Junior​/Senior Manager Operational Excellence & Lean Management; m​/f​/d

Junior/ Senior Manager Operational Excellence & Lean Management (m/f/d) Shape the Future of Operations at Hebenstreit

Hebenstreit is a leading international technology company in special-purpose machinery and process equipment for the wafer and snack industry. Many of the world’s leading food manufacturers rely on our technology, engineering expertise and more than 125 years of experience.

To further develop our Operations Organization, we are looking for a highly motivated and hands‑on

This is much more than a traditional Lean Management position.

We are looking for someone who wants to understand, challenge and improve our entire operational value chain – from Make‑or‑Buy decisions, Procurement and Supply Chain through Manufacturing, Production Planning and Assembly to Quality and final delivery.

The position offers significant exposure to our senior management and the opportunity to develop towards broader Operations leadership responsibilities.

Your goal is simple:
the right product, at the right quality, at the right time and at competitive cost.

You will identify where we can become faster, leaner and more efficient – and, most importantly, turn your ideas into measurable results.

• Analyze and optimize our end-to-end operational value stream
• Drive Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence across Manufacturing and Assembly
• Design and facilitate Lean workshops, Kaizen events and Value Stream Mapping
• Establish and further develop Shopfloor Management, 5S and continuous improvement routines
• Identify bottlenecks, waste and inefficiencies and translate them into concrete improvement projects
• Optimize manufacturing and assembly processes
  , layouts, material flows and capacity utilization
• Support strategic and operational Make‑or‑Buy decisions
• Improve interfaces between Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Assembly
• Develop transparent KPIs and performance management systems
• Improve lead times, productivity, quality, capacity and operational cost
• Support the further development of production planning and control
• Lead cross‑functional Operational Excellence projects from analysis through implementation
• Build a sustainable Lean and continuous improvement culture across the organization
• Work closely with the Management Board on the continuous development of our Operations organization

• University degree in Mechanical Engineering, Production Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management or a comparable field
• Strong understanding of manufacturing and assembly environments
  , ideally within machinery, industrial equipment or project‑based production
• Practical knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Operational Excellence and continuous improvement
• Experience with Lean tools such as Value Stream Mapping, Shopfloor Management, 5S, Kaizen and structured problem solving
• Basic understanding of production planning and control
  , capacity planning and operational performance management
• Strong analytical capabilities combined with a genuine hands‑on mentality
• Ability to translate improvement opportunities into measurable impact in EUR, lead time, productivity, quality and capacity
• Excellent communication, workshop facilitation and stakeholder management skills
• Confidence to challenge established processes while bringing people along on the journey

Experience in management consulting, operations consulting or an internal Operational Excellence function would be a strong advantage.

We are particularly interested in candidates who have already analyzed and improved different manufacturing organizations and who now want to take the next step from advising businesses to taking ownership and implementing change themselves .

You should enjoy being close to the shopfloor, working with people and seeing the tangible results of your decisions – rather than producing concepts and presentations alone.

This role offers the opportunity to take responsibility far beyond individual Lean projects.

You will gain a broad understanding of our Operations organization, work directly with senior management and play an important role in shaping the future of Hebenstreit.

For the right person, this position can be a development platform towards broader Operations leadership responsibilities .

If you want to move from recommending operational excellence to making it happen , we would like to hear from you.