Operational Excellence Manager

Additional Information

Join us and we’ll help build your career, with excellent training and opportunities for career growth across the business, both locally and globally. You’ll experience an inclusive environment, with strong leadership and a focus on safety and wellbeing. You’ll also have the flexibility to choose from a wide range of benefits to suit your lifestyle, offering you and your family support from a health and wellbeing, financial and lifestyle perspective.

Join us and work for a world-leader, with the benefits and training to reward your dedication and skills. Be part of a team where we are making the world a safer place.

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Detection, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website.

Company Description

Every minute of every day, Smiths Detection’s threat detection and security screening technology helps to protect people and infrastructure, making the world a safer place. 

Smiths Detection, is a global leader in the development, manufacture and management of security and detection solutions designed to make the world a safer place. Our technology provides threat detection and screening solutions for customers in our key markets: aviation, ports and borders, defence, and urban security.

Our expertise spans 21 global offices, seven manufacturing sites and five R&D centres, with a global network of 3,000 dedicated colleagues contributing towards over 40 years at the frontline of advances in safety and security.  

This results in careers built on variety and the opportunity to work on a range of state-of-the-art solutions, where you can develop your knowledge and experience every day.

Job Description

At Smiths Detection, we are looking for an experienced Operational Excellence Manager to lead the deployment of Operational Excellence initiatives at our Johor manufacturing site. This is a highly visible leadership role responsible for driving sustainable improvements across Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and People (SPQDC) while embedding a culture of continuous improvement and operational discipline.

You will work closely with site leadership and global stakeholders to implement Lean methodologies, deliver measurable business impact, and help shape the future of manufacturing excellence across the organization.

What You'll Be Doing

Lead Operational Excellence Strategy

• Define and execute the Johor site's Operational Excellence roadmap.
• Embed Lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement practices across operations.
• Drive Industry 4.0, sustainability, waste reduction and productivity initiatives.
• Implement Daily Management Systems, Visual Management and Leader Standard Work.
• Lead strategic improvement projects focused on quality, cost, delivery and customer satisfaction.

Drive Continuous Improvement

• Facilitate Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping workshops and problem-solving initiatives.
• Deploy structured methodologies to resolve operational challenges and improve factory performance.
• Lead PFMEA, 7 QC Tools and Poka-Yoke initiatives to improve quality and process reliability.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities and deliver measurable results.

Build Capability & Culture

• Coach and mentor leaders and employees in Lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Champion a data-driven, customer-focused approach to decision-making.
• Influence and support leadership teams in driving sustainable cultural change.
• Share best practices across global Operational Excellence communities.

Governance & Performance Management

• Track and report key operational KPIs.
• Ensure governance processes drive accountability and corrective action.
• Align site reporting with global operational standards.
• Provide visibility and insights to support strategic business decisions.

Qualifications

What We're Looking For

Essential

• Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations Management or similar discipline.
• 8-10 years' experience within manufacturing environments.
• At least 5 years of Operational Excellence, Lean or Continuous Improvement leadership experience.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification.
• Demonstrated success leading Lean transformations and delivering measurable business improvements.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Management Systems, structured problem solving and cultural change deployment.
• Experience working with manufacturing operations, quality, supply chain and engineering teams.
• Advanced proficiency with data analysis and reporting tools such as Power BI, Minitab and Excel.

Preferred

• Experience within highly regulated industries such as aerospace, security, medical devices, electronics or advanced manufacturing.
• Master's degree, MBA, Black Belt certification or equivalent advanced qualification.
• Experience with ERP and MES systems.
• Exposure to Industry 4.0 initiatives and digital manufacturing technologies.

Who You Are

• A strong change agent with exceptional influencing and coaching skills.
• Comfortable engaging stakeholders from the shop floor through to senior leadership.
• Analytical, data-driven and passionate about solving complex operational challenges.
• Resilient, proactive and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A collaborative leader who can translate strategy into tangible operational results.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in transforming manufacturing performance at a key Smiths Detection site. You'll have the autonomy to drive meaningful change, influence senior leaders, and leave a lasting impact on operational performance, employee engagement and customer outcomes.

Ready to lead the next phase of Operational Excellence in Johor? We'd love to hear from you.