Operational Excellence Engineer

Trident; Fairfax (VA); On-site; USD 59,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Holidays

Job summary

Trident Systems is seeking an Operational Excellence Engineer in the Fairfax/Sterling, VA area. You will drive continuous improvement with cross-functional teams, using Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and standard work to deliver measurable outcomes.

You will coach teams, facilitate workshops, and ensure projects meet objectives, timelines, and value. A strong background in industrial engineering and process mapping is required, with hands-on data analysis and ERP familiarity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering or related field.
• 2+ years of experience leading or facilitating process improvement projects.
• Strong facilitation and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills; proficient in MS Office and process mapping tools.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Lead and facilitate continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and other methodologies.
• Partner with leaders to identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction.
• Facilitate cross-functional meetings and project teams to drive momentum.
• Define scope, objectives, timelines, risks, and outcomes.
• Document current and future state processes with process maps and standard work.
• Track progress, maintain documentation, and communicate status to stakeholders.
• Analyze operational data to identify trends and validate results.
• Support change management, including stakeholder engagement and training.
• Ensure sustainable transfer of projects to owners with metrics and plans.
• Coach teams on continuous improvement and problem-solving.

Skills

Facilitation

Analytical skills

Communication

Multi-project management

Excel

PowerPoint

Visio

Influence without authority

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering

Lean Six Sigma Certification

Tools

ERP systems

Process mapping software

Job description

Position Title: Operational Excellence Engineer

Requisition ID: 1817

Position Location: Fairfax, VA OR Sterling, VA

Position Reports To: Manager, Operational Efficiency

Supervises Others: No

At Trident Systems, we believe that strong engineering principles are fundamental to driving innovation and solving complex problems. We promote a culture characterized by rigorous engineering practices and a commitment to continuous improvement. This is achieved by leveraging our organization's collective expertise through collaborative development processes, which include thorough design and peer reviews. We can deliver innovative, high-performance solutions that meet our customers' evolving requirements by integrating our specialized knowledge in aerospace electronic systems with appropriately scaled development methodologies.

We are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation effects mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.

Position Summary

The Operational Excellence Process Engineer is responsible for driving continuous improvement initiatives across the organization by partnering with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities, facilitate process improvement projects, and implement sustainable operational solutions. This role serves as a coach and facilitator, guiding teams through structured improvement methodologies while ensuring project objectives, timelines, and deliverables are clearly defined and successfully executed.

This is an individual contributor role with no direct supervisory responsibilities. Success in this position requires strong collaboration, project facilitation, and the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and facilitate continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and other operational excellence methodologies.
• Partner with departmental leaders to identify process improvement opportunities that improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction.
• Facilitate cross-functional meetings, workshops, and project teams to drive consensus and maintain project momentum.
• Define project scope, objectives, timelines, milestones, risks, and expected business outcomes.
• Document current-state and future-state processes using process maps, value stream maps, and standard work documentation.
• Track project progress, maintain project documentation, and communicate status updates to stakeholders and leadership.
• Collect and analyze operational data to identify trends, measure improvements, and validate project results.
• Support change management activities, including stakeholder engagement, communication, and training as new processes are implemented.
• Ensure successful transition of completed improvement projects to departmental owners by developing documentation, performance measures, and sustainability plans.
• Coach employees and project teams on continuous improvement principles and problem-solving techniques.
• Participate in the development and maintenance of operational excellence standards, tools, and best practices.
• Identify opportunities to standardize processes across departments and improve organizational efficiency.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business or related field.
• Minimum 2 years of experience leading or facilitating process improvement projects
• Strong facilitation and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio or other process mapping software.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Ability to execute tasks independently.

Preferred Qualifications

• Lean or Six Sigma Certification
• Experience with project management methodologies and tools.
• Experience working within manufacturing, distribution, logistics, or other operational environments.
• Familiarity with ERP systems and operational performance metrics.

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $59,000 - $110,000

Please Note: Actual compensation offered will be determined based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, skills, education, certifications, internal equity, business considerations, and geographic location where applicable.

Benefits

• Health benefits
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Basic life with AD&D
  • Short-term disability
  • Long term disability
  • Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)
  • Spending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• 401(k) (including company match)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Leaves (Parental, maternity, and military)
• Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)

Trident Systems reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Trident Solutions is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [e-mail].

Pay Transparency: The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)