Operational Excellence Manager

Operational Excellence Manager

We are recruiting for an Operational Excellence Manager at a food manufacturer in Mebane, NC. This is the site-level leader of TPM and Continuous Improvement, reporting directly to the Plant Director and sitting on the Site Leadership Team. It is a hands-on role with heavy shop floor presence, focused on site transformation, cost reduction, and building capability across the plant.

What you'll do:

• Build and drive the site Continuous Improvement strategy and implement a TPM culture across the plant
• Serve as an active member of the Site Leadership Team on site strategy, governance, and execution
• Lead cultural and operational transformation by advancing TPM and CI maturity
• Design and run change management programs that stick on the floor
• Drive performance optimization and cost savings, including cost-to-serve workstreams
• Build a rigorous root cause analysis culture and turn data into action
• Partner cross-functionally on local supply strategies aligned to regional goals
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 1 to 3 direct and indirect reports in the training and CI group
• Own the site Education and Training program and build site-wide capability

What you need:

• 3-5 years of progressive manufacturing experience
• 3 years working in a multi-pillar TPM framework
• Experience developing a site-wide TPM implementation strategy, including Autonomous Maintenance progression through AM Step 3
• Hands-on experience with TPM, Kaizen, 5S, and SMED
• Proven team management and talent development skills
• Track record leading large-scale change
• Analytical, process-oriented, and comfortable on the shop floor
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field

Nice to have:

• 5+ years of manufacturing experience, ideally in CPG, food production, or high-speed packaging
• Experience in the initial implementation phase of TPM

Schedule: 100% onsite in Mebane, NC, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. Occasional domestic and international travel. Mandatory on-call rotation for after-hours and weekend escalation.