Lean Manufacturing Leader: Drive Operational Excellence

Thales Group; Crawley; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday plus bank holidays

Pension scheme and life cover

24/7 Employee Assistance Programme

Volunteer time off

Gym membership discounts

Job summary

Thales UK in Crawley seeks a Lean Continuous Improvement Leader to sharpen manufacturing performance on site. You will embed PDCA, lead transformations, coach teams, and drive measurable improvements in delivery, quality and cost across the operation.

You'll bring proven lean manufacturing experience, mastery of Lean tools (VSM, 5S, Flow, Visual Management) and a track record of leading change in low-volume, bespoke production environments.

Qualifications

• Proven Lean manufacturing experience with strong tools knowledge (Lean Six Sigma, Green Belt or equivalent).
• Exceptional problem solving and analytical skills.
• Fluent in Lean tools: VSM, 5S, Flow, Visual Management.
• Ability to lead and influence across levels from cells to cross-functional teams.
• Experience in low-volume, bespoke manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute transformation activities to raise efficiency and margins.
• Coach Industry team for process optimisation and capability.
• Analyse and plan improvements aligned to Thales Towards 2030.
• Facilitate lean culture shift towards agility and excellence.
• Ensure structured, measurable Lean deployment across APRU and site.
• Plan and coordinate all Lean activities across the site.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Lean tools

5S

VSM

Problem solving

Cross-functional influence

Change leadership

Industrial engineering

PowerBI

Tools

Oracle

iObeya

PowerBI

Minitab

MES systems

Job description

Thales UK in Crawley seeks a Lean Continuous Improvement Leader to sharpen manufacturing performance on site. You will embed PDCA, lead transformations, coach teams, and drive measurable improvements in delivery, quality and cost across the operation.

You'll bring proven lean manufacturing experience, mastery of Lean tools (VSM, 5S, Flow, Visual Management) and a track record of leading change in low-volume, bespoke production environments.