Senior Director Operational Continuous Improvement

Twenty-Six Defense; Fort Worth (TX); Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9/80 schedule

401(k) program

Medical/Dental/Vision

Life Insurance

Paid Parental Leave

Job summary

Twenty-Six Defense is seeking a Senior Director of Continuous Improvement to build and sustain a culture of operational excellence across all facilities. This leader will drive simplification, standardization, waste elimination, and data-driven decision-making while championing the GRIT mindset, Growth through Relentless Improvement & Teamwork.

The role partners with Production, Quality, Engineering, and Supply Chain to deploy CI frameworks, lead Kaizen events, and develop cost models for

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, or related field.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt required.
• 12+ years manufacturing/operations with 7+ years of management experience.
• Experience leading complex CI initiatives across functions or sites.

Responsibilities

• Champion enterprise continuous improvement (CI) across all sites and foster a unified CI culture.
• Lead enterprise CI frameworks, daily management, and KPI-driven improvements.
• Mentor site-level CI practitioners and promote Lean tools and DMAIC methods.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration to address barriers like material shortages and bottlenecks.

Skills

Executive communication

Change management

Data analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, business, or related field

Tools

Kaizen

5S

DMAIC

VSM

A3

Job description

Company Information

Twenty-Six Defense, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of high-performance products, system solutions, and aftermarket support services focusing on the defense, homeland security, and commercial aviation markets. With facilities throughout the U.S., Twenty-Six Defense is dedicated to supporting those who contribute to the national security of the United States. Twenty-Six Defense is wholly owned by Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT and TASE: ESLT), a global high-technology company engaged in a wide range of programs for innovative defense and commercial applications.

Job Summary

The Senior Director of Continuous Improvement (CI) is responsible for building, leading, and sustaining a culture of operational excellence across all facilities. This role drives simplification, standardization, waste elimination, and data-driven decision-making, ensuring teams improve every day through disciplined execution, visible metrics, and cross-functional collaboration. The leader will champion the GRIT mindset—Growth through Relentless Improvement & Teamwork—while enabling teams to identify opportunities, remove barriers, and deliver consistent, measurable results.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the enterprise champion for continuous improvement, fostering a unified, sustainable CI culture across all sites.
• Embed GRIT behaviors into daily operations, ensuring simplification, standardization, and operational excellence become integrated into how teams work.
• Partner with leaders across Production, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and functional teams to drive cohesive improvement efforts.

Continuous Improvement Program Ownership

• Develop and deploy enterprise CI frameworks, including tiered daily management, visual performance boards, SQDCP metrics, and waste-elimination practices.
• Lead root-cause problem-solving, RCCA effectiveness, Pareto-based defect analysis, and workflow redesign to reduce downtime and non-value-added activities.
• Facilitate Kaizen events and process audits, and standardize documentation of GRIT initiatives, including the development of cost models for measured improvements.
• Monitor key CI indicators, including HPU, cycle time versus takt time, OTD trends, defect visibility, and manpower planning, and ensure corrective actions address root causes.
• Support cross-functional collaboration through Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) to rapidly address barriers such as material shortages and production bottlenecks.
• Mentor and empower site-level CI practitioners, GRIT Champions, and operational leaders to build problem-solving capabilities and promote collaboration. Teach the use of lean tools, the DMAIC method, Value Stream Mapping, and other CI methodologies.
• Promote the sharing of best practices across sites to accelerate improvement and unify operational standards.

Knowledge (Education, License, Certification, and Prior Experience)

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, business, or a related field.
• Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
• 12+ years of relevant experience, including 7+ years of formal management experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex CI initiatives across functions or sites.

Preferred

• Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or regulated manufacturing environments.
• Experience with strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri), daily management systems, or operating-system design.
• Experience leading enterprise-level CI maturity, governance, or operating-system structures.

Skills And Abilities

• Executive-level written and verbal communication, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Ability to professionally interact with all levels of the company, from executives and leaders to cross-functional teams and factory employees.
• Strong analytical and statistical data-analysis skills.
• Ability to influence, coach, and develop employees at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to drive change and lead through resistance.
• Deep working knowledge of CI tools, including Kaizen, 5S, A3, VSM, Standard Work, Kanban, and DMAIC.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in manufacturing, operations, or continuous-improvement leadership roles.
• Demonstrated success implementing lean principles, visual-management systems, and structured CI programs.
• Strong analytical approach supported by data interpretation, KPI management, and problem-solving methodologies.
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience developing high-performing teams and coaching both leaders and frontline employees.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and change-management skills.

Travel/Physical Requirements

• Remote with 25–50% travel to Twenty-Six Defense sites as needed for CI deployment and coaching, depending on home location.

Here Are Some Of The Great Benefits We Offer

• Most locations offer a 9/80 schedule, providing every other Friday off
• Competitive compensation & 401(k) program to plan for your future
• Robust medical, dental, vision, & disability coverage with qualified wellness discounts
• Basic Life Insurance and Additional Life & AD&D Insurances are available
• Flexible Vacation & PTO
• Paid Parental Leave
• Generous Employee Referral Program
• Voluntary Benefits Available: Longer Term Care, Legal, Identity Theft, Pet Insurance, and more
• Voluntary Tricare Supplement available for military retirees

Twenty-Six Defense is an equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Salary Information

• For Virginia-based positions only* In accordance with Virginia DOL requirements, the listed salary range reflects the anticipated base pay range for this role. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including skills, experience, education, certifications, business needs, internal equity, and geographic location. Compensation may vary in different locations based on market conditions and cost-of-labor considerations.