Operational Excellence Leader (Lean & CI)

barrywehmiller; Akron (OH); On-site; USD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

BW Packaging is seeking an Operational Excellence Leader to drive Lean and continuous improvement across our manufacturing sites. You will strengthen processes, eliminate waste, and foster a culture where safety, quality, and daily management are core to daily work.

You will coach teams, lead Kaizen events, and apply DMAIC and A3 thinking to deliver measurable improvements. Collaboration with safety, quality, engineering, and operations is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field.
• 5–10 years of experience in manufacturing operations, continuous improvement, or operational excellence.
• Proven success leading Lean or CI initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent certification.
• Experience supporting multi-site operations.
• Background in high-mix/low-volume or regulated manufacturing environments is a plus.
• Experience integrating CI with safety and quality systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead the deployment of Lean and continuous improvement strategies across one or more manufacturing sites.
• Identify and prioritize improvement opportunities that move the needle on safety, quality, cost, delivery, and team engagement.
• Facilitate Kaizen events, value stream mapping, and rapid improvement workshops.
• Coach teams in structured problem solving using A3 thinking, root cause analysis, PDCA, and DMAIC.
• Build and maintain leader and team member standard work.
• Implement visual controls, daily management systems, and tiered accountability routines.
• Partner with operations leaders to track KPIs, close performance gaps, and sustain improvements.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to operations and front‑line leaders.
• Influence without authority to drive adoption of new processes and overcome resistance.
• Build CI capability across the organization through coaching, training, and mentoring.
• Work closely with safety, quality, engineering, supply chain, people, and finance teams to deliver end‑to‑end improvements.
• Support major initiatives such as capital projects, layout redesigns, capacity expansions, and automation.
• Ensure improvements align with compliance, safety, and quality standards.

Skills

Lean principles

Continuous improvement

Leadership

Problem solving

Change management

Facilitation

Coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Value stream mapping

Kaizen events

PDCA

DMAIC

Job description

BW Packaging is seeking an Operational Excellence Leader to drive Lean and continuous improvement across our manufacturing sites. You will strengthen processes, eliminate waste, and foster a culture where safety, quality, and daily management are core to daily work.

You will coach teams, lead Kaizen events, and apply DMAIC and A3 thinking to deliver measurable improvements. Collaboration with safety, quality, engineering, and operations is essential.