Lean Operational Excellence Leader

Great Dane LLC; Elysburg (PA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Great Dane LLC is seeking a Lean Operational Excellence Leader to drive Lean across the plant. You will mentor leaders, implement waste-reducing processes, and ensure compliant, capable operations through data-driven governance.

You will coach teams in lean tools, develop metrics, and coordinate cross-functional improvement projects while supporting change management and training initiatives to sustain continuous improvement culture.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related discipline.
• 3–5+ years in engineering/manufacturing fields or equivalent.
• Strong problem solving and analytics mindset.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• Proficient in MS Office, including advanced Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead lean implementation across the plant and drive continuous improvement.
• Coach leaders and frontline staff in lean techniques and problem solving.
• Develop and roll out lean gates and governance for process control.
• Analyze waste data and report metrics to stakeholders.
• Support change management and training for lean adoption.
• Coordinate cross-functional improvement projects and lean visits.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Change management

Coaching

Data analysis

Project leadership

Excel expert

Education

Bachelor's degree in related discipline

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Overview

Under the direction of the Plant Manager and the Director of Industrial Engineering, the Lean Operational Excellence Leader is a leader in Lean Implementation and continuous improvement efforts in all five phases of Lean. The Lean Operational Excellence Leader mentors operational and support group leaders in Lean deployment and implementation, problem solving methodology and supports change management in the cascading of Lean through the facility. The Lean Operational Excellence Leader is the facility operating processes subject matter expert, who ensures all processes are documented, lean, and capable while monitoring for compliance amongst all groups and coordinating Lean Metric Reporting.

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Be the leader in lean implementation.
• Establish processes that detect, record and reduce waste of any form throughout the value-add process affecting quality, throughput, efficiency, cost, etc. Coordinate project to roll out such lean processes.
• Coach leadership and line workers in those processes and establish a culture of continuous improvement.
• Coach and support team in developing and managing Engineering controls of lean Gates to support lean processes.
• Provide feedback to appropriate managers of waste trends, patterns, and opportunities.
• Responsible oversight of on-line waste reduction activities in order to ensure principles of lean manufacturing are being executed and maintained: built in quality, schedule and time control, shorten lead time, capital and manpower utilization.
• Conduct problem solving efforts and improvement projects related to waste reduction.
• Facilitate and conduct data analysis of waste related to gates.
• Coordinate lean metric reporting, create and distribute gate management reports. Develop governance package for plant leadership to lead transition of ownership to corresponding functional leader and track result progress.
• Conduct daily lean process audits in order to ensure compliance with applicable standards.
• Ensure feedback is getting back to all levels of work teams when issues occur.
• Support project change management in the cascading of lean through facility and other areas of the support staffs. Help inform/engage impacted employees.
• Effectively support other functions as required such as training, Model Line events, and other improvement projects.
• Coordinate Lean visits by leadership and from other plants.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Job Requirements:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in related discipline (e.g., engineering, quality, management, or business)
• Years of Experience: 3-5+ years of relevant work experience in engineering and/or manufacturing related fields or equivalent combination of education and training.
• Have a strong process focused thinking and mentality.
• Good communication skills and ability to motivate and engage others.
• Have some coaching, facilitation, and leadership experience. Prior Lean experience is desired.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products, including advanced data functions in Excel.
• Excellent analytical skills; Ability to collect and analyze data and present findings.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with attention to detail.
• Strong customer service orientation and ability to maintain a professional, friendly demeanor.
• Solid ability in identifying and resolving problems in a timely, effective manner.
• Strong verbal, written and interpersonal skills.

Travel: Travel as needed.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Physical demands: Ability to stand and move about on concrete 8-12 hours a day. Ability to, sit, speak, hear, see, walk, bend, reach, grasp, stoop, kneel, twist, crawl, carry, climb, work overhead, push and pull. Ability to do heavy lifting (50 pounds) on occasion. Ability to maneuver large parts and assemblies (up to 50 pounds) by pushing, pulling and flipping them into place. The employer will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Work environment: Employees must dress according to the company policy, and will be required to wear certain eye, head, hearing, hand and foot protection. Employees must wear all mandated PPE due to: Potential for scrapes, punctures, and cuts. Metal shavings or other debris falling in eyes. Light radiation burns. Pinch points. Possible respiratory hazards. Heavy objects that may fall. High noise level in the plant. Potential contact with hazardous chemicals. Employee may share desk space, filing cabinets and office equipment with other employees.