Operational Excellence Lead - Lean Manufacturing & Cost Reduction

Sazerac Company; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 106,000 - 159,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & Vision

401K

Paid time off

Job summary

Sazerac Company in Louisville, KY is seeking an Operational Excellence Lead to drive productivity and cost improvements across our manufacturing network. You will partner with plant operations and cross-functional teams to implement Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, TPM, and data-driven problem solving.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree and 4+ years in operational excellence or manufacturing, with strong analytical, leadership, and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 4+ years of relevant experience in operational excellence, continuous improvement, manufacturing, engineering, operations, or a related field.
• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing principles with Lean Six Sigma certification or relevant project management experience.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, project leadership, change management, communication, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to use data to drive decisions and influence others.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, TPM, and structured problem-solving methodologies to improve manufacturing performance.
• Identify productivity and cost-saving opportunities across line efficiency, throughput, waste, yield, labor, changeovers, materials, energy, and utilities.
• Analyze operational data, identify performance gaps, develop business cases, and track project results and benefits against established targets.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Supply Chain, and Engineering teams to identify root causes, develop solutions, and implement sustainable improvements.
• Support standardized work practices, performance management systems, visual management, operational audits, and sharing of best practices across sites.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Six Sigma

Kaizen

TPM

Data analysis

Project leadership

Change management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Sazerac Company in Louisville, KY is seeking an Operational Excellence Lead to drive productivity and cost improvements across our manufacturing network. You will partner with plant operations and cross-functional teams to implement Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, TPM, and data-driven problem solving.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree and 4+ years in operational excellence or manufacturing, with strong analytical, leadership, and communication skills.