Operational Excellence Engineer

The Operational Excellence (Opex) Engineer will be responsible for accelerating the Continuous Improvement initiatives (programs, process, & projects) within the plant. The Opex Engineer assists in the development, implementation, maintenance, quality, and improvement of the day-to-day operations with a focus on lean principles. He/she aims to support development, implementation, & sustainability of world class operational capabilities overtime through continued coaching in the facility.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Champions Safety Site-wide, driving improvements and safety-first culture.
Collaborates with cross functional teams at all levels on continuous improvement projects, aimed directly at improving efficiencies, reducing waste, defect reduction, and low-value activities, improving quality & productivity.
Actively support team’s ability to solve their short-term and long-term operational issues by developing key process documentation to translate the tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, elaborate standard operating procedures and guidelines, share best practices.
Actively support improving organizational capabilities by using 5S, visual management, teamwork, focused improvement, practical problem solving, time studies, process flow mapping, root cause analysis, and kaizen.
Support the design and implementation of specific projects.
Support and assist management, and plant supervisors, in implementing cost optimization tools; including, but not limited to Lean, Six Sigma, High Performance Work Teams, etc.
Support application of process improvement tools to identify measurable standards to improve business capabilities (Safety/Quality/Productivity): specifically, Lean tools and methodology to improve process capability and eliminate defects, as well as tools and principles to eliminate waste and create visual controls.
Support cost optimization projects, including project identification, prioritization, and selection, tracking project results, monitoring project progress, and reporting on progress.
Supports design, implementation, and launches of New Product projects.
Actively create a culture in which continuous Improvement becomes organizational values to create a competitive advantage.
Support and maintain quality standards and procedures.
Position Requirements: Education and/or Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, or Chemical Engineering or equivalent
3-5 years’ experience and Lean or Six Sigma
Experience executing continuous improvement / Lean / Six Sigma efforts and methodologies and enabling efficiency, effectiveness, and tangible financial benefit.
Previous participation in kaizen events preferred.
Successful project management experience and acumen
Comfortable with change management
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and to reduce costs. The successful candidate must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evaluate AI-generated outputs.
About O'Brien:
For over 50 years, O'Brien, a business of AMETEK®, has been a trusted partner to the petrochemical, refining, pulp & paper, and power industries. We specialize in engineered solutions that ensure reliable process measurement and control, even in the harshest environments.
Our expertise in heat transfer and fluid transport allows us to deliver complete, code-compliant systems tailored to your application. Whether you're looking for off-the-shelf reliability or custom-engineered performance, O'Brien makes it easy to choose the right solution.