Regional Lean Leader

Player-coach leader of the lean transformation across PerkinElmer's three manufacturing sites in China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Owns the multi-year lean roadmap, program governance, and validated results, while simultaneously serving as the region's senior technical authority on the Toyota Production System - setting the methodology standard, coaching plant leadership, and building belt capability at every site. Leads and develops a team of three site-based Lean Practitioners. Based in Singapore with regular presence at all three plants.

Responsibilities:

• Define and own the multi-year lean transformation roadmap for the three plants, aligned to annual policy deployment (hoshin kanri) and site P&L priorities.
• Run program governance: monthly steering reviews with the three Plant General Managers and quarterly reviews with the Vice President, Operations, including a finance-validated savings pipeline.
• Directly manage, coach, and develop three site-based Lean Practitioners (solid line), including project allocation, standard work for the lean team, and belt certification progression.
• Own the regional lean methodology standard: value stream mapping, kaizen, standard work, 5S and visual management, SMED, TPM fundamentals, heijunka/leveling, and tiered daily management.
• Personally lead the most complex, cross-site improvement initiatives - e.g., first-pass yield in instrument test, test cycle-time reduction, and changeover reduction in high-mix / low-volume assembly.
• Design and deploy the tiered daily management system (SQDIP boards, tiered meetings, gemba walks, leader standard work) and coach Plant General Managers and their staff in its daily use.
• Build site capability: train, coach, and certify Green Belts and Yellow Belts among plant engineers, supervisors, and line leaders own the regional belt development plan.
• Establish and maintain the project selection and chartering process ensure every project has a baseline, target, owner, timeline, and finance-validated benefit
• Standardize and replicate proven improvements across the three sites (yokoten) maintain the regional best-practice library.
• Partner with Quality, Supply Chain, and NPI functions to extend lean thinking beyond the shop floor.
• Report program metrics - savings, project throughput, belt certifications, and daily management maturity - monthly to the Vice President, Operations.
• Safeguard practitioner effectiveness: manage site demands through the project portfolio so embedded practitioners are developed as improvement leaders rather than absorbed into daily firefighting.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical field.
• 10+years of manufacturing operations experience, including 5+ years in a dedicated lean / continuous improvement leadership role.
• Certified Master Black Belt, Lean Master, or equivalent recognized certification, with a documented record of site-level lean transformations delivering quantified, sustained results.
• Demonstrated experience training, coaching, and certifying Green Belts and Yellow Belts.
• Direct people-leadership experience, including managing remote or multi-site direct reports.
• Hands-on mastery of TPS methods: value stream mapping, kaizen facilitation, standard work, SMED, TPM, heijunka, and tiered daily management.
• Experience operating across multiple manufacturing sites in Asia able to travel up to 40-50% within the region (China, Malaysia, Singapore)
• Fluent business English, written and spoken.

Preferred Characteristics:

• Experience in high-mix / low-volume electronics, analytical instruments, medical devices, or similar regulated discrete manufacturing.
• Experience facilitating hoshin kanri / policy deployment at site or regional level.
• Exposure to TWI (Job Instruction / Job Relations), the Shingo model, or Toyota-lineage sensei coaching.
• Experience leading a model line transformation used as the template for broader site roll out.
• Formal change management training or practical experience leading culture change in manufacturing plants.