Director of Operational Excellence & Transformation

Nextpower LLC, USA; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Nextpower LLC in California seeks a Director of Operational Excellence & Transformation to lead strategic programs across Kaizen, Lean, and automation. This role reports to the VP of Operational Excellence & Transformation and manages program managers, process improvement leads, and business systems analysts.

You will drive portfolio governance, partner with IT to implement enterprise systems including Oracle, and realize productivity, margin, and cash flow improvements.

Qualifications

• 12+ years leading complex, cross-functional transformation programs.
• Demonstrated leadership without direct authority across sites.
• Proficient in Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma, A3, PDCA methodologies.
• Experience with enterprise systems implementation, process automation, and change management.
• Strong financial acumen and ability to quantify operational benefits with Finance.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Translate VP priorities into initiative charters, integrated plans, milestones, resources, risks and decisions.
• Manage portfolio reviews, stage gates, executive reporting, and escalation processes.
• Lead program managers and workstream owners to resolve dependencies and deliver across functions.
• Lead redesign and simplification of priority processes with cross-functional handoffs and ownership.
• Deploy Lean, Kaizen, standard work, visual management, and value stream improvements.
• Partner with IT to define requirements and integrate redesign with enterprise systems and automation.
• Drive adoption and reporting for initiatives; establish measures and reporting.
• Build baselines, benefit cases, and milestones with Finance; track productivity, margin, and cash flow.
• Develop a pipeline of opportunities and sustain results post-implementation.
• Coach and develop teams; build stakeholder alignment and training plans.

Skills

Leadership

Program management

Lean

Kaizen

Six Sigma

A3 / PDCA

Process improvement

Financial acumen

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Operations/Business/Finance

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Oracle

ERP systems

Job description

Nextpower LLC in California seeks a Director of Operational Excellence & Transformation to lead strategic programs across Kaizen, Lean, and automation. This role reports to the VP of Operational Excellence & Transformation and manages program managers, process improvement leads, and business systems analysts.

You will drive portfolio governance, partner with IT to implement enterprise systems including Oracle, and realize productivity, margin, and cash flow improvements.