Head of Continuous Improvement & Lean

Introduction to the job

As a key member in Operational Excellence organization, the mission of the " Head of Continuous Improvement & Lean is to lead and drive operational performance across the San Diego & Korea factories using a strong team of high performers. This role is responsible for developing and executing a continuous improvement roadmap, optimizing manufacturing processes, launch the FLOW manufacturing, helping factories achieving their Operational Excellence Maturity, and ensuring alignment with internal customer needs in San Diego & Korea factories.

Role and Responsibilities

• Champion a culture of operational excellence, empowerment, and continuous improvement across all levels of the San Diego & Korea factories Manufacturing Organizations.
• Drive the San Diego and Korea factories toward achieving their Operational Excellence (OE) maturity targets by embedding OE maturity elements in alignment with each factory’s strategic objectives as well as overall direction of the 3 sites
• Drive San Diego & Korea factories in their journey to embrace FLOW manufacturing, and its key characteristics as a tool to address factory challenges (Border of Line, Pull Planning, Pitches in takt, Supermarkets, Milk Run, & Standard work)
• Foster a culture of Continuous Improvement where CI targets are aligned with factories strategic direction
• Serve as a strategic coach to factory leadership, guiding decision-making processes that align with long-term operational goals
• Foster a culture of KPI ownership by ensuring key functions define, manage, and take accountability for performance metrics aligned with strategic objective
• Lead the development and execution of the department’s operational strategy and improvement roadmap, ensuring alignment with factory goals and breakthrough initiatives in accordance with San Diego & Korea factories Hoshin Kanri priorities
• Establish sustainable mechanisms to monitor and report on process performance, operational metrics, and project execution to manufacturing teams
• Define, lead, and report on process improvement initiatives (e.g., Lean, CI, automation) that drive efficiency, reduce waste, and improve throughput.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management, Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Operational Excellence, Manufacturing, or Process Improvement in a high-volume, technically complex environment.
• 7+ years in leadership roles within technically driven organizations.
• Proven experience managing cross-functional projects and driving operational improvements.
• Proven track record in Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, value stream mapping, root cause analysis, and other continuous improvement methodologies.
• Familiarity with ISO standards and process audit frameworks.

Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; able to translate data into actionable insights.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills to work w factory leadership staff
• Advanced customer service orientation and stakeholder management.
• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and data visualization tools.
• Strong leadership capabilities, including coaching, team development, and performance management.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships across departments and functions.
• Six Sigma Master Black Belt or Black Belt from a well-known organization

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Other Information:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee routinely is required to sit; walk; talk and hear; use hands to keyboard, finger, handle, and feel; stoop, kneel, crouch, twist, crawl, reach, and stretch.
• The employee is occasionally required to move around the campus.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.