Manager, Process Excellence

Foundation Medicine; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 98,400 - 122,900; Full time

Job summary

Foundation Medicine is seeking a Manager, Process Excellence to drive process improvements, cost savings, and profitability across lab and upstream/downstream functions. The role requires a technical background, a bachelor’s degree in engineering/sciences, and substantial experience in process excellence or management consulting.

The candidate will lead cross-functional teams, define operating models, implement Lean tools, and travel up to 15% domestically and internationally.

Qualifications

• Requires 5+ years in process improvement, business operations, or management consulting
• Masters with 3+ years in similar fields acceptable
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent preferred

Responsibilities

• Lead transformation initiatives and improve processes across the lab and support functions
• Manage cross-functional teams and foster high-performance culture
• Define and implement operating model and strategy for future state
• Lead Kaizen events and post‑Kaizen support
• Build continuous improvement culture and report results to leadership

Skills

Process improvement

Project leadership

Lean Six Sigma

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Science/Engineering/Technology

Master’s Degree in Science/Engineering/Technology

MBA (preferred)

Tools

Smartsheet

Job description

About the Job

The Manager, Process Excellence is responsible for driving initiatives that result in process improvements, cost savings, and / or improved profitability. The position leads the implementation of sustainable process improvements, provides creative ideas, inspires innovation, and establishes a foundation of Process Excellence to measure and report results, ensuring change initiatives deliver expected business outcomes. The primary focus is in specimen management and lab areas, but the role also requires deep immersion in upstream and downstream functions and workflows, and strong collaboration with process improvement professionals, functional leaders, and frontline employees to deliver desired results. The ideal candidate has a technical background (engineering, life sciences, computer science), a bachelor’s degree in engineering/sciences, and experience in Process Excellence, Business Operations, or management consulting.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead transformation initiatives and process improvement projects to achieve organizational goals.
• Lead cross-functional teams, ensuring high motivation and a high-performance culture.
• Define and implement the operational strategy and operating model for the future state, driving assessment, planning, execution, and realization to meet project results.
• Contribute to building a grassroots culture of continuous improvement.
• Conduct analysis that supports fact‑based decisions; summarize and deliver concise, key messages.
• Implement Process Control and Management (process definition, documentation, ownership, metrics, and monitoring systems).
• Identify root causes of issues and design solutions to address them.
• Model the use of Lean systems, tools, and philosophy; support deployment of Lean tools across the organization to ensure excellence in operational execution.
• Drive targeted, sustainable improvements by leveraging process excellence skills and change‑management processes.
• Lead Kaizen events, planning and execution, and post‑Kaizen support to ensure improvement opportunities are supported by the Process Excellence team and functional partners.
• Facilitate workshops and Kaizen Event teams to quickly achieve strategic objectives, learning breakthroughs, and broad capability development across the enterprise.
• Partner closely with leadership to prioritize and implement continuous improvement in targeted areas.
• Lead and drive multiple project priorities simultaneously.
• Assist in developing improvement roadmaps.
• Travel domestically and internationally up to 15% of the time.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Engineering, or Technology and 5+ years of experience in process improvement, business operations, and/or as a seasoned management consultant; OR
• Masters Degree in Science, Engineering, or Technology and 3+ years of experience in process improvement, business operations, and/or as a seasoned management consultant.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Science, Engineering, and/or Business Administration (MBA).
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification or equivalent.
• Proficient in Class A / Oliver Wight Business Process Management.
• Previous experience in a CLIA Lab, diagnostics, medical device, or biopharma.
• Experience using a structured approach to diagnose issues and work with teams to solve problems.
• Experience using planning and program management tools such as Smartsheet.
• Experience working with global teams.
• Demonstrated success in leading cross‑functional teams and implementing transformation initiatives and projects with impactful results.
• Formal training in one or more of the following improvement methodologies: Lean Manufacturing, TPS, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, Project Management, etc.
• Working knowledge of FDA, ISO, CLIA, and CAP regulations.
• Knowledge of and work experience with FDA‑regulated products.
• Excellent organization and attention to detail.
• Excellent presentation skills and strong interpersonal communication skills, both internal and external to the company.

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of Boston, MA is $98,400 - $122,900 per year. The salary range is commensurate with Foundation Medicines compensation practice and considers factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, external market conditions, criticality of role, and internal equity. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for Foundation Medicine's benefits.