Operational Excellence Manager — TPS/DBS Methodologies

Prysmian; Windham (CT); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Prysmian in the United States is seeking a Manufacturing Lean Leader to own the site transformation, aligning initiatives with strategy and delivering measurable business impact.

You will report to the Site Director, lead Kaizen events, and embed daily management, visual systems, and standard work to sustain gains across high-volume value streams. Strong leadership and change-management skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (industrial preferred).
• 3–5 years in manufacturing with Kaizen leadership.
• Proficiency in Gemba Kaizen, Value Stream Analysis, Visual & Daily Management, Hoshin Kanri.
• Capability to facilitate Kaizen events and coach Lean personnel.

Responsibilities

• Strategy ownership and Lean roadmap deployment with Hoshin Kanri.
• Prioritize improvement priorities and decide what gets worked on.
• Lead Kaizen to improve flow, remove constraints, and transform costs.
• Ensure tracked results and institutionalize wins via standard work, daily accountability and coaching.
• Develop operators and leaders into independent problem solvers; build Lean leadership pipeline.

Skills

Lean & CI

Kaizen

Hoshin Kanri

Gemba Kaizen

Value Stream

Leadership

SMED

TPS/DBS

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Job description

Ready to lead change, not just run events? Imagine stepping into a site that expects you to set the Lean agenda, gives you direct access to the Site Director, and measures you on sustained business outcomes. That’s this role at Prysmian—the world’s leader in energy and telecom cable systems, producing thousands of miles of underground and submarine power cables each year, plus optical fiber, copper, and connectivity solutions for telecom. We’re nearly 29,000 people across 52 countries. Make Your Mark at Prysmian.

Questions to consider

• Can you architect a Hoshin-aligned roadmap that ties every initiative to strategy?
• Will you challenge leaders (and win them over) when behaviours block flow and performance?
• Can you turn Kaizen into auditable gains in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Growth?
• Do you know how to make improvements stick through daily management, visual systems, and standard work?

Your scope

Strategy ownership Design and deploy the site’s Lean roadmap with Hoshin Kanri. Decide what gets worked on—and what does not. High-impact execution Lead Kaizen focused on flow, constraint removal, and cost transformation in high-volume, high-revenue value streams. Results and sustainability Insist on hard, tracked results and institutionalize wins through standard work, daily accountability, and coaching. Culture building Develop operators, supervisors, and leaders into independent problem solvers and create a pipeline of future Lean leaders.

What sets this role apart

• Direct line to the Site Director and leadership team.
• Mandate for measurable business impact—no activity theater.
• Real influence to prioritize and pivot as needed.

Frustrated by leadership that “talks Lean,” sticky-note Kaizens that don’t last, or CI roles with no sway? You’ll find the opposite here.

Experience we value

• Manufacturing Lean Black Belt / CI leader with a record of measurable improvements (cost, throughput, lead time, etc.).
• Expert-level knowledge: Value Stream Transformation; Flow & Pull; Hoshin Kanri; SMED; TPM; Standard Work; Daily Management & Visual Systems.
• Ability to influence without authority and to change behavior—beyond processes and tools.
• Orientation toward impact over activity.

Preferred edge

• TPS or Danaher Business System background.
• Advanced analytics: SPC, regression, hypothesis testing.
• Change leadership certifications (PROSCI, Agile, etc.).

Qualifications Must have

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (industrial engineering strongly preferred).
• 3-5 years in a manufacturing environment with leadership in Kaizen and Continuous Improvement.
• Proficiency in Gemba Kaizen, Value Stream Analysis, Visual & Daily Management, Hoshin Kanri, SMED, TPM, Standard Work Development, and 3P layout.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate Kaizen events and identify/coach future Lean-minded personnel.
• History of leading cost reduction and process flow improvement initiatives.
• Comfort with tools such as 3P, TAKT time, Standard Work Combination Sheets, Standard WIP, and Kaizen Newspaper.
• Strong prioritization and deadline discipline in a fast-paced environment.
• Capability to provide leadership and strategic direction as part of the site leadership team.

Nice to have

• Lean Master on TPS or Danaher Business System certification.
• Project management track record of meeting timelines or proactively adapting to achieve goals.
• Agile certification such as SCALE.
• Change management certification such as PROSCI.
• Analytical rigor in SPC, hypothesis testing, regression, and correlation analysis.
• Structured problem-solving skills: 5-Whys, 8D, Shainin, etc.

Bottom line

Own a site transformation. Build systems that endure. Operate as a strategic partner to the business.