Senior Director, Manufacturing Excellence

Role Overview

• Act as the Center of Excellence for manufacturing across the TMC site with initial focus on Elkton – establishing and leveraging best practices, standardizing manufacturing processes to improve efficiencies with: Strong emphasis on manufacturing cost improvement, variance reduction, and throughput optimization.
• Establishing and benchmarking best-in-class performance standards for direct vs. indirect labor models across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Assisting in developing and implementing robust performance management systems, including KPIs, dashboards, and governance routines to sustain gains.
• Engage with sister sites and Terumo Corporation to (1) to understand best practices within Terumo and identify what improvements can be made at the TMC site; (2) understand the potential of manufacturing network optimization for the longer term.
• Work cross-functionally with the site leaders, production teams and quality teams and closely advise engineers (manufacturing engineers, LCM/ sustain etc.) to optimize processes, reduce scrap and prevent downtime.
• Partner with site leadership teams to identify and execute high-impact productivity initiatives across machining, extrusion, coatings, and complex assembly operations.
• Assist in driving measurable improvements in cost of goods sold (COGS), including direct labor, material yield, scrap reduction, and indirect overhead efficiency.
• Champion Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, including value stream mapping, Kaizen, DMAIC, and statistical process control, to eliminate waste and reduce process variability.
• Work closely and advise senior leadership (TMC leadership, TAH strategy and TC) providing data-driven insights and recommendations and evaluate strategic options around: Manufacturing footprint optimization, capacity balancing, site specialization, network rationalization.
• Driving adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies, including automation, AI-enabled analytics, MES, and digital factory systems to improve visibility, decision-making, and execution.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and R&D to ensure alignment of operational initiatives with product lifecycle and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure all operational improvements maintain compliance with FDA, ISO, and other applicable regulatory standards for Class II and III medical devices.
• Build and lead a high-performing team, while also influencing without direct authority across business units and regions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or related field required; MBA preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in manufacturing, operations, or operational excellence roles, preferably within the medical device or highly regulated industry, with a proven track record of delivering significant cost savings, productivity gains, and operational improvements across multiple manufacturing sites is required.
• Deep expertise in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies required; certification preferred.
• Experience leading enterprise or network-level operational excellence, manufacturing excellence, transformation, or productivity initiatives across multiple sites is required.
• Experience in high-volume, highly regulated manufacturing environments, including medical devices, life sciences, or similarly regulated industries, is required.
• Experience with machining, extrusion, coatings, complex assembly, or comparable manufacturing processes is preferred.
• Experience evaluating capacity, labor models, automation opportunities, and manufacturing network optimization to support strategic decision making is preferred.

Tech Stack

• Assembly

Benefits

• annual bonus
• paid vacation
• paid holidays
• health, dental and vision benefits
• 401(k), with matching contributions
• tax advantage savings accounts
• legal plan
• voluntary life and AD&D insurance
• voluntary long-term disability
• short term disability
• critical illness and accident insurance
• parental leave
• personal leave
• tuition reimbursement
• travel assistance
• employee assistance program