Operational Excellence Manager

Location: Bay Shore, NY |
Schedule: Full-time, on-site

An established manufacturer in the precision/aerospace manufacturing space is seeking an Operational Excellence Manager to lead Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives at its Bay Shore, NY facility. This hands‑on role partners with operators, supervisors, and cross‑functional teams to reduce waste, improve production flow, increase capacity, and deliver measurable gains in quality, delivery, cost, and inventory. The successful candidate will combine shop‑floor experience with analytical and change‑leadership skills to drive sustainable operational improvements.

• Identify manufacturing waste, bottlenecks, and process variation through shop-floor observation, process mapping, value-stream mapping, and data analysis
• Lead kaizen events and focused improvement projects from planning through implementation and sustained results
• Apply Lean methods including A3/PDCA, 5S/6S, standard work, visual management, Kanban, capacity analysis, setup reduction (SMED), and root-cause analysis
• Improve material, labor, and information flow across machining, inspection, tooling, outside processing, planning, and support functions
• Prioritize improvements that increase overall production throughput and address critical capacity constraints
• Establish performance baselines for safety, quality, delivery, cost, labor utilization, overtime, setup time, work in process, scrap, and rework
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to remove barriers affecting customer commitments, production schedules, and backlog reduction
• Reduce manufacturing lead times, setup times, queue times, and aging work in process
• Improve labor productivity, machine utilization, staffing alignment, and visibility into direct and indirect labor
• Partner with Finance to validate recurring savings, capacity gains, inventory reductions, and cash benefits
• Ensure improvements maintain aerospace quality, safety, customer, export-control, and configuration-control requirements
• Implement tiered daily meetings, visual performance boards, clear action ownership, and timely escalation practices
• Establish leader standard work, process controls, and sustainment audits
• Develop a Lean deployment roadmap aligned with manufacturing priorities and new product introduction
• Use ERP and analytics tools to make performance visible and support fact-based decisions
• Create repeatable operating standards that can be applied across additional product families and facilities
• Identify digital and automation opportunities after simplifying and stabilizing underlying processes
• Coach supervisors, engineers, operators, and support teams in practical problem-solving and Lean methods
• Develop Lean champions and process owners who can sustain improvements within their areas
• Engage employees in identifying problems and designing effective solutions
• Collaborate with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Planning, Maintenance, Finance, and HR
• Communicate project progress, verified benefits, risks, and required decisions to site and senior leadership
• Build a culture of accountability, employee involvement, and disciplined follow-through

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or a related discipline; an equivalent combination of education and demonstrated accomplishments will be considered
• At least 7 years of progressive manufacturing experience, including 3 years leading Lean, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence initiatives
• Demonstrated results in waste reduction, throughput improvement, setup reduction, labor productivity, quality, inventory, or cost savings
• Hands‑on proficiency with value-stream mapping,…