Interim Chief Operating Officer — Embedded Systems Supply Recovery

The mandate

A sole-source power-module supplier entered insolvency, stopping production of controllers committed to industrial and mobility customers. The operations chief has taken extended medical leave, so qualification, allocation and customer recovery need an interim executive able to unite engineering, quality and supply chain.

The interim must start within two weeks for a fixed twelve-month assignment. The incumbent is expected to return after the alternate supply base and backlog are stabilised; the final six weeks are reserved for handback rather than permanent recruitment.

Handover is complete when two alternate sources are qualified, the customer backlog is below agreed age, first-pass yield and field quality remain within threshold for two quarters, allocation disputes are resolved through policy, and the returning COO accepts the supplier and capacity plan.

The interim may allocate scarce parts, stop production, approve temporary capacity and deploy ₹15 crore inside the recovery reserve. Specification changes, customer settlements above ₹10 crore, supplier capital above ₹20 crore, permanent senior hiring and discontinuation of a controller family require board approval.

New product development, commercial repricing and factory-footprint strategy are excluded. The assignment restores supply and quality for committed products without taking ownership of long-term portfolio choice.

Why this seat is open

The supplier insolvency arrived during an unforeseen executive absence. Functional heads can qualify, produce or communicate, but none owns the cross-customer allocation decision. A temporary COO can carry the seat until resilient supply is operating and the incumbent returns.

What you will own

• Set scarce-component allocation by safety, contractual priority, customer shutdown exposure and recoverable margin.
• Decide alternate-source qualification plans across design compatibility, process audit, reliability and customer approval.
• Re-baseline production and backlog using verified component, capacity, yield and change-control constraints.
• Approve line restart only after material, process, test and traceability evidence meets product requirements.
• Negotiate supplier recovery and customer allocation positions within delegated settlement authority.
• Demonstrate two quarters of stable yield, field quality, delivery and dual-source performance.
• Return supplier qualifications, inventory exposure, customer commitments, capacity model and unresolved risks to the incumbent COO.

Candidate qualifications

• Held COO, manufacturing chief or supply-chain executive authority in embedded electronics or industrial technology.
• Recovered production after sole-source supplier failure or force-majeure loss.
• Qualified alternate electronic components through engineering, quality and customer change control.
• Allocated scarce supply across strategic customers with transparent decision principles.
• Directed multi-site manufacturing and supply workforces above 1,500.
• Has handed an executive seat back after temporary incumbent absence.

Non-negotiables

• Available in Pune within fourteen days with frequent plant and supplier travel.
• No current financial interest in alternate suppliers or qualification laboratories.
• Will not substitute unqualified components to protect shipment dates.
• Accepts that the role returns to the incumbent when handover criteria are met.

1. 49 words maximum. Confirm availability and disclose any component-supplier or customer conflict.
2. 49 words maximum. Describe a sole-source failure you recovered and time to first qualified alternate.
3. 49 words maximum. Which evidence is non-waivable before an alternate power module enters production?