Digital Transformation Manager

Function: Digital Transformation Office
Reports to: Director Digital Futures
 

Shape the future of digital at HBK

HBK is establishing a new Digital Transformation Office (DTO) to accelerate its transformation as a global leader in precision measurement, sensing and industrial technology.

The role is explicitly AI-first: leveraging data, AI, and platform thinking as default design principles rather than optional add-ons.

The Digital Transformation Manager is a senior, business-facing leader responsible for shaping, prioritising and delivering digitally enabled strategic initiatives across HBK. The role works at the intersection of business strategy, technology, and execution, partnering with Product, R&D, Manufacturing, Operations, Commercial and Corporate functions to:

• Identify high-value digital opportunities

• Translate ideas into well-defined initiatives and programmes

• Oversee delivery to measurable outcomes

• Establish and operate portfolio governance and PMO disciplines

Key Responsibilities:

1. Digital Strategy & Ideation

• Partner with senior business leaders to identify, frame and shape digital transformation opportunities aligned to HBK’s strategy.

• Facilitate ideation workshops using AI-first, data-first and platform-led approaches.

• Challenge problem statements to ensure focus on business value, scalability and reuse, not point solutions.

• Translate strategic themes into discrete initiatives with clear hypotheses, value drivers and success measures.

2. Initiative Definition & Business Case Development

• Lead end-to-end initiative definition including:

  • Problem statement and outcome definition

  • Target-state processes and operating models

  • Data, AI, platform, cyber and integration implications

  • High-level architecture and delivery approach

• Develop robust business cases including value sizing (financial and non-financial), risks, dependencies and change impacts.

• Ensure alignment with HBK standards for architecture, security, compliance, and IP protection.

3. Portfolio Management & PMO Leadership

• Co-define and continuously evolve the Digital Transformation PMO methodology, covering:

  • Portfolio intake and prioritisation

  • Funding and capacity allocation

  • Stage gates and decision forums

  • Benefits tracking and value realisation

• Operate portfolio-level oversight across initiatives, ensuring:

  • Strategic alignment

  • Delivery predictability

  • Dependency and risk management

• Provide clear, executive-level portfolio reporting, including RAG status, value delivery, risks and decision requests.

4. Execution Oversight & Delivery Governance

Act as business owner or sponsor delegate for key initiatives.

• Work with delivery teams (internal and partners) across:

  • AI & data

  • Platform and cloud engineering

  • OT/IT convergence

  • Cybersecurity

• Ensure delivery teams apply modern delivery practices (Agile/Hybrid) while operating effectively in engineering and manufacturing contexts.

• Actively remove blockers, manage escalations, and course-correct delivery where needed.

5. AI, Data & Platform Enablement

• Embed AI as a core design principle, focusing on:

  • Decision automation

  • Insight generation

  • Engineering productivity

  • Customer value creation

• Partner with AI, Data, Platform and Cyber Centres of Excellence to:

  • Reuse shared capabilities

  • Avoid duplication

  • Accelerate time-to-value

• Promote responsible AI practices, data governance, and security-by-design.

6. Change & Stakeholder Leadership

• Drive strong engagement across business, engineering and technology communities.

• Support adoption through change, communication and capability uplift.

• Act as a visible role model for digital ways of working and outcome-led delivery.

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Realised business value from digital initiatives

• Quality and robustness of initiative pipeline and portfolio

• Predictability and transparency of delivery

• Executive confidence in digital investment decisions

• Effective reuse of AI, data and platform capabilities

Required Skills & Competencies

Core Capabilities

• Digital strategy execution in complex, engineering-led organisations

• Strong AI literacy – able to identify and apply AI use cases (not necessarily hands-on model building)

• Portfolio and programme management at scale

• Business case development and value realisation

• Executive stakeholder management and facilitation

Technical & Domain Understanding

• Working knowledge of:

  • Data platforms and analytics

  • AI/ML applications in industrial, engineering or manufacturing contexts

  • Cloud and platform architectures

  • Cybersecurity and compliance considerations

• Experience operating across IT, OT, software, hardware and product environments is highly valued.

Delivery & Ways of Working

• Strong grounding in Agile, hybrid and scaled delivery models (e.g., SAFe, Spotify-inspired, or custom enterprise models).

• Comfortable balancing:

• Speed vs safety

• Experimentation vs standardisation

• Global vs local needs

• Experience working with external partners and system integrators.

Leadership & Behaviours

• Outcome-oriented, pragmatic and commercially minded

• Confident influencing without formal authority

• Comfortable with ambiguity and complexity

• Strong systems-thinking and problem-framing skills

• Clear, concise communicator at executive level

Experience & Qualifications

Essential

• Significant experience in digital transformation, technology strategy, or large-scale change roles

• Proven experience delivering digital initiatives within:

  • Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial technology, Regulated or IP-sensitive environments

• Track record of operating at portfolio or programme level, not only project delivery

Desirable

• Experience in AI- or data-led transformation programmes

• Background in management consulting, internal transformation offices, or enterprise PMOs

• Exposure to global, matrixed organisations

Why This Role Matters at HBK

This role sits at the centre of HBK’s ambition to:

• Scale AI and digital innovation responsibly

• Leverage platforms and data as strategic assets

• Align technology investment to measurable business outcomes

• Transform how ideas move from concept to value across a global engineering enterprise

We Offer

At HBK, we believe in freedom with responsibility, enabling a healthy work-life balance and continuous professional development. You will join an international team in an innovative and enjoyable working environment.

About HBK

On January 1, 2019, Brüel & Kjær and HBM merged to form HBK (Hottinger Brüel & Kjær). With over 3,500 employees worldwide, production facilities in Denmark, Germany, the UK, the USA, China, and Portugal, and a presence in 80 countries, HBK is a global leader in test and measurement solutions. Learn more at https://www.hbkworld.com.