Manufacturing Excellence Leader

Trelleborg Coated Systems US•Delano, MN

About The Position

The Manufacturing Excellence Leader leads, deploys, and sustains Manufacturing Excellence (ME) at the site level in alignment with the TMS Management System, driving a strong culture of Operational Excellence. As a key member of the Site Leadership Team, this role is the primary driver of Lean-based continuous improvement across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and engagement. The role translates enterprise and site strategies into actionable improvement priorities, builds local Lean and problem-solving capability, and delivers measurable, sustainable results. The Manufacturing Excellence Leader works closely with the global Operational Excellence team to maintain alignment, share best practices, and implement new Lean concepts, while owning end‑to‑end execution at the facility as both a hands-on practitioner and coach to leaders and teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Project Management, or related field OR 5+ years of equivalent experience with site level Continous Improvement ownership
3+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment with hands-on responsibility for Continuous Improvement or Operational Excellence
Proven experience facilitating site-level Lean initiatives, Kaizen events, structured problem solving and training
Understanding of ISO9001 or 13485 standards
Ability to read, write, speak and understand the English language
Ability to communicate clearly by conveying and receiving ideas, information and direction effectively
Ability to demonstrate adequate job knowledge to deliver a world class performance
Ability to challenge oneself to consistently meet all goals and deadlines
Willingness to strive for excellence by producing work that is free of errors and mistakes
Desire to delight both customers and coworkers by offering encouragement, fostering teamwork and addressing conflict appropriately
Commitment to making improvements company wide
Demonstrated competence using Microsoft Office, Visio and ERP programs
Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
Team facilitation and analytical problem-solving skills
Ability to motivate teams and lead change at all levels of the organization
Ability to adapt to changing duties and responsibilities

Nice To Haves

Supervisory certification or experience
Lean Practitioner, Green Belt or Black Belt training/certification

Responsibilities

Identify, prioritize and facilitate improvement initiatives that deliver measurable improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and Engagement.
Facilitate and/or coach Kaizen events, value stream mapping, problem solving efforts to identify and eliminate waste and improve process capability.
Work across sites to support critical improvement initiatives as needed.
Serve as a coach and change leader, reinforcing Lean thinking, accountability, and continuous improvement behaviors at all levels of the site.
Challenge traditional thinking and remove barriers that prevent sustainable improvement.
Build internal capability by training and developing leaders, project owners, and process champions in Lean principles, structured problem solving and Lean tools.
Act as ambassador for site Daily Management/Performance Dialogue systems.
Partner with site leadership to translate business strategy into clear improvement priorities and measurable objectives.
Support departments in defining leading and lagging indicators, aligning local metrics to enterprise KPIs.
Ensure improvement activity and results are tracked, communicated, and sustained.
Assist departments in determining relevant ME metrics for their area that align with corporate metrics & goals.
Assist departments in planning improvement projects for their area that align to the corporate ME metrics & goals.
Assist departments in establishing and maintaining a system to capture, prioritize, and implement improvement ideas.
Support and build a structured problem-solving based culture utilizing PDCA, A3, root cause analysis, and data-based decision making.
Collect, curate, and utilize data to improve the ME program.
Ensure learning from improvement efforts is standardized and shared across the site.
Act as the site liaison to the global TMS ME organization, ensuring alignment with standards, tools, and expectations.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Supply Chain, IT and EHS to enable improvement success.