Senior Program Manager, Operational Excellence

Introduction to the job:

The Senior Program Manager, Operational Excellence & Lean, will be a key driver of continuous improvement initiatives across our manufacturing floor. As part of the ASML team, you will lead efforts to streamline processes, reduce waste, and enhance operational performance using Lean Six Sigma methodologies for the DUV factory. This role is hands-on, requiring frequent presence in the clean room to connect with teams and drive real-time improvements. If you’re passionate about Lean principles and have a knack for problem-solving, we want you to help us achieve our operational excellence goals.

Role and responsibilities:

As the Senior Program Manager, Operational Excellence & Lean, you will lead high-impact initiatives to optimize manufacturing and operational processes. The role requires a strong background in Lean, and hands-on problem solving, and you will be tasked with building and mentoring change agents within the organization. You will spend time on the production floor, coaching teams, facilitating kaizen events, and ensuring that our tier management system is effective and aligned with our business goals while developing the alignment with ISO standards and best practices in process mapping.

• Waste Reduction & Kaizen Facilitation: Lead efforts to reduce floor waste and facilitate kaizen events, ensuring the successful execution of process improvements that enhance efficiency and reduce costs for the manufacturing team.
• Hands-On Floor Lean Leader: Spend time in the clean room regularly to engage with staff, solve real-time problems, improving 5S+1 practices, and ensure adherence to Lean practices on the floor.
• Develop & Mentor Change Agents: Identify and train team members to become change agents, building a culture of continuous improvement across the organization.
• Lead Operational Excellence Projects: Manage and lead cross-functional operational excellence projects, driving measurable improvements in quality, throughput, yield, and cost reduction.
• Process Mapping & ISO 9001 Expertise: Assist in initiatives to update current processes to align with ISO standards and best practices in process mapping, helping maintain compliance and drive efficiency.
• Problem Solving: tackle both small scale operational issues and larger systemic challenges by working hands-on with team to identify root causes and implement sustainable solutions.
• Data Analytics & Dashboards: Develop and manage operational dashboards and visualizations to track KPIs and identify trends. Use data-driven insights to guide decision-making and inform continuous improvement initiatives. Experience in creating dashboards, specially in Spotfire is ideal.
• Tier Management System: Serve as the point of contact for the tier system on the production floor, ensuring that issues are escalated and addressed through a structured, data-driven approach.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field; a Master’s degree is preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or other lean certificates from reputable organizations are strongly preferred
• PMP certification preferred
• Minimum 7 years of experience in operational excellence, with a focus on Lean and Six Sigma methodologies with 5 years in manufacturing environment
• Proven experience in leading kaizen and enhancing 5S+1 practices.
• Strong understanding of ISO 9001 and other quality standards as well as process mapping.
• Excellent leadership skills, with the ability to lead without authority and influence cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in data analysis, creating dashboards, and reporting using MS Excel, Spotfire, and project management tools.

Skills:

• Excellent communication and leadership skills with a proven ability to influence and mentor cross-functional teams from different levels.
• Proven problem solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and address both immediate and long term manufacturing challenges.
• Ability to translate, statistically analyze data, and effectively report problems through written and/or graphical formats.
• Excellent customer service skills, with an advanced understanding of internal customer relationship building.
• Project management experience, including project planning and execution and leading teams.
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills with the ability to influence, motivate, mentor, and lead team resources from technician to leadership.
• Self-starter; self-motivator; willing to do what it takes to get the job done.
• Track record of valued contribution and ability t