Hybrid OpEx Leader: Lean Culture & Excellence

Smith Nephew; Oklahoma City (OK); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k Matching Program

Discounted Stock Options

Tuition Reimbursement

Flexible Personal/Vacation Time Off

Paid Holidays

Parental Leave

Job summary

Smith Nephew seeks an experienced OpEx leader to drive a culture of Operational Excellence across the network. You will coach leaders, standardize lean tools, and partner with franchise leadership to implement strategic improvement programs.

This role emphasizes cross-functional influence, sustainability, and developing the OpEx community while advancing a unified set of practices across sites. Applicants should have 12+ years in Lean/Six Sigma and multi-functional value stream experience, with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering, Business, Science or equivalent.
• 12+ years of hands-on experience in Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma / Project Management principles.
• 12+ years of experience across multiple value stream functions (production, materials mgmt., manufacturing eng., quality, IT, EH&S, facilities, purchasing).
• 12+ years of experience and demonstrated application of Lean techniques (5S, Root Cause Analysis, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Visual Management, SIPOC, Flow, Pull, TAKT, TQM, JIT, SPC, CPK).
• Between 5%-15% travel required (site-based role).

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and coaching to new and existing leaders to foster a culture of Operational Excellence.
• Standardize improvement tools and techniques across the network (5S, VSM, SIPOC, kaizen, etc.).
• Coach OpEx community members on tool usage and cultivate long-term sustainability.
• Partner with Franchise leadership to support business strategies.
• Coordinate improvement activities to track and share benefits across units.
• Support business areas directly while developing local OpEx teams.
• Develop a common OpEx language and culture across Smith Nephew.
• Evolve OpEx Centers of Excellence learning content and trainings.

Skills

Leadership coaching

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Value Stream Mapping

Kaizen

Strategic thinking

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive presentation

People development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Business, Science

Job description

Smith Nephew seeks an experienced OpEx leader to drive a culture of Operational Excellence across the network. You will coach leaders, standardize lean tools, and partner with franchise leadership to implement strategic improvement programs.

This role emphasizes cross-functional influence, sustainability, and developing the OpEx community while advancing a unified set of practices across sites. Applicants should have 12+ years in Lean/Six Sigma and multi-functional value stream experience, with