Director, Operational Excellence

Responsibilities

• Lead and drive GrafTech’s enterprise Operational Excellence initiatives focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, reliability, and sustainability.
• Support operations leadership in developing deep understanding of Lean, TPS, and Six Sigma tools, and in identifying, prioritizing, and executing high-impact improvement opportunities.
• Apply practical, hands-on improvement methodologies including Daily Management Systems, Standard Work, A3/DMAIC problem solving, value stream mapping, kaizen events, and visual management.
• Partner directly with Plant Managers and Operations Managers to deliver measurable, sustained improvements in throughput, OEE, yield, cost, and working capital.
• As a change agent within manufacturing sites, work on the shop floor to ensure execution translates into real business results.
• Provide leadership and execution support during operational recoveries, turnarounds, and performance gap closures.
• Serve as interim General Manager or site leader when required to ensure continuity, stability, and disciplined execution.
• Collaborate with Digital, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and Supply Chain functions to integrate operational excellence with technology, automation, and data.
• Support development, standardization, and deployment of global operating systems, maturity models, and best practices.

Digital & Analytics Responsibilities

• Support operations in developing understanding of data analytics and its application to operational performance improvement.
• Drive identification and prioritization of digital and analytics opportunities based on business impact.
• Promote use of data-driven performance management through dashboards, KPIs, and visual performance systems.
• Partner with Digital and IT teams on deployment and adoption of analytics, visualization, and decision-support tools.
• Use data to validate improvements and ensure sustainability of results.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Formal training and certification in Lean Manufacturing, TPS, and/or Six Sigma (Black Belt or equivalent strongly preferred).
• Demonstrated practical application experience leading operational improvement in manufacturing environments; consulting-only experience is not sufficient.
• Proven experience as a Plant Manager, Operations Manager, or equivalent senior manufacturing leadership role.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing systems, asset-intensive operations, maintenance reliability, and production planning.
• Uncompromising execution mindset with a demonstrated history of translating strategy into sustained operational results—cost, throughput, reliability, and standardization-earned through direct plant-level leadership and scalable across complex, multi-site organizations.
• Working knowledge of data analytics, operational performance metrics, and digital manufacturing tools.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively and work directly in global manufacturing facilities.