Senior Principal, Lean Deployment

Waters Corporation is seeking a highly motivated and team-oriented candidate to lead our Continuous Improvement (CI) program for Manufacturing Operations based in Golden, CO.  The candidate will also support continuous improvement activities in three smaller sites in Utah, Minnesota and California. This position will be responsible for fostering a culture of sustainable change through the creation and embedding of Lean / CI methodology and the supporting framework to deliver business impact. It will play a critical role in manufacturing and back-office process improvement, along with strategy and deployment.

The successful candidate will serve as a subject matter expert, coach, and partner with site leadership to drive lean CI activities. The position will collaborate with a global peer group to promote and expand the deployment of lean and to share and standardize best practices.

The successful candidate will be a passionate and agile leader, who strives to deliver superior value to our internal and external customers every day. This hands-on position requires dynamic leadership, excellent interpersonal skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, a solid command of key Lean tools as well as a compelling initiative to see the organization succeed.

• Partner with the site leadership team to develop and execute the plan for continuous improvement within the overall framework of our Lean Operating System and deployment roadmap.
• Lead focused transformation efforts in key areas of the site(s).
• Apply Structured Problem Solving and/or Value Stream Mapping to facilitate and lead groups through analysis, improvement planning, and implementation.
• Improve/install tiered visual and daily management reporting systems to enable effective management of the factory.
• Charter, plan, and facilitate kaizen events to drive immediate, sustainable improvements on the shop floor.
• Analyze and improve transaction-based processes to identify sources of waste and productivity improvements for increased efficiency and cost savings.
• Deliver formal and informal training on key Lean and CI tools including Daily Management, Problem Solving, 6S, Setup reduction, Kanban, OEE, and line efficiency.
• Coach, build, and grow the skills and capabilities of others in Lean methods and Continuous Improvement.
• Challenge current thinking to drive a higher level of sustainable results.
• Demonstrate knowledge sharing (leading practices, benchmarking) from across Waters and outside of the organization.
• Drive targeted, sustainable improvement in SQDCP (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Productivity) that is tied to company objectives.
• Support opportunities at other sites or outside manufacturing as appropriate.
• Estimating 30-40% travel

• 10 + Years of progressive experience in a manufacturing environment
• Bachelor’s degree required; Advanced degree preferred
• Ability to engage leaders and shop floor employees in deploying lean methodologies
• A track record of sustainable results
• Prior knowledge and practical experience in a manufacturing/industrial setting with a strong focus on Lean Manufacturing operations
• Experience in deploying a Lean Operating System in a manufacturing environment achieving breakthrough results in safety/quality/productivity/supply agility
• Experience with end-to-end value stream improvement with tools including, SMED, 6S, Visual Management, Daily Management, standard work, etc. preferred
• Lean/Six-Sigma Black Belt certification or equivalent qualification preferred
• Strong leadership skills, self-directed and the ability to make independent decisions; Bias towards action
• Capable of positively influencing people at all levels in the organization
• Competent in the use of advanced statistical and six-sigma techniques preferred
• PMP certification or equivalent project management training and experience preferred
• Experience with Visio and Microsoft Office applications
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and drive improvements
• Strong facilitation and coaching skills

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT), the world's leading specialty measurement company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials, and food sciences for over 60 years. With approximately 8,000 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 35 countries, including 15 manufacturing facilities, with products available in more than 100 countries. Our team focuses on creating business advantages for laboratory-dependent organizations to enable significant advancement in healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality.   

Working at Waters enables our employees to unlock the potential of their careers. Our global team is driven by purpose. We strive to be better, learn and improve every day in everything we do. We’re the problem solvers and innovators that aren’t afraid to take risks to transform the world of human health and well-being. We’re all in it together delivering benefit as one to provide the insights needed today in order to solve the challenges of tomorrow. 

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It is our responsibility to actively implement programs and practices to drive inclusive behavior and increase diversity across the organization. We are united by diversity and thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or protected Veteran status.