Operational Excellence and Quality Systems Manager

Job Description

Job Description

About Novolex

Novolex is redefining what packaging can do—delivering innovative paper, plastic, and sustainable solutions across food, retail, healthcare, and industrial markets. Our sustainability vision rests on three pillars—products, operations, and people—guiding bold goals and everyday decisions.

A Day in This Role

Morning starts with a walk through the line, checking visual management boards and SPC dashboards. You’ll lead a quick stand-up to align on the day’s improvement targets and quality priorities. By mid-morning, you’re deep into process engineering—reviewing Process Flow Diagrams with plant pressure profiles, validating mechanical design pressures and temperatures, and confirming heat and material balances. After lunch, you huddle with the Applications Engineer to expedite information between engineering and project execution. You’ll evaluate vendor offers, review prints, confirm relief valve and header sizing, align on process heat exchanger needs, and complete a safety review. Before the day ends, you close the loop on a customer complaint (CIR), document corrective actions, and update CRM and Syteline with fresh analytics and reports.

What You Will Lead

• Champion continuous improvement and quality management, building systems that optimize every production phase and advance long-range quality roadmaps.
• Design and implement standard work, quality procedures, and documentation that span the manufacturing lifecycle.
• Oversee technical preparation for proposals and project execution, including:
  • Process Flow Diagrams (with plant pressure profiles and mechanical design pressure/temperature)
  • Heat and material balances
  • Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
  • Process data sheets for major equipment
  • Technical assessments of vendor quotations and vendor print reviews
  • Data verification for completeness and accuracy
  • Relief valve and header sizing checks
  • Defining process heat exchanger requirements with vendors
  • Formal safety reviews
• Provide technical input for root cause analysis and preventive/corrective actions; support quality reporting and responses to customer complaints (CIR’s).
• Maintain meticulously organized technical documentation and records.
• Partner with the Manager and the GM of Production Equipment to ensure all RFQ components are captured and agreed upon before application work starts.
• Coordinate, disseminate, and expedite information between engineering and the Applications Engineer; track progress of in-house proposals.
• Proactively prevent quality non-conformances across products, processes, and systems.
• Compile data and produce routine and ad hoc reports, including CRM, Syteline, statistical, and other analyses.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Industrial Engineering preferred).
• 3–5 years leading quality in a lean manufacturing setting with rapid continuous improvement.
• Hands-on mastery of standard work and quality systems documentation/management.
• Black Belt/Six Sigma certification preferred; strong Six Sigma experience.
• Fluency in value stream mapping, visual management, 5S, variation reduction kaizen, material pull systems, total production maintenance (TPM), and error proofing.
• Deep knowledge of statistical process control methods and related software tools.
• A roll-up-your-sleeves mindset: collaborate closely with plant leadership and hourly teams at assigned sites.
• Business acumen to connect floor-level improvements to the bigger picture.
• Proficiency in: Continuous Improvement, 5 Why root cause analysis, Food & Beverage Manufacturing, Kaizen, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Lean principles, Root Cause Analysis, and Process Development.

Benefits & Well-Being

Safety is paramount, and employee well-being matters. We offer competitive medical, dental, and vision coverage (including Telehealth), plus resources that support mental, physical, and financial health. Specific programs may vary by location.

Community & Purpose

We invest where we operate. Through our Focused Giving Program, we support organizations advancing sustainability and addressing food and hunger needs, and we encourage facility-level volunteerism in our local communities.

Growth & Learning

Advance with us through Novolex University—skills training, industry curricula, a Learning Management System, and tuition reimbursement for formal education. You’ll find constant opportunities to level up your impact.