Manufacturing Excellence Manager

BB Nash is a growing food manufacturing operation in Nashville focused on operational excellence, scalability, and high-quality production within the functional nutrition category. As we expand our capabilities, we are building structured systems, strong leadership behaviors, and data-driven performance routines that support long-term growth. We are committed to creating a culture of continuous improvement where every employee is engaged in improving safety, quality, cost, and delivery. This role is central to that mission.

Responsibilities

• Lean Leader: Drive structured operational excellence across the manufacturing facility.
  • Lead Lean and Six Sigma initiatives to improve safety, quality, efficiency, and cost performance.
  • Facilitate value stream mapping, 5S, SMED, DMAIC, Gemba walks, and structured waste-reduction events.
  • Develop and implement standard work, visual management systems, and process documentation.
  • Establish and drive engagement with KPI dashboards for OEE, yield, throughput, scrap, rework, and downtime.
  • Champion disciplined daily management routines that sustain improvement gains.
• Performance Architect: Identify loss drivers and improve production efficiency through data-driven analysis.
  • Organize and sustain production data capture systems to identify chronic loss drivers.
  • Partner with Production to improve efficiencies in mixing, forming, tempering, coating, and packaging processes.
  • Develop strategies to improve line speed, reduce changeover time, and enhance batch consistency.
  • Drive reduction in material waste, including protein powder, coatings, inclusions, and packaging materials.
  • Champion data-driven decision making through dashboards, KPIs, and structured performance routines.
  • Support digital transformation initiatives including MES, automation, predictive analytics, and machine health monitoring.
• Cross-Functional Change Agent: Align departments to eliminate waste and improve reliability.
  • Partner with Maintenance to strengthen preventive and predictive programs that reduce equipment downtime.
  • Collaborate with Quality to eliminate defects, improve specification adherence, and support audit readiness.
  • Align with Supply Chain to optimize capacity planning, scheduling, and raw material utilization.
  • Support R&D commercialization efforts to ensure smooth scale-up from pilot to production.
  • Lead cross-functional improvement projects with defined timelines, deliverables, and ROI targets.
• Capability Builder: Develop Lean skills and embed continuous improvement into site culture.
  • Train and mentor supervisors, operators, and technicians in Lean tools and structured problem-solving.
  • Facilitate hands-on workshops, Kaizen events, and Gemba-based learning activities.
  • Promote operational discipline, accountability, and data transparency across all shifts.
  • Collaborate with HR and site leadership to integrate CI competencies into performance management and development pathways.
  • Maintain training documentation, certification records, and competency assessments to track organizational capability growth.
• Structured Problem Solver: Diagnose root causes and implement sustainable solutions.
  • Apply structured problem-solving tools such as 4M, Fishbone, 5W, DMAIC, and statistical process control.
  • Conduct root cause analysis on chronic losses and performance gaps.
  • Manage implementation of process improvements, equipment enhancements, and automation upgrades.
  • Present project outcomes, savings, and performance improvements to leadership through structured reporting.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in Continuous Improvement, Process Engineering, or Operations within a manufacturing environment.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification minimum; Black Belt or higher preferred.
• Demonstrated experience implementing Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, SMED, and structured CI systems in a production environment.
• Proven track record in loss analysis, OEE deployment, statistical problem solving, workflow design, and process optimization.
• Strong data analytics capability and experience with performance systems (MES, Power BI, Minitab, SPC tools, or similar).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in food, CPG, or high-speed processing/packaging environments; regulated environments (FDA, GFSI) a plus.
• Experience implementing Lean systems in brownfield or greenfield projects, equipment installations, or operational scale-ups.
• Experience with OEE measurement tools and production analytics platforms.
• Power BI proficiency preferred.