Operational Excellence Director

Viant Medical; Fort Wayne (IN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

Company-paid life insurance

Paid time off & holidays

401k with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Pet Insurance

Home Ownership Program

Job summary

Viant Medical seeks a Director of Operational Excellence (AMS) to drive Lean transformation and continuous improvement across seven Advanced Metal Solutions sites. This hands-on leader partners with site teams to deliver cost savings, improve efficiency, develop talent, and support strategic objectives.

The role combines strategy and execution in Lean initiatives, kaizen events, and problem solving. Ideal candidate has multi-site manufacturing experience in metal machining or drawing and excels

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field; Master’s or relevant certification preferred.
• 8+ years in operational excellence, process improvement, or operations leadership in manufacturing or regulated environments.
• Proven track record of large-scale change management and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Trainer-level competency in Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies with enterprise-level execution.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills with data-driven approach.
• Experience with automation, standard work, and technology implementation in operations.
• Excellent communication and ability to influence across all organizational levels; willing to travel 20-50%.

Responsibilities

• Identify and deliver multi-year savings road map achieving annual targets.
• Collaborate with units to implement improvements including OEE, daily management, and leader standard work.
• Facilitate kaizens across sites to drive transformational results including tech adoption and culture change.
• Develop and upskill OpEx network via coaching and enterprise-wide trainings with external partners.
• Influence OpEx across organization to adopt best practices and continuous improvement.

Skills

Lean

Six Sigma

Project management

Data analysis

Operational leadership

Automation implementation

Change management

Communication

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management or related

Master’s degree or relevant certification preferred

Job description

About the company

Viant is a global medical device partner providing design, development, manufacturing, and assembly services through capabilities in materials, plastics, metals, extrusion, and automation. With nearly 6,000 employees across 24 locations worldwide, it delivers high-quality, life-enhancing products with the scale and expertise to bring devices to market efficiently. Learn more at Viant Medical’s website or on LinkedIn.

About the company

Viant is a global medical device partner providing design, development, manufacturing, and assembly services through capabilities in materials, plastics, metals, extrusion, and automation. With nearly 6,000 employees across 24 locations worldwide, it delivers high-quality, life-enhancing products with the scale and expertise to bring devices to market efficiently. Learn more at Viant Medical’s website or on LinkedIn.

About the role

The Director of Operational Excellence, AMS drives continuous improvement, Lean transformation, and operational performance across Viant's Advanced Metal Solutions network of seven manufacturing sites. Reporting to the Center of Excellence, this hands-on leader partners with site teams to deliver cost savings, improve efficiency, develop talent, and support strategic business objectives.

This role combines strategy and execution, leading Lean initiatives, kaizen events, and problem-solving efforts while building a culture of operational excellence. The ideal candidate brings multi-site manufacturing experience, preferably within metal machining, turning, or drawing environments, and thrives as a player-coach who can effectively lead, coach, and execute.

This is not a corporate training role; it is hands-on. Individuals who succeed in this role act as a player-coach, able to seamlessly switch between coaching, facilitating, and doing.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and deliver multi-year road map of savings to achieve annual savings target


• Work with business unit and functional leaders to identify and implement operational improvements including OEE, tiered daily management, and leader standard work


• Facilitating kaizens spanning multiple sites, functions, and programs to deliver transformational business results including technology adoption and culture change


• Develop and upskill all individuals in the OpEx network, ranging from individual coaching to identifying and facilitating enterprise-wide trainings through external training partners


• Influence OpEx at all levels within the organization, driving adoption of best practices and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field (Master’s or relevant certification preferred).


• 8+ years of experience in operational excellence, process improvement, or operations leadership, preferably in a manufacturing or regulated environment.


• Proven track record of leading large-scale change management, transformation and continuous improvement initiatives


• Trainer-level competency in Lean, Six Sigma, or similar problem-solving methodologies with demonstrated enterprise-level execution experience.


• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills; proficiency in data analysis and performance metrics.


• Demonstrated experience with implementation of automation, standard work, and technology in operational settings


• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills; strong active listening and interpretation abilities; proven capacity to influence and build alignment across all levels of the organization.


• Willingness and ability to travel (approximately 20-50%)

Benefits

• New employees are eligible for the following benefits effective date of hire!


• Medical, dental, and vision benefits


• Company-paid life insurance and disability benefits


• Generous Paid time off and 10 paid Holidays


• 401k Plan with Company Match


• Tuition Reimbursement


• Voluntary Universal Life and Long-Term Care


• Voluntary Legal Plan


• Pet Insurance


• Home Ownership Program

Viant is a global medical device design and manufacturing services provider that partners and innovates with customers to provide the highest quality, life enhancing medical devices. We do this through our depth and breadth of capabilities, end-to-end integration, technical expertise, and relentless focus on our customers and on operational excellence. With nearly 6,000 associates across 24 locations worldwide, we offer a unique combination of small-company service and attention with big-company resources. For more information, visit viantmedical.com or follow us on LinkedIn. Viant provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Viant complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.