Lean Operations Manager

Lean Operations Manager

Start Date: Immediate

Location: Baltic, South Dakota

Compensation: $110,000 -140,000 + Ownership Equity

OverviewScientific Safety Alliance, or SSA, exists to Accelerate Science. Delightfully. SSA is growing at an exceptional rate and is rapidly rising Inc Magazines 2024 and 2025 list of fastest growing privately held companies. How fast? In a little over 2.5 years, we have acquired 20 companies and our growth is only accelerating.

Who do we serve? We serve the life sciences world, including pharmaceutical, biotech, hospital, and research facilities that rely on us to keep their controlled environments compliant and ready for discovery. Our mission is simple: remove the friction so our customers can focus on innovation.

What makes SSA special? SSA is a 100% founder and employee-owned company. Every team member has a stake in the outcome, and everyone's performance directly impacts the value of their ownership. We have grown from a handful of regional teams into one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States through a network of specialized local service companies. Our people are highly motivated problem solvers who take pride in precision, responsiveness, and integrity. We do more than maintain equipment; we help enable the discoveries that shape modern medicine and science. Our goal every day is to build the best company in the world, one founded on sweat equity, collaboration, and shared success.

The Opportunity: Operations ManagerWe are seeking a hands-on, process-driven Lean Operations Manager to lead day-to-day operations at one of our companies. This role bridges all operations—ensuring every client receives seamless, high-quality service delivery while maintaining operational efficiency and team performance. This position manages our local Customer Success, Lab & Field Technician teams to streamline workflows, manage capacity, and optimize technician utilization. You'll help shape the foundation for scalable operations as the company continues to grow.

This role will initially report to SSA's Midwest Regional Manager and work closely with our COO, VP of Sales, and Field Operations teams to build and execute a customer-centric strategy. You will have the opportunity to shape and refine our customer engagement playbook, helping us scale personalized, high-touch support while ensuring operational efficiency. As a key advocate for our customers, you'll also provide valuable insights that influence process improvements, service offerings, and overall business strategy.

How You Will Make an Impact

• Oversee Daily Service Operations: Oversee all operations of this branch which includes scheduling, dispatch, customer relationships and resource allocation to ensure timely and efficient completion of customer projects.
• Own Customer Relationships: You will be the escalation oint of contact for our customers, ensuring the value of our services are maximized.
• P&L Responsibility: Identify opportunities for customer expansion and revenue growth.
• Seamless Onboarding: Ensure a smooth transition from sales, coordinate field service deployments, and guide new customers through their first engagements.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Leverage customer data and trends to drive retention strategies and continuously improve customer experience.
• Refine & Scale Customer Engagement: Help build best practices, playbooks, and automation strategies to ensure a world-class customer journey.
• Optimize Field Performance: Track technician productivity, utilization, and service quality; identify and implement improvements.
• Bridge Communication: Coordinate between field technicians, customer success, and clients to ensure consistent information flow and issue resolution.
• Drive Process Improvement: Document and refine operational SOPs, standardize workflows, and implement automation or system upgrades where possible.
• Support Growth & Scalability: Contribute to capacity planning and hiring forecasts as we expand service lines and regions.
• Ensure Compliance & Quality: Maintain service documentation standards, calibration schedules, and alignment with regulatory and internal QA processes.
• Own Key Metrics: Track on-time service completion, technician utilization rate, and customer satisfaction (NPS) to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Net Promoter Score: Drive Loyalty and positive customer feedback.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of experience working in lean operations (preferably within manufacutirng, life sciences, cleanroom, HVAC, or technical field service industries).
• Experienced lean practitioner utilizing leans tools like Kaizen, DMAIC, 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Kanban, etc..
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership and communication skills—able to motivate teams and drive accountability.
• Process-oriented mindset with experience implementing systems or automation tools (CRM, ERP, or scheduling software preferred).
• Commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.
• Data-Driven Approach – Ability to analyze customer data and turn insights into action.

Benefits

• Equity ownership in SSA
• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Health insurance (100% for employee and family)
• Life insurance
• Uncapped Paid time off
• Parental leave

If you are passionate about driving customer success, have the skills we are looking for, and want to be a part of the rocket ship we are building, we want to hear from you!!