Operational Excellence Supervisor
Mueller Water Products · Cleveland, TN
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Lean / CI
- Experience asked
- 65+ years
- Certification
- Black Belt preferred
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 16 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A management continuous improvement role at Mueller Water Products (industrial) in Cleveland, TN. Lead, develop, coach, and hold accountable Mechanical Engineers and Lean People to achieve individual, team and plant objectives.
- They ask for
- 65+ years · Black Belt preferred
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value stream mapping, Root cause, DMAIC
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
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 Mueller Water Products
We found 4 people at this company and state: 1 on the team, 2 leaders, 1 recruiters. 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 Jamie → (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.
About the role
Operational Excellence Supervisor Position Summary
Mueller Water Products is a leading manufacturer of flow control products for the water and gas distribution industries. Our manufacturing commitment helps ensure that one of the world's most precious resources lean drinking water reaches millions of people every day.
The Operational Excellence Supervisor leads the facility's Operational Excellence function and is responsible for developing the OPEX team and delivering measurable, sustainable improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Productivity and Capacity.
This position leads Mechanical Engineers and Lean People and partners closely with Operations, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Engineering, EHS and other functions to improve manufacturing performance, eliminate waste and variation, strengthen processes, reduce cost, and build organizational capability.
The Operational Excellence Supervisor is a key change leader within the facility, responsible for establishing priorities, developing people, leading improvement initiatives and ensuring improvements are implemented, measured, financially validated and sustained.
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Who We Are
Thank you for your interest in Mueller Water Products, Inc.
For more than 165 years, Mueller Water Products, Inc. has been building the future of water infrastructure. From lifesaving fire protection to data intelligence, we are committed to developing products and solutions that help cities and utilities deliver clean, safe drinking water to hundreds of millions of people across North America.
Our purpose is to connect communities to water, life’s most essential resource, with exceptional, people solutions and products. Behind that purpose is a dedicated team, united by our shared values of respect, integrity, trust, inclusion and safety. With a vision to be the leader in water infrastructure solutions—solving challenges, enriching lives and safeguarding the future—we are making a positive impact that will last for generations.
By joining Mueller, you become part of a dynamic team dedicated to excellence and innovation, working collaboratively to achieve meaningful results. We champion our people because when they succeed, our communities thrive. We invite you to learn more about career opportunities with us and consider submitting your application.
Leadership & Organizational Development
- •Lead, develop, coach, and hold accountable Mechanical Engineers and Lean People to achieve individual, team and plant objectives
- •Establish clear priorities, expectations, goals and performance measures for the OPEX team
- •Build the technical, leadership and problem-solving capability of engineers, Lean People, supervisors and production employees
- •Develop a culture of ownership, accountability, employee involvement, and continuous improvement
- •Develop talent and succession capability within the OPEX organization
- •Build strong working relationships with Operations, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Engineering, EHS, and other functional leaders
- •Lead through influence and collaboration while maintaining accountability for commitments and results
Operational Excellence & Business Performance
- •Develop and execute the facility's Operational Excellence strategy and improvement roadmap in alignment with the Manufacturing Manager and business objectives
- •Identify and prioritize the facility's improvement portfolio based on business impact, urgency, risk, resources and expected return
- •Lead initiatives that improve Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Productivity, Capacity and customer satisfaction
- •Identify and eliminate waste, bottlenecks, variation, defects, downtime and non-value-added activities
- •Lead Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen, DMAIC, A3, PDCA and other structured improvement initiatives
- •Lead Value Stream Mapping and future-state planning to improve material and information flow
- •Ensure improvements are translated into standard work, daily management practices and sustainable operating processes
- •Maintain a strong presence on the manufacturing floor through Gemba walks, direct observation, data analysis and engagement with employees and leaders
Cost Reduction & Financial Improvement
- •Identify and lead initiatives that reduce manufacturing cost and improve financial performance
- •Establish cost-reduction opportunities through labor productivity, scrap and rework reduction, material utilization, downtime reduction, cycle-time improvement, capacity improvement, inventory reduction and process optimization
- •Develop business cases and financial justification for significant improvement and capital projects
- •Establish project baselines and quantify expected financial benefits before implementation where appropriate
- •Partner with Finance and Manufacturing leadership to validate savings, cost avoidance, productivity improvements, and other financial benefits
- •Ensure cost savings and productivity improvements are sustained and reflected in ongoing performance
- •Maintain an improvement pipeline that includes both operational and financially significant opportunities
Daily Management & Performance Management
- •Establish and strengthen daily management systems that enable teams and leaders to identify performance gaps and take timely corrective action
- •Establish and maintain visual management and performance-review processes that make abnormalities, priorities and accountability visible
- •Partner with Manufacturing leaders to strengthen Tier meetings, leader standard work, escalation processes and follow-through
- •Monitor key performance indicators and ensure corrective actions are assigned, executed and sustained
- •Use facts, data and direct observation to identify the highest-value opportunities for improvement
- •Communicate plant performance, risks, opportunities and improvement progress to leadership
Manufacturing Engineering & Process Improvement
- •Lead the engineering team in improving manuf