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Lallemand · 4 hours ago

Operational Excellence Manager

Milwaukee, WI

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

7+ years exp

Lallemand is seeking an Operational Excellence and Program Manager to lead Lean transformation and optimize business processes. This role involves bridging technical manufacturing excellence with business management to enhance operational scalability and efficiency through data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives.

EnergyFood and BeverageManufacturing

Responsibilities

Facilitate and coach the use of A3 problem solving, ensuring teams apply structured methods to address root causes and implement sustainable solutions

Lead Kaizen events, value stream mapping, and 6S initiatives, systematically identifying and eliminating waste while building continuous improvement into daily operations

Identify and implement waste reduction opportunities across processes, ensuring gains in efficiency, flow, and productivity

Build and refine business processes tied directly to Lean fundamentals, ensuring operational, tactical, and strategic goals are connected to drive both business and operational excellence

Partner with manufacturing and operations leaders to ensure process optimization is sustained at both technical and management levels

Collaborate with managers to cascade strategic objectives into measurable daily actions by applying Hoshin Kanri strategy deployment principles

Ensure alignment across long-term vision, annual priorities, and frontline execution through structured goal-setting, visual management, and disciplined follow-up

Map, analyze, and optimize business processes across operations, ensuring alignment between manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance, and commercial functions

Build scalable workflows and governance structures that enhance efficiency and cross-functional collaboration

Develop metrics and dashboards to measure process performance and business impact

Take a hands-on role in building data capture methods, analyzing results, and ensuring data is actively used in daily, tactical, and long-term decision-making

Qualification

Lean Manufacturing toolsERP implementationsData managementData analyticsProgramming intuitionStakeholder managementCommunication skillsProblem-solving skills

Required

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Computer Science, Operations Management, or related field; Master's preferred

7+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, ideally within bioprocessing, biopharmaceutical, or other complex process manufacturing industries

Proven experience as a Process Engineer and/or in Lean/Operational Excellence roles; strong technical background is highly desired

Must have direct experience working in a manufacturing setting

Strong expertise in Lean Manufacturing tools: standard work, problem solving, Lean Daily Management, SQDCP, A3 thinking, Kaizen, value stream mapping, and 6S

Hands-on experience leading ERP implementations, ideally Microsoft Dynamics 365; ability to act as ERP SME

Must be intermediate to expert level on data management and data analytics (descriptive data analysis), especially with capabilities to use Microsoft Excel, Power BI and other similar programs

Demonstrated success managing complex value streams and cross-functional process improvement initiatives

Strong business acumen with ability to bridge technical operations and enterprise process needs

Highly data-driven mindset, with proven ability to analyze, interpret, and act on complex data to support decisions

Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills

Must be able to navigate and resolve complex problems, drawing sound conclusions even when working with limited or incomplete information