# Head of Operational Excellence

**Company**: Shield AI
**Location**: Dallas, Texas
**Work arrangement**: onsite
**Experience**: executive
**Job type**: full-time
**Salary**: USD 173,760-260,640 per-year-salary
**Category**: Operations
**Industry**: Manufacturing

**Apply**: https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/1cd23ede-77b3-4981-8ba6-7d0a373e985c?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_f7812533-e1e

## Description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems.

The Head of Operational Excellence will lead operational excellence across Shield AI's Group 3 UAV manufacturing in Frisco, TX (V-BAT) and Group 5 UAV manufacturing in Seattle, WA (X-BAT).

## Responsibilities:

- Create, deploy, and actively manage consistent manufacturing KPIs and performance dashboards across both sites to drive visibility and accountability for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity.

- Define, train, deploy, and continually improve operational standards across V-BAT manufacturing in Frisco and X-BAT manufacturing in Seattle, including 5S, root cause analysis, and visual management.

- Develop and institutionalize the manufacturing budget process across both sites, including forecasting, controls, and performance tracking.

- Set financial targets in collaboration with operations and finance teams and drive adherence to budget and cost goals.

- Lead high-impact cross-functional improvement initiatives across both sites to improve quality, delivery, efficiency, productivity, and cost performance.

- Prepare and coordinate senior and executive-level reporting packages for Manufacturing leadership reviews.

- Partner with production, quality, and engineering teams to deploy Lean and continuous improvement practices, adapting execution to the needs of established production and prototype-to-rate manufacturing.

- Own business office functions for Manufacturing across both sites, including goal tracking, KPI dashboards, and process governance.

- Coach and train teams and leaders across both sites to elevate operational discipline, share effective practices, and sustain improvements.

## Requirements:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or related field.

- Experience leading operational excellence, Lean, or business office programs within a manufacturing environment, with the ability to lead improvement across multiple sites.

- Demonstrated ability to design, roll out, and sustain structured operational standards and improvement systems.

- Strong background in budgeting, reporting, and performance management at a senior level.

- Excellent communication skills and experience preparing executive-level summaries and presentations.

## Preferred Qualifications:

- Master's degree or formal Lean Six Sigma certification.

- Experience in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware manufacturing environments.

- Proficiency with digital tools for KPI visualization, reporting automation, and business process tracking.

- Track record of influencing change across large, cross-functional manufacturing organizations and multiple sites.

## Skills

### Required
- Engineering
- Business
- Operations Management
- Lean
- budgeting
- reporting
- performance management

### Nice to have
- Master's degree
- Lean Six Sigma certification
- aerospace
- defense
- complex hardware manufacturing
- digital tools for KPI visualization

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Source: [Apply at jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/1cd23ede-77b3-4981-8ba6-7d0a373e985c?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply)