Lead Operational Excellence — Lean & CI in Manufacturing

Jobtailor; Akron (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor seeks an experienced Lean/Operational Excellence leader to drive continuous improvement across Akron/Stow manufacturing sites. You will lead Lean deployments, host Kaizen events, and coach teams in structured problem solving, PDCA, and DMAIC.

The role emphasizes safety integration, KPI tracking, and cross-functional collaboration with safety, quality, and engineering teams. A Black Belt and multi-site experience are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field (or equivalent)
• 5–10 years of experience in manufacturing operations, continuous improvement, or operational excellence
• Proven success leading Lean or CI initiatives in a manufacturing environment
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent certification
• Ability to influence leaders and drive change in complex environments
• Experience supporting multi-site operations
• Must be able to work in Akron or Stow, Ohio

Responsibilities

• Lead the deployment of Lean and continuous improvement strategies across one or more manufacturing sites
• Identify and prioritize improvement opportunities affecting safety, quality, cost, delivery, and team engagement
• Facilitate Kaizen events, value stream mapping, and rapid improvement workshops
• Coach teams in structured problem solving using A3 thinking, root cause analysis, PDCA, and DMAIC
• Build and maintain leader and team member standard work
• Implement visual controls, daily management systems, and tiered accountability routines
• Partner with operations leaders to track KPIs, close performance gaps, and sustain improvements
• Serve as a trusted advisor to operations and front-line leaders
• Drive adoption of new processes and overcome resistance through influence
• Build continuous improvement capability through coaching, training, and mentoring
• Collaborate with safety, quality, engineering, supply chain, people, and finance teams
• Support capital projects, layout redesigns, capacity expansions, and automation initiatives
• Ensure improvements align with compliance, safety, and quality standards
• Integrate safety into continuous improvement activities
• Partner with EHS to identify risks and implement engineered and process-based solutions
• Support safety Gemba walks, incident investigations, and systemic root cause analysis
• Model safe behaviors and maintain a clean, organized work area
• Improve safety, quality, cost, delivery, productivity, standard work adoption, problem-solving capability, and team ownership

Skills

Lean Principles

A3 Thinking

PDCA

DMAIC

Value Stream Mapping

KPI Tracking

Coaching

Mentoring

Influencing Leaders

Team Engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Operations/IE

Tools

Value Stream Mapping

Gemba Walks

Job description

Jobtailor seeks an experienced Lean/Operational Excellence leader to drive continuous improvement across Akron/Stow manufacturing sites. You will lead Lean deployments, host Kaizen events, and coach teams in structured problem solving, PDCA, and DMAIC.

The role emphasizes safety integration, KPI tracking, and cross-functional collaboration with safety, quality, and engineering teams. A Black Belt and multi-site experience are highly valued.