Manager - Operational Excellence

Dürr Aktiengesellschaft; Southfield (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Dürr Aktiengesellschaft in the United States is seeking a Senior Continuous Improvement Leader to drive Operational Excellence and govern the Business Operating System (BOS). You will lead cross-functional improvement initiatives, facilitate root-cause analysis, and convert findings into reusable standards and verified actions.

The role requires strong project management, data analysis and communication skills, with experience in ISO auditing and multi-site deployments preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in continuous improvement, operational excellence, or related function.
• Knowledge of ISO management systems, auditing and corrective action.
• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence without direct authority.
• Strong analytical, communication, and project-management skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver actions to closure.
• Lean/Six Sigma or change-management training or certification preferred.
• Experience with KPI dashboards, data visualization, and document-control systems.
• Experience coordinating global or multi-site process deployments and presenting to leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives impacting safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash and customer outcomes.
• Facilitate root-cause analyses and drive corrective actions with verified closure.
• Lead project closeout and lessons-learned, translating findings into standards.
• Prioritize, charter, monitor and report continuous-improvement activities with measurable benefits.
• Govern the Business Operating System (BOS) locally and align with global requirements.
• Develop policies, procedures, process maps and standard work with process owners.
• Coordinate annual strategy deployment, alignment, measures and dashboards.
• Prepare KPI reporting and leadership updates with clear definitions and owners.
• Coordinate internal and external audits and manage corrective actions and closure.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Root-cause analysis

Facilitation

Data analysis

Project management

Process documentation

Performance management

Decision making

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Engineering/Operations

Tools

KPI dashboards

Data visualization

Document-control systems

Job description

Your Tasks:

• Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement


• Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives that strengthen safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash and customer outcomes.


• Identify recurring operational and project issues, facilitate root-cause analysis, and drive corrective and preventive actions through verified closure.


• Lead project closeout and lessons-learned sessions, converting findings into reusable standards and tracked improvement actions.


• Establish methods to prioritize, charter, monitor and report continuous-improvement activities and measurable benefits.


• Promote accountability, standard work, fact-based decision-making and sustained improvement.


• Business Operating System Governance


• Own and serve as the local champion for the Business Operating System (BOS), including governance, deployment, maintenance and periodic review.


• Partner with process owners to develop and improve policies, procedures, work instructions, process maps, templates and standard work.


• Define document ownership, review cycles, approval requirements and change-control expectations.


• Coordinate the local implementation of global business-system and continuous-improvement requirements, escalating gaps when local operational needs differ.


• Facilitate process standardization across functions and sites while maintaining necessary customer, regulatory and operational requirements.


• Strategy Deployment and Performance Management


• Coordinate the annual company goal-setting and deployment process, including alignment, ownership, measures, targets and review cadence.


• Maintain visibility into progress against strategic objectives and facilitate escalation and recovery planning for off-track goals.


• Coordinate leadership dashboards, KPI reporting and performance updates with clear definitions, ownership, data sources and action tracking.


• Analyze performance trends and translate findings into focused improvement priorities and leadership decisions.


• Management Systems, Audits and Internal Controls


• Coordinate certification, surveillance and recertification activities for applicable management systems, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 4501.


• Develop and maintain the internal audit program, including schedules, auditor coordination, findings, corrective actions and closure verification.


• Coordinate quarterly Internal Control System audits and track findings, owners, deadlines, supporting evidence and completion.


• Support external audits and information requests by coordinating documentation, subject-matter experts, responses and follow-up actions.


• Monitor audit readiness and communicate material risks, recurring findings, systemic issues and overdue actions to leadership.


• Preserve audit objectivity by coordinating with process owners and independent auditors when directly responsible for the process being reviewed.


• Customer and Cross-Functional Improvement


• Coordinate customer-experience improvement activities with Sales and other responsible functions, including issue trends, ownership and progress reporting.


• Build cross-functional and multi-site partnerships to remove barriers, clarify accountability and sustain improvements.


• Facilitate workshops, process reviews and leadership discussions with clear decisions, action owners and deadlines.


• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Your Skills:

• Required Qualifications


• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Project Management, Quality or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.


• Five or more years of experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, quality, management systems, compliance, internal controls, auditing or a related function.


• Working knowledge of ISO management systems, internal auditing, corrective action, root-cause analysis, process documentation and performance management.


• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence stakeholders without relying on direct authority.


• Strong analytical, facilitation, written communication, presentation, project-management and organizational skills.


• Ability to manage competing priorities, maintain accurate records and drive actions through completion.


• Sound judgment, integrity, attention to detail and the ability to provide constructive challenge.


• Preferred Qualifications


• Experience within a manufacturing, engineering, automotive or project-based environment.


• Lean, Six Sigma, ISO auditing, quality management, project management or change management training or certification.


• Experience with KPI dashboards, data visualization, workflow tools and document-control systems.


• Experience coordinating global or multi-site process deployments.



• Experience presenting performance insights, risks and improvement recommendations to senior leadership.