Director of Lean Manufacturing
manufacturing › Lean Manufacturing · M5 — M5 — Senior Director · Management
Directs lean manufacturing strategy and design-for-manufacture practices across multiple product lines or plants.
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What this role is
Directs lean manufacturing strategy and design-for-manufacture practices across multiple product lines or plants. At the Senior Director (M5) level, the role owns multiple functions or a large department, org-level trade-offs and investment, and drives multi-function results. Leads directors and managers.
What this level does
- Directs lean manufacturing strategy across a division or multiple plants through subordinate department managers, with impact on overall operations performance
- Works closely with executives to implement manufacturing strategy and metrics, defining the continuous-improvement methods and governance used enterprise-wide
- Contributes to strategic decision-making and long-term planning, providing critical input when evaluating new technologies (digital manufacturing, AI-enabled process optimization) for adoption
- Resolves complex, org-wide operational issues where standard lean practice is insufficient, defining new methods and standards for the organization
- Influences executives and major customers on capacity, quality, and cost trajectory driven by the lean transformation portfolio
- Knowledge applied
- Directs division/multi-plant lean strategy, defining the methods and governance used enterprise-wide.
- Complexity & problem solving
- Resolves complex org-wide operational issues and defines new methods, including new-technology evaluation.
- Collaboration & interaction
- Influences executives and major customers on cost, quality, and capacity outcomes; leads through department managers.
- Typical experience
- 10–12+ years including second-level management and strategy work.
Skills at this level
- Lean Six Sigma Methodologies
- — Applies continuous-improvement and process-optimization methods — VSM, standard work, 5S, SMED, Kanban, TPM, Kaizen — to eliminate waste and increase throughput in manufacturing operations.
- Root Cause Analysis
- — Uses structured problem-solving to identify the permanent root cause of recurring quality and productivity issues on the production floor and drives corrective control plans.
- Time Study & Work Standards
- — Conducts and audits time studies to set time standards, measure productivity, and support estimation of manufacturing costs.
- Workshop Facilitation & Kaizen Leadership
- — Organizes and facilitates improvement workshops (changeover, 5S, TPM, Value Stream, material flow), scoping opportunities and leading teams to solutions and control plans.
- Lean Coaching & Capability Building
- — Coaches, trains, and mentors cross-functional teams in Lean/Six Sigma tools (GEMBA, DOE, TPI) to build capability and sustain adoption of improvements.
- Workplace Flow & Layout Design
- — Plans and implements workplace flow, line layout, and equipment installations, modifications, and moves according to Lean concepts.
- Manufacturing Systems (ERP/MES)
- — Uses ERP and MES systems to pull production data, track standards and losses, and feed improvement decisions in manufacturing operations.
- New Line Start-up & NPI
- — Leads advanced manufacturing plans to start up new production lines, commission plants, and introduce new products into manufacturing operations.
- Stakeholder Alignment for Lean Adoption
- — Aligns diverse teams around lean principles through communication and stakeholder engagement to ensure sustainable, measurable adoption.
- Manufacturing Strategy & Technology Evaluation
- — Contributes to long-term manufacturing planning and evaluates new technologies such as digital manufacturing and AI-enabled process optimization for adoption.
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As of · 2026-07-30
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