Senior Director, Operational Excellence

BLUE ORIGIN•West Melbourne, FL

About The Position

At Blue Origin, the vision is for millions of people to live and work in space for the benefit of Earth, developing reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. This Senior Director of Operational Excellence role is new and will lead large-scale process improvement initiatives across businesses, programs, and operations. The position is responsible for driving a culture of continuous improvement, standardization, and operational rigor, ensuring best-in-class performance through data-driven decision-making and scalable mechanisms. This role is critical in shaping and scaling a culture of Operational Excellence, enabling the organization to deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes while continuously improving speed, efficiency, and reliability across the network. This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which includes Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance, covering Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in Manufacturing, Operations, Production or related fields
Aerospace industry experience with expertise in production and planning
Proven experience leading large-scale OE transformations or continuous improvement initiatives
Deep expertise in Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and Total Quality Management (TQM) methodologies
Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing teams in complex, fast-paced environments
Strong analytical skills with experience using data to drive decisions and measure impact
Experience developing standard work, playbooks, and scalable process frameworks
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at all levels
Track record of driving measurable improvements in efficiency, quality, and cost
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree or MBA
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent certification
Experience operating in multi-site or network-wide environments
Background in aerospace, manufacturing, logistics, or high-reliability industries
Experience building training programs or learning systems for operational adoption

Responsibilities

Build and lead a high-performing Operational Excellence team, setting vision, priorities, and measurable outcomes
Develop and implement mechanisms to identify, prioritize, and execute process improvements across operations
Identify benchmark and best practices, driving consistency and leveraging learnings across the network
Establish, measure, audit, and publish ongoing performance data aligned to the Blue OE Playbook
Create, teach, and embed a kaizen culture focused on rapid, iterative improvements
Design and deploy scalable learning modules to drive OE adoption and capability-building across teams
Partner cross-functionally with operations, engineering, quality, and leadership teams to align on priorities and drive impact
Lead defect reduction initiatives through root cause analysis, corrective actions, and preventive measures
Standardize workflows and ensure adherence to operational processes and quality standards
Drive accountability through clear metrics, reporting mechanisms, and regular business reviews

Benefits

Medical
Dental
Vision
Basic and supplemental life insurance
Paid parental leave
Short and long-term disability
401(k) with a company match of up to 5%
Education Support Program
Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours
Up to 14 company-paid holidays
Benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion