Director of Operational Excellence

Fathom Manufacturing · Hartland, WI

Level: Director+
Team: Lean / CI
Experience asked: 50+ years
Industry: Industrial
Posted: 2 days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A director-level continuous improvement role at Fathom Manufacturing (industrial) in Hartland, WI. In this role, the director ensures that operational routines, scheduling systems, quality processes, Lean principles, customer service standards, and daily management disciplines are consistently implemented, strengthened, and maintained at the focus site.

They ask for: 50+ years
Tools it names: Lean, Kaizen, 5S, SMED, AS9100, Robotics
Day to day: some off-shift / weekend coverage

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026

Continuous Improvement roles in Wisconsin: typical posted base $98k–$136k.

Median of the low and high ends of 8 live postings that list pay, out of 20 continuous improvement openings in Wisconsin, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Wisconsin plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 19 other live lean / ci postings in Wisconsin.

Base pay: Not listed in this posting
Experience asked: More than usual (50+ vs 7+)

Skills these teams ask for most

✓ Lean 95%
✓ Kaizen 55%
Six Sigma 50%
✓ Team leadership 45%
✓ 5S 40%
Root cause 40%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

Stands out: this posting asks for AS9100, Robotics, CNC, Injection molding, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 50+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Off-shift / weekend coverage

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 Fathom Manufacturing
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find 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.
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?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- 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.

Full description from Fathom ManufacturingAs posted on their careers site.Show

Key Responsibilities

### 1. Operational Assessments & Strategy Development

Conduct full-scope evaluations of facility operations including scheduling, throughput, staffing, equipment utilization, quality, and workflow.

Build improvement roadmaps in partnership with the VP of Operations, leveraging best-in-class manufacturing practices.

Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and waste in CNC, additive, sheet metal and finishing operations.

Develop clear, actionable strategies tied to revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and operational stability.

### 2. Implementation & Sustained Improvement

Serve as the onsite leader responsible for executing improvement plans after they are developed.

Drive transformation initiatives using Lean, Kaizen, SMED, 5S, and continuous improvement tools.

Implement daily management systems (tier meetings, KPIs, visual controls, JDIs, problem-solving routines).

Build durable processes that continue functioning without heavy oversight.

### 3. Operational Leadership & Coaching

Mentor and coach plant managers, supervisors, and frontline leaders to elevate operational maturity.

Model and enforce world-class scheduling, capacity planning, and customer delivery disciplines.

Build a culture of accountability, problem-solving, and structured execution.

Serve as the “operational integrator” between plants, ensuring best practices scale across the network.

### 4. Quality, Compliance & Customer Focus

Strengthen quality processes, inspection routines, and preventive controls.

Partner with quality teams to ensure QC

requirements

become operationalized in daily routines.

Enhance customer satisfaction through improved lead-time reliability, standardized workflows, and white-glove service expectations.

### 5. Cross-Functional Collaboration

Collaborate with commercial, quoting, sourcing, and engineering teams to eliminate friction points.

Provide manufacturing insight on quoting, COGS reduction, design-for-manufacturability, and outsourcing strategies.

Help unify all facilities under a “One Company / One Standard” operational vision.

### 6. Performance Tracking & Operational Metrics

Monitor KPIs around safety, quality, OTD, throughput, productivity, and revenue attainment.

Identify early indicators of risk in revenue, backlog, resource constraints, and site-level performance.

Provide crisp reporting to the VP of Operations and executive leadership.

### Required

10+ years leading manufacturing operations with proven transformation success.

Hands-on expertise with CNC machining, additive manufacturing, sheet metal fabrication, molding, and finishing.

Strong understanding of quoting, DFM, routing, scheduling, capacity planning, and cost structure.

Demonstrated experience turning underperforming facilities into top-performing plants.

Deep knowledge of Lean, continuous improvement methodologies, and structured problem solving.

Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence at all levels.

Highly organized operator capable of standardizing processes across multiple sites.

Ability to travel as needed for hands-on implementation.

Show full description ↓

## Company History

Fathom is a premier U.S. contract manufacturer with a legacy of manufacturing innovation dating back more than 50 years. Across seven locations and a global sourcing network, we offer 25+ advanced technologies spanning additive manufacturing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, injection molding and more. We serve leading companies across aerospace and defense, medical, robotics, automotive, semiconductor, and data center and energy markets, delivering highly complex parts from concept through production. Our expert-driven approach, white-glove service, and extensive certifications help our customers scale with confidence.

## Position Overview

The Director of Operational Excellence & Transformation provides on-site leadership and oversight to strengthen operational discipline, develop robust processes, and drive effective change management across the organization.

This individual is a proven change agent with deep manufacturing expertise and a history of transforming high-mix/low-volume environments into highly efficient, stable, and scalable operations.

They will visit to help further assess current-state performance, identify gaps, and design improvement plans, then own the execution, monitoring, and sustained advancement of those improvements.

In this role, the director ensures that operational routines, scheduling systems, quality processes, Lean principles, customer service standards, and daily management disciplines are consistently implemented, strengthened, and maintained at the focus site. They act as the on-the-ground operational leader to drive change, reinforce new behaviors, and stabilize processes until the facility reaches the expected level of performance.

### Preferred

Experience in private equity–backed or high-velocity manufacturing environments.

Experience supporting ITAR/AS9100 environments.

## Key Outcomes of This Role

Stabilized and scalable operations at the focus facility.

Reduction in operational bottlenecks and improved throughput.

Improved on-time delivery and quality performance.

Stronger, more confident site leadership teams.

Measurable KPIs and early detection systems across all plants.

Accelerated revenue growth through better planning and execution.

Consistent operational excellence across the entire network.

## What we offer

### Health Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage. Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance.

### Additional Benefits

Paid time off, Floating Holidays, Volunteer time off, and sick time off (depending on state of employment). 401k Plan

### Employee Perks

Discounts on products and services.