Senior Management Consultant - Manufacturing and Operational Excellence (Denver)

About the Opportunity:

This is a travel-based role, with consultants typically on-site at client locations Monday through Thursday. The position would begin with a project in Brighton, Colorado.

As a Senior OpEx Consultant / Project Manager within Manufacturing Excellence, you will play a critical role in driving Operational Excellence (OpEx) across our manufacturing network. This position is responsible for translating strategic business objectives into measurable improvements in productivity, quality, cost, and delivery performance.

You will lead high-impact transformation initiatives, leveraging Lean Manufacturing principles, industrial engineering expertise, and structured problem-solving methodologies to deliver sustainable results. Working closely with operations leadership and cross-functional stakeholders, you will help shape and deploy the organization's Manufacturing Excellence strategy while developing the capabilities needed to sustain a culture of continuous improvement.

This role offers the opportunity to influence operational strategy, lead enterprise-wide initiatives, mentor engineering talent, and position Manufacturing Excellence as a trusted strategic partner to the business.

What You'll Do:

• Lead high-complexity Operational Excellence programs that deliver measurable operational and financial results aligned with site and enterprise priorities.
• Translate strategic objectives into actionable site-level goals and KPIs using Policy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri) principles.
• Develop and validate optimized production system concepts, including line design, line balancing, layout optimization, process standardization, and capacity planning.
• Lead Gemba-based problem solving, Kaizen events, and root cause analysis to eliminate systemic inefficiencies and improve productivity, quality, lead time, and overall performance.
• Quantify, validate, and communicate the operational and financial impact of improvement initiatives to support leadership decision-making and long-term planning.
• Develop and standardize Manufacturing Excellence methodologies, KPI frameworks, tools, and best practices across the organization.
• Identify and prioritize new improvement opportunities and contribute to the strategic roadmap of the Manufacturing Excellence competence center.
• Influence and align cross-functional stakeholders across operations, logistics, planning, quality, and maintenance to ensure successful adoption and sustainability of improvements.
• Provide technical leadership, coaching, and mentorship to Project Engineers and Junior Project Engineers, supporting both project execution and professional development.
• Represent Manufacturing Excellence in leadership forums and help shape the organization's long-term Operational Excellence strategy

What We're Looking For:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in manufacturing, industrial engineering, Operational Excellence, continuous improvement, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading complex projects or programs with measurable operational and financial outcomes.
• Proven ability to drive organizational change, process standardization, and continuous improvement at scale.

Preferred Certifications & Training

• Lean Manufacturing certification and/or Six Sigma Black Belt preferred.
• PMP or equivalent project management certification preferred.
• Advanced training or experience in work measurement, MTM, simulation, or related industrial engineering methods preferred.

Technical & Leadership Skills

• Strong expertise in Lean manufacturing, production system design, capacity planning, line balancing, layout optimization, and process standardization.
• Hands-on experience facilitating Kaizen events and Gemba-based problem solving at the operator level.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to lead complex root cause analyses and translate data into actionable solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to quantify and validate operational and financial benefits.
• Strong change leadership and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across functions and organizational levels.
• Knowledge of digitalization and advanced manufacturing technologies that enable performance management and process improvement.
• Ability to communicate complex data, insights, and recommendations effectively to senior leadership.