Operational Excellence Manager

Westinghouse Electric · Hopkins, SC

Level: Manager
Team: Lean / CI
Base pay: $101k–$126k
Degree: Preferred
Experience asked: 2+ years
Certification: Green Belt required
Industry: Industrial
Posted: 6 days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A management continuous improvement role at Westinghouse Electric (industrial) in Hopkins, SC. Coach, reviews, delegates work and develops other professionals or teams.

They ask for: 2+ years · degree preferred · Green Belt required
Tools it names: Lean, Six Sigma, Green Belt
Base pay: $101k–$126k
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 South Carolina: typical posted base $97k–$143k. This one lists $101k–$126k.

Median of the low and high ends of 8 live postings that list pay, out of 15 continuous improvement openings in South Carolina, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

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

How this role compares

Against 14 other live lean / ci postings in South Carolina.

Base pay: In line with similar roles
Experience asked: Less than usual (2+ vs 4+)

Skills these teams ask for most

✓ Lean 67%
✓ Six Sigma 53%
Value stream mapping 40%
Root cause 33%
SAP 33%
✓ Green Belt 27%

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

It asks for 2+ 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 coveragePromotion path mentioned

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 Westinghouse Electric
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?
- The posting mentions a Green Belt. Does the company sponsor certification?
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: Westinghouse Electric in Hopkins

6 other open roles at this site.

Manufacturing Engineer · Manufacturing
Electrical Instrumentation & Controls Engineer · Controls
Principal Facilities Engineer · Reliability · Senior
Reliability Engineer · Reliability
Quality Engineer · Quality
Senior Facilities Engineer · Reliability · Senior

Full description from Westinghouse ElectricAs posted on their careers site.Show

About the role

As an Operational Excellence Leader you will identify strategic process improvement opportunities within designated areas, apply lean tools and methodologies to complex business processes, and implement solutions which provide positive performance and financial impacts. Prepare analyses and present information on improvement opportunities and results to process owners and important partners. Work across organization to facilitate project completion.

You will report to the the Manager of Operational Excellence and be located at Columbia, SC. You will support this position 100% onsite.

Key Responsibilities

◆A specialist level professional is a recognized subject matter expert in their job area. Candidates typically obtain this level through advanced education and work experience. Such professionals lead difficult and complex projects, focusing on improving safety, quality, delivery, and cost. The ultimate goal is to deliver a desired result to the business.
◆Manage large projects or processes from manager
◆Coach, reviews, delegates work and develops other professionals or teams
◆Collaborate and partners with Global Manufacturing OpEx teams to deploy lean and other continuous improvement methodologies across the organization
◆Identify, scope, and prioritize improvement opportunities within assigned

responsibilities

◆Provide full project, and Lean consulting capabilities
◆Lead complex continuous improvement projects that are critical to short and long-term strategic goals
◆Responsible for portfolio management and execution of assigned projects, including assigned projects, and any Global Manufacturing projects
◆Ensure important partner understanding and visibility of project expectations and results
◆Identify barriers to project success and solicit help from program champions
◆Provide lean and project (coaching) to project team members, Green Belts and Champions
◆Must provide field presence and support to establish relationships and to help create employee engagement
◆Participate in annual planning cycle to develop strategies and financial goals related to our strategy

Qualifications

✓Bachelor's degree desired – STEM
✓Minimum four (4) years' experience manufacturing
✓LEAN or Six Sigma certification; else 2+ years experience
✓PowerBi input experience
✓Compliance – Has experience and compliance goals, through a risk-based approach; Understand modern manufacturing/lean techniques
✓Can identify opportunities that contribute to the work and mitigate risk across the value chain working across boundaries
✓Collaboration with the ability to collaborate across diverse groups.

We are committed to transparency and equity in all of our people practices. The base salary range for this position, which is dependent upon experience,

qualifications

and skills, is estimated to be $100,800 to $126,000 per year.

Why Westinghouse?

Our benefits package is tailored to meet the diverse needs of our employees, while also promoting wellness and career growth. The following are representative of what we offer:

✓Comprehensive Medical benefits which could include medical, dental, vision, prescription coverage and Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contributions options
✓Wellness Programs designed to support employees in maintaining their health and well-being including Employee Assistance Program providing support for our employees and their household members
✓401(k) with Company Match Contributions to support employees' retirement
✓Paid Vacations and Company Holidays
✓Opportunities for Flexible Work Arrangements to promote work-life balance
✓Educational Reimbursement and Comprehensive Career Programs to help employees grow in their careers
✓Global Recognition and Service Programs to celebrate employee accomplishments and service
✓Employee Referral Program

Westinghouse Electric Company is the global nuclear energy industry's first choice for safe, clean, and efficient energy solutions. We enable our delivery of this vision by living our value system:

✓Safety and Quality
✓Integrity and Trust
✓Customer Focus and Innovation
✓Speed and Passion to Win
✓Teamwork and Accountability

While our Global Headquarters are located in Cranberry Township, PA, we have over 11,000 employees working at locations in 19 different countries. You can learn more by visiting http://www.westinghousenuclear.com .

Get connected with Westinghouse on social media: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube

Show full description ↓

Are you interested in being part of an innovative team that supports Westinghouse's mission to provide clean energy solutions? At Westinghouse, we recognize that our employees are our most valuable asset and we seek to identify, attract and recruit the most qualified talent while recognizing and encouraging the value of diversity in the global workplace.