Lean Leader

GN Group•Shakopee, MN

21h•$100,000 - $105,000

About The Position

The Lean Leader is responsible for driving operational excellence across GN North America by improving Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost performance. This role partners closely with operations, engineering, quality, and supply chain teams to deploy Lean principles, strengthen problem-solving capability, and deliver measurable business results across production and repair operations. As a hands-on change agent, the Lean Leader leads Kaizen activities, implements standard work, and supports leaders and frontline teams in building a strong Lean culture. This position plays a key role in driving productivity, improving flow, and enabling sustainable continuous improvement. The Lean Leader collaborates with global teams and regional sites to align best practices, support Lean deployment, and ensure consistent execution across the organization.

Requirements

Fluency in English required.
Strong leadership and influencing capability to coordinate cross-functional project teams and shape organizational direction.
Ability to lead through vision and keep the company’s vision at the forefront of decision-making and action.
Proven capability to evaluate critical business metrics and operational scenarios with a broad, enterprise-level perspective, coupled with expertise in creating, shaping, and executing a CI roadmap to drive performance within an operating business.
Ability to lead and govern large portfolios of improvement projects, especially annual cost saving initiatives.
Strong financial and analytical skills to quantify, validate, and communicate operational savings.
Exceptional facilitation and coaching skills for Lean certification programs and CI capability building.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of preparing clear dashboards, reports, and presentations.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
BS degree in Engineering, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business, or related field.
3–5+ years of experience in Continuous Improvement, Lean leadership, or Operational Excellence roles.
Proven experience leading cost saving project portfolios with measurable financial results.
Experience deploying a Manufacturing System (e.g., TPS, OPEX systems) strongly preferred.
Demonstrated success designing and delivering Lean training and certification programs.
Experience leading Kaizen events, value stream mapping, and CI workshops.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt / Black Belt).
Formal training in Lean Enterprise or Operational Excellence frameworks is a plus.
Experience collaborating with global or cross-site operations is a plus.

Responsibilities

Drive operational performance improvements related to Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost.
Lead Lean and Continuous Improvement initiatives, including Kaizen events, problem-solving sessions, and Lean roadmap execution.
Implement and sustain standard work, Lean playbooks, and daily management systems across operations.
Lead the deployment and sustainment of the GN Manufacturing System (GMS) in alignment with global standards.
Coach leaders and teams on Lean methodologies, fostering a strong problem-solving and continuous improvement mindset.
Partner with cross-functional and global teams to improve flow, productivity, and on-time delivery.
Drive inventory, lead-time, and productivity improvements through pull systems and Lean practices.
Track progress, communicate results, and support execution of improvement actions.
Support talent development by building Lean capability across all levels of the organization.
Perform other duties as assigned.