Operational Excellence Manager
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Job Type: Full-Time
Starting Salary: $85,000/year (higher depending on experience)
Position Overview
We are seeking an Operational Excellence Manager to lead continuous improvement efforts in a manufacturing environment. This position will identify process inefficiencies, reduce waste, improve productivity, and implement sustainable solutions using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and structured problem-solving.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who can work directly with production teams, analyze operational data, and turn improvement opportunities into measurable results.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage continuous improvement initiatives aligned with operational goals.
- Partner with manufacturing and operations leaders to improve productivity, labor efficiency, quality, safety, cycle time, and cost.
- Identify bottlenecks, waste, and process inefficiencies and develop sustainable corrective actions.
- Facilitate Kaizen events, process improvement workshops, and root-cause analysis.
- Apply Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, value stream mapping, and change-management methods.
- Work directly with production teams to implement process improvements and standard work.
- Train, coach, and mentor employees on continuous improvement tools and practices.
- Establish and monitor KPIs to measure improvement results and program effectiveness.
- Analyze operational data and use findings to support decisions and action plans.
- Present project results, recommendations, and progress to plant and senior leadership.
- Develop strategies to increase employee participation and accountability in improvement initiatives.
- Identify opportunities for workflow improvements, labor efficiency, and capital investment.
- Support improvement activities across multiple shifts as needed.
- Ensure all initiatives support safety, quality, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
- 5+ years of experience leading or implementing continuous improvement initiatives in manufacturing.
- Experience in engineer-to-order, fabrication, industrial, or manufacturing operations preferred.
- Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement certification strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to deliver measurable results through process improvement projects.
- Strong knowledge of Lean principles, value stream mapping, root cause analysis, Kaizen, and change management.
- Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret operational data.
- Strong leadership, project management, facilitation, presentation, and training skills.
- Excellent communication and organizational skills.
- Self-motivated with strong problem-solving abilities.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Strong commitment to safety, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Work Environment
- Regularly walk and interact with teams on the manufacturing floor.
- Ability to stand, bend, and move throughout production areas.
- Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs.
- Ability to support multiple shifts and work flexible hours when improvement activities require it.
- Comfortable working in both office and manufacturing environments.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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