Operational Excellence Manager

About the role
This is a newly created role reporting directly to the Managing Director. You will own the company's internal improvement agenda: finding where sales, engineering, production and procurement workflows lose time and money, then designing and delivering the fixes end to end.
This is not a customer-facing project delivery role. The focus is entirely on improving how the company itself operates.
You will join at the same level as the existing senior managers and work alongside long-serving department heads. Depending on performance, the role offers a path into a broader senior leadership position.

Key responsibilities

1. Find the opportunities yourself. Review end-to-end workflows across sales, engineering/design, production and procurement to identify bottlenecks, waste and cost-reduction opportunities, without waiting to be assigned.

2. Build the case. Prepare feasibility studies and improvement proposals with clear cost, benefit, timeline and KPI impact for the Managing Director.

3. Plan and execute end to end. Own each initiative from concept through planning, implementation and follow-up, including budget, schedule, vendor selection and contract negotiation where needed.

4. Streamline and automate. Lead process streamlining, Lean initiatives, automation, digitalisation and the introduction of new processes or equipment, using cost-effective approaches.

5. Lead change and new product development across departments. Drive adoption with department heads and long-serving team members, and hold stakeholders accountable to agreed outcomes.

6. Track results. Monitor company-wide initiatives against KPIs and operating metrics, and report progress and results to the Managing Director.

Requirements

Must have

1. Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial Engineering or a related technical discipline.

2. At least 15 years of experience in a manufacturing or industrial company, including at least 5 years leading cross-functional improvement at managerial level or above.

3. A proven track record of in-house operational improvement, such as process streamlining, cost reduction, Lean, automation or new process introduction, where you identified the issue, proposed the solution and led its implementation yourself.

4. Hands-on experience improving workflows that span several functions (for example sales, engineering, production and procurement), not only a single department.

5. Working understanding of business and operating metrics (cost, margin, productivity, lead time, KPIs) and the ability to link improvements to them.

6. Demonstrated ability to lead and influence senior department heads, including experienced long-tenured teams.

7. Eligible to work in Singapore without employer work pass sponsorship.

Good to have

· Professional certification such as Lean Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt), PMP or PRINCE2.

· Experience in precision manufacturing, instrumentation, process plant, semiconductor or similar environments.

· Familiarity with Singapore regulatory requirements relevant to manufacturing facilities (e.g. MOM, SCDF, NEA, PUB).

This role is not the right fit if your experience is mainly in:

· Customer-facing project delivery, such as IT/system implementation projects for external clients.

· EPC or turnkey projects delivered at customer sites (design, procurement, installation).

· Management consulting without hands-on ownership of implementation inside a company.

· Finance-only roles (a senior finance lead is already in place).