Operational Excellence Program Leader

Job Summary

Reporting to the Manager of Operational Excellence, the Continuous Improvement Project Leader collaborates with front-line leaders, production team members, and key support roles to drive operational excellence within ZOLL CMS Operations. This role is responsible for identifying and leading improvement initiatives to impact safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people engagement. This role is also responsible for establishing key systems and infrastructure to ensure that improvements are sustained and scaled.

Essential Functions

• Facilitate and actively participate in hands-on Kaizen events, A3 Problem Solving sessions, and Gemba Walks directly on the manufacturing floor to identify and resolve issues in real-time.
• Deploy and sustain Lean Operating System (e.g. Daily Management, Visual Management, Gemba, etc.) alongside Operational Excellence and production teams to eliminate waste and optimize flow.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to pilot, implement, and validate process improvements on the line, ensuring practical integration with NPI launches and digital initiatives.
• Partner with Advanced Manufacturing and Data teams to develop dashboards, etc. to make problems visible and enable stable production performance.
• Mentor frontline supervisors, operators, and PTMs, demonstrating "what good looks like" for Lean principles, CI tools, and task management. Model the behavior for daily management and problem-solving to build capability and promote a culture of continuous improvement for ZOLL CMS Operations.
• Drive the use of the employee suggestion system program (Spark) and support implementation of employee-submitted CI suggestions.
• Develop, deploy, and own granular operational excellence standards (e.g. Standard Work Sheets, SOPs, Visual Controls) based on floor observations and team feedback.
• Maintain and improve CI training materials and lessons learned repositories to ensure solutions are practical and scalable.
• Partner with Operations support teams to map, optimize, and standardize key processes.
• Track and report project / kaizen event impact on KPIs to operations leadership (throughput, scrap, downtime).
• Ensure alignment with overall Operational Excellence governance while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements (FDA, ISO, OSHA).

Required/Preferred Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering, Business, Organizational Development, or related field (OR 10+ years’ experience in developing, deploying, and sustaining lean transformation) required.
• 5+ experience with continuous improvement, process development, quality improvement, and/or cost reduction required.
• Formal Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt, Black Belt, etc.) within 1 year of service required.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Demonstrated experience leading and facilitating hands-on improvement activities (Kaizen events, problem solving, VSM workshops, etc.) in a high-volume manufacturing or service environment required.
• Strong working knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies with the ability to apply structured problem-solving techniques to technical challenges and coach others to do the same required.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills, with the ability to influence behavior, build relationships, and drive adoption among production employees, peers, and leadership without direct authority required.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to independently plan, prioritize, and execute multiple CI projects simultaneously required.
• Prowess in working with cross-functional teams (Production, Engineering, Supply Chain, etc.) to identify improvements and drive them to completion required.
• Experience in regulated manufacturing environments (FDA/ISO) preferred.
• Experience designing and/or delivering CI Training Programs preferred.
• Familiarity with Operations Technology (ERP/MES) and digital CI tools preferred.
• Formal project management (CAPM, PMP, etc.) or change management certification preferred.

Travel Requirements

5% based on business needs

Physical Demands

Standing - Occasionally
Walking - Occasionally
Sitting - Constantly
Talking - Occasionally
Hearing - Occasionally
Repetitive Motions - Frequently

Pay

The Annual Salary For This Position Is $95,000.00 to $125,000.00

Factors which may affect starting salary include geography, skills, education, experience, and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

Benefits

Details of ZOLL's comprehensive benefits plans can be found at www.zollbenefits.com.

Application

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until this position is filled.

Remote Work

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or status as a protected veteran. ADA: The employer will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.