Operational Excellence Manager

Valmont Industries, Inc. • Tulsa, OK

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Operational Excellence Manager is responsible for leading Continuous Improvement (CI), Facilities, and Manufacturing Engineering functions across the Oklahoma Operations footprint. This role drives world-class manufacturing performance by deploying Lean methodologies, optimizing processes, improving equipment reliability, managing capital projects, and strengthening a culture of structured problem-solving and daily improvement. This position requires broad technical expertise across manufacturing engineering, maintenance planning, facilities management, and CI systems, combined with strong leadership capability. Reporting directly to the Plant Manager, the Operational Excellence Manager partners with plant leadership to achieve improvements in safety, quality, delivery, and cost while building long-term capability and operational discipline.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Management, Manufacturing, or related field.
• Minimum of 5–10 years of manufacturing, engineering, CI/Lean, or maintenance leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success applying Lean/CI methodologies (Kaizen, 5S, Standard Work, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, TPM, DMAIC).
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and develop teams across multiple functions.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and establish goals, priorities, and direction for CI, engineering, and maintenance teams.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to evaluate cost studies, develop process improvements, and present data-driven recommendations.
• Excellent communication skills in both technical and non-technical applications; ability to influence at all organizational levels.

Nice To Haves

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Experience in heavy industrial, metals fabrication, or welding environments.
• Experience implementing TPM systems and reliability-centered maintenance practices.
• Experience managing capital projects and facility upgrades, including ROI modeling and justification.
• Knowledge of ERP/MES systems and industrial data analytics tools.

Responsibilities

• Staffs, develops, and manages the CI, Facilities, and Manufacturing Engineering teams to support site goals and objectives in alignment with divisional strategy.
• Leads the development and execution of the Operational Excellence roadmap focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people.
• Manages and executes capital and expense projects including identification, analysis, justification, ROI preparation, scheduling, installation, and operator training.
• Drives manufacturing problem solving related to throughput, cost reduction, capacity, planning, safety, quality, equipment reliability, and manufacturability.
• Oversees maintenance planning, preventive and predictive maintenance programs, and facility reliability systems to ensure stable, safe, and compliant operations.
• Leads engineering and implementation of tools, fixtures, layouts, and process improvements that enhance flow, reduce variation, and improve total cost.
• Facilitates improvement events (Kaizen, 5S, Standard Work, SMED, TPM, Value Stream Mapping, RCA) and coaches teams in structured problem-solving methodologies (PDCA, A3, Fishbone, Pareto, DMAIC).
• Partners with CI resources to deploy a continuous improvement culture through daily management systems, visual management, leader standard work, and tiered accountability.
• Develops and recommends manpower plans, staffing needs, and budgets for CI, Maintenance, and Facilities; ensures controls to manage expenses effectively.
• Provides coaching, training, and feedback to team members to promote growth, engagement, and the consistent use of CI methodologies.
• Coordinates planning and execution of long-range facility and equipment infrastructure improvements.
• Implements established company, division, and departmental policies; ensures communication and alignment across teams.
• Keeps the Senior Plant Manager and leadership informed of issues, progress, and project status.
• Develop and execute the Operational Excellence roadmap aligned to plant strategy (People-Customer-Process-Financials).
• Lead kaizen events, value stream mapping, and Lean transformations across departments.
• Build standard work, visual management, and tier accountability systems to drive daily improvement.
• Implement training programs to elevate lean capability across all levels of the organization—from floor operators to leadership.
• Own CI metric tracking, performance dashboards, and cost-savings pipeline.
• Oversee manufacturing engineering resources, priorities, and project execution.
• Drive process optimization, automation, and equipment capability improvements (e.g., weld cell efficiency, material flow, laser/press brake utilization).
• Support development and launch of new processes, routings, and tooling.
• Partner with production to resolve chronic issues using structured problem-solving methodologies (PDCA, 5 Why, A3).
• Lead facilities maintenance planning and reliability efforts (preventive & predictive).
• Manage capital projects from concept through implementation, including ROI justification, vendor selection, installation, and operator training.
• Ensure facility infrastructure supports safety, growth, uptime, and capability needs.
• Manage contractor relationships, permitting, and facility compliance.
• Build a culture of accountability, engagement, and waste elimination.
• Coach supervisors, engineers, and hourly teams in Lean thinking and continuous improvement skills.
• Partners with cross-functional groups (EHS, Quality, Supply Chain, HR, Finance Operations) to strengthen collaboration, problem-solving, and operational readiness.
• Champion behavior-based safety and ensure the workplace meets Valmont EHS expectations.

Benefits

• Healthcare (medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision)
• 401k retirement plan with company match
• Paid time off
• Employer paid life insurance
• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability including maternity leave
• Work Life Support
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 per year
• Voluntary programs like tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, mortgage services and more

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees