC drives), control logic optimisation, and digital sensors.
- Ensure robust industrial networks (Profibus, Profinet, Ethernet/IP) and cybersecurity of automation systems.
3. CAPEX, Modernisation & Project Execution
- Lead E&A engineering for new lines (direct E&A orders and JCIL project), revamping and automation upgrades.
- Review and approve equipment specifications, single-line diagrams (SLDs), load lists, layouts, instrumentation specs, FAT/SAT.
- Scout and develop new EPC vendors along with E&A global category manager, OEMs (Siemens, ABB ), panel manufacturers, and system integrators along with existing vendors.
- Deliver projects within cost, quality, and timelines from estimation to design and manufacturing and commissioning.
4. Safety, Statutory & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with:
- CEA Regulations
- Electrical Safety Rules
- ISO 45001, ISO 50001
- Factory & statutory inspection norms
- Drive zero-incident culture: LOTOTO, arc flash protection, grounding systems, and electrical risk mitigation.
- Conduct regular safety audits & implement corrective actions.
6. Reliability, Digitalisation & Industry 4.0
- Drive predictive analytics using IoT sensors, online monitoring of motors/drives, vibration analysis.
- Implement advanced E&A solutions:
- MES integration
- Level 2 automation enhancements
- Historian & data analytics
- AI-based process optimisation (e.g., furnace control, mill speed control)
- Benchmark with global best practices in steel automation.
7. Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead a multi-skilled team of electrical, automation, and instrumentation engineers across different units. Coordinate with both Electrical and Automation design team.
- Build capability in areas like PLC/DCS, Level 2 automation, robotics, and high-voltage systems. Plan for development of JCIL own level 1 and level 2 in all legacy products (mills and process lines).
- Develop succession pipeline and cross-functional network (with other offices and global category manager for procurement).
- Set and monitor challenging objectives inline with company targets.
8. Vendor, Budget & Stakeholder Management
- Prepare and manage annual E&A budgets, spare planning, and contracts.
- Evaluate new technologies, negotiate with OEMs, and audit vendor performance.
- Collaborate closely with Operations, Mechanical, Projects, Procurement (GCM), Quality, Safety, and IT teams.
- Close coordination with JCIL Proposal and E&A sale in order to give proper estimation and schedule for execution for each proposal (direct E&A order or JCIL line project).
- Evaluate monthly and yearly workload against capacity projection for strategic execution plan (short-mid and long term)
Qualifications & Experience
- Education: B.E./B.Tech in Electrical Engineering / Electronics & Instrumentation / Automation.
- Experience:
- 15- 20 years in steel industry (downstream cold line preference).
- Strong exposure to process and cold mill automation, rolling mill drives, and high-capacity electrical systems.
- Minimum 5–8 years in leadership roles.
Key Competencies
- Deep technical knowledge of steel plant electrical systems & automation.
- Strong understanding of Level 1, Level 2 & MES systems.
- Reliability engineering & root-cause analysis.
- Project management & vendor negotiation.
- Leadership, strategic thinking & problem-solving.
- Commitment to safety and continuous improvement.
John Cockerill offers you career and development opportunities within its various sectors in a friendly working environment.
Do you want to work for an innovative company that will allow you to take up technical challenges on a daily basis?
We look forward to receiving your application and to meeting you!
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