Position SummaryThe Director of Operational Excellence will lead enterprise-level continuous improvement, advanced processing, and operational excellence across the Pneumatics platform, including Gast Manufacturing, Airtech Vacuum, and U.S. Valve. This role will drive large-scale transformational initiatives, deploy the IDEX Operating Model, and build sustainable CI capability within each business unit by developing BU leaders to identify, lead, and sustain high-impact improvement projects. The Director will translate platform strategy into clear priorities, metrics, dashboards, and operating cadences that improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer experience.
Key Responsibilities- Operational Excellence Strategy: Develop and execute a platform-wide CI and transformation roadmap aligned to business unit priorities, strategic growth objectives, and measurable operational outcomes.
- Large-Scale Transformation: Lead complex, cross-functional transformation projects from opportunity identification and business case development through implementation, adoption, and sustained benefit realization.
- Lean / Continuous Improvement: Lead Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen, value stream improvement, and rapid improvement initiatives to improve productivity, cost, quality, delivery, safety, and customer experience.
- Business Unit Leader Development: Coach and develop BU leaders, site leaders, and functional owners to build local CI capability, lead improvement projects, remove barriers, and sustain operational discipline.
- Strategy Communication: Communicate the operational excellence strategy clearly across all levels of the organization, ensuring leaders and teams understand priorities, expected outcomes, ownership, and progress against goals.
- Metrics, Dashboards & Governance: Develop platform-level KPIs, visual dashboards, governance routines, and stakeholder review cadences that drive transparency, accountability, root cause problem solving, and timely decision-making.
- Standardization: Establish common processes, metrics, standard work, playbooks, and governance across Gast, Airtech, and U.S. Valve while allowing appropriate local adaptation by business unit.
- IDEX Operating Model: Champion consistent adoption of daily management, goal deployment, monthly reviews, 80/20 focus, and disciplined execution.
- Advanced Processing, Automation & AI Enablement: Lead automation, digital productivity, Industry 4.0, AI-enabled workflow improvements, and advanced manufacturing process initiatives, with emphasis on reducing transactional waste, improving decision speed, and increasing productivity.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Commercial, and IT leaders to identify opportunities, align stakeholders, validate financial impact, and sustain improvements.
- Performance Management: Define, track, and report KPIs; use dashboards, data, and regular operating reviews to drive accountability, escalation, and continuous improvement.
Measures of Performance- Safety performance and proactive risk reduction through standard work, corrective actions, and CI project execution.
- Productivity and cost savings delivered through validated transformation projects, automation opportunities, and AI-enabled transactional process improvements.
- Quality, delivery, lead-time, and customer experience improvement across targeted value streams and business units.
- Adoption of daily management, goal deployment, standard work, monthly operating reviews, dashboards, and stakeholder review cadences.
- CI capability maturity within each business unit, including number of trained leaders, active project owners, and locally led improvement projects.
- CI pipeline health, project completion rate, financial validation, dashboard accuracy, and sustained benefit realization.
Education & Experience- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Business, or related field required; Master's degree or MBA preferred.
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent advanced CI certification strongly preferred.
- 10+ years of manufacturing, operations, supply chain, or operational excellence experience, including leadership of large-scale transformation or continuous improvement programs.
- Experience leading multi-site or multi-business unit improvement initiatives in an industrial manufacturing environment.
- Demonstrated ability to coach business unit leaders, develop CI project owners, and build sustainable improvement capability across functions and sites.
- Strong knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, daily management, standard work, goal deployment, performance management systems, and financial validation of improvement projects.
- Experience defining strategic metrics, developing executive dashboards, communicating performance trends, and aligning key stakeholders around priorities and corrective actions.
- Experience with automation, digital productivity tools, AI-enabled process improvement, advanced manufacturing processes, KPIs, dashboards, and data-driven decision-making.
Core Competencies- Leadership & Influence: Builds alignment and drives results across functions, sites, and business units without direct authority.
- Strategic Execution: Translates business strategy into transformation priorities, measurable outcomes, project roadmaps, and disciplined execution routines.
- Change Leadership & Talent Development: Coaches BU leaders, develops CI project owners, builds local capability, and leads sustainable culture change.
- Communication & Stakeholder Alignment: Communicates strategy, metrics, risks, and progress clearly to executive, functional, and site stakeholders.
- Results Orientation: Uses data, dashboards, metrics, and disciplined follow-through to deliver measurable improvements and sustained benefit realization.
Total RewardsThe compensation range for this position is $141,800.00 - $212,800.00, depending on experience. This position may be eligible for performance based bonus plan.
Benefits PackageOur comprehensive U.S. benefit offerings include: Health benefits, 401(k) retirement savings program with company match, PTO, and more. More information on our benefits and rewards can be found on our career page: https://www.idexcorp.com/careers/our-benefits-and-rewards/
