
BE3U Value Stream Manager
Blue Origin · Huntsville, AL
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Lean / CI
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 10+ years
- Certification
- Black Belt preferred
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- Yesterday
The role in 30 seconds
A management continuous improvement role at Blue Origin (aerospace & defense) in Huntsville, AL. It requires you to collaborate through the design life cycle providing guidance to improve manufacturability and assembly while reducing cost and lead time.
- They ask for
- 10+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience) · Black Belt preferred
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Value stream mapping, SPC, Tooling
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Continuous Improvement roles in the US: typical posted base $105k–$150k.
Median of the low and high ends of 129 live postings that list pay, out of 328 continuous improvement openings in the US, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Alabama plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 9 other live lean / ci postings in Alabama.
- Experience asked
- More than usual (10+ vs 4+)
Similar roles usually ask 4+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Lean 90%
- ✓ Value stream mapping 80%
- ✓ Six Sigma 60%
- Root cause 50%
- Team leadership 40%
- 5S 40%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Lean / CI team at Blue Origin
We found 2 people at this company and state: 1 in this kind of role, 1 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Scotty → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is CI run from the plant floor or from a corporate OpEx group?
- Which metrics does leadership actually watch: OEE, scrap, cost per unit?
- The posting mentions a Black Belt. Does the company sponsor certification?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Blue Origin in Huntsville
28 other open roles at this site · 2 people we found in lean / ci roles at Blue Origin.
- Production Quality Engineer (Weld) · Quality
- Production Quality Specialist · Quality · Specialist
- Manufacturing Engineer II - BE-4 Final Assembly · Manufacturing
- Turbo Machinery Manufacturing Engineer II, III, Sr. · Manufacturing · Senior
- Sr. Industrial Engineer-Blue Ring · Industrial · Senior
- Manufacturing Engineer II, III · Manufacturing · Senior
Full description from Blue OriginAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Education
- ✓BA or BS degree in Engineering, Physics, or related technical field, or equivalent experience with demonstrated progressive responsibility increases.
Leadership Experience
- ✓10+ years of manufacturing leadership experience in complex production environments (aerospace, automotive, medical device, or similar high-precision industries).
- ✓Proven track record building or transforming successful production operations organizations and leading large-scale change management initiatives that influence culture, define tools & processes, and improve competencies.
- ✓Experience leading, growing, and developing large teams in a multi-business unit integrated supply chain organization.
- ✓Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams including Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Tooling, Supply Chain, and Production.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Application close date
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.
At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!
This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.
Application close date
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.
Manager - Manufacturing, Ops & Assembly
- •--
This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.
As part of a hardworking, passionate, and accomplished team of experts, you will be responsible for financial and manufacturing operations in Huntsville, Alabama. This includes building and leading a skilled, interdisciplinary team, responsible for BE3U Turbo Pumps, TCA and Combustion devices manufacturing. This is a hands-on position that requires the ability to communicate the vision, strategy and tactical application of cost-effective strategies and key deliverables. It requires you to collaborate through the design life cycle providing guidance to improve manufacturability and assembly while reducing cost and lead time.
- •Champion Safety & Quality: Instill a culture where safety is paramount and first-time quality is the standard across all functions, from engineering to the production floor.
- •Build & Develop the Organization: Build the value stream's team and create the organizational architecture to scale operations rapidly. Apply Blue Origin’s Leadership Principles to develop a trusting, learning culture through continuous feedback, coaching, and robust development opportunities.
- •Foster a "One Team Attitude": Lead a integrated organization including manufacturing engineering, quality, tooling, supply chain, and production, uniting them toward a common goal of operational excellence.
- •End-to-End Accountability: Own the complete thruster system manufacturing flow from raw materials through final acceptance testing, ensuring seamless integration and accountability for safety, quality, cost, and schedule performance.
- •Drive Production Velocity: Radically improve production efficiency by optimizing factory flow, increasing throughput, and enhancing first-pass yield. Drive design-build-test cycle times from months to days through value stream mapping, constraint identification, and rapid problem resolution.
- •Achieve Rate Production: Lead initiatives and strategies that deliver cost-effective, high-quality operational performance to meet high-volume rate targets.
- •Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFx): Collaborate with Program and Design Engineering partners to influence product design through DFx initiatives, delivering step-change reductions in cost, cycle time, and lead time.
- •Implement Data-Driven Systems: Oversee the development and implementation of data-driven systems with a lean approach. Evaluate processes at micro and macro levels, then execute impactful improvements for safety, quality, cost, and delivery speed.
- •Standardize Best Practices: Disseminate key operational takeaways and standardize processes within the value stream and across Blue Operations to drive enterprise-wide improvement and learning.
Technical & Operational Excellence
- •Strong knowledge and applied experience in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies, with demonstrated ability to implement value stream mapping, continuous improvement, and statistical process control.
- •Advanced knowledge in designing and building successful delivery of manufacturing, production, assembly, procurement, and logistics in a high-volume, high-complexity environment.
- •Deep technical understanding of aerospace valve designs and propulsion hardware with demonstrated ability to influence design decisions to improve manufacturability, reduce cost, and accelerate production rates.
- •Deep understanding of work cell standard work creation, management, and tracking deviation from standards.
- •Experience managing capital improvements, factory layout optimization, and operational budgets.
Strategic & Cultural Leadership
- •Strong business insight with demonstrated experience challenging the status quo, inspiring change, and teaching and motivating individuals to develop and implement new ways of thinking and doing business.
- •Strong verbal and written communication skills with teams, customers, and suppliers to prioritize teamwork and customer satisfaction.
- •An attitude of world-class mission assurance, quality, attention to detail, and dedication to operational excellence.
