Operations Excellence Manager

SOLV Energy is a leading provider of infrastructure services to the power industry, designing, building and maintaining utility scale solar, battery storage and high voltage substation projects nationwide.

Job Description Summary:

The Operational Excellence Manager leads continuous improvement initiatives across the organization, driving operational efficiency, quality, and business process optimization. This role manages a team of Process Engineers and serves as a key change agent in building a culture of lean thinking and systematic problem-solving. Reporting to the Senior Director of Operational Excellence, this position is responsible for developing and executing improvement strategies that deliver measurable results in safety, quality, cost, and schedule performance.
This role can hybrid, with regular in-office presence in San Diego, CA or fully remote. Specific location details and expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

Job Description:

*This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.

Position Responsibilities and Duties

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Process Engineers, providing guidance on project execution, technical problem-solving, and professional growth

• Allocate resources effectively across multiple improvement projects and initiatives based on business priorities

• Lead cross-functional improvement projects that drive significant business impact in productivity, quality, cost reduction, and cycle time

• Design and facilitate rapid improvement events, kaizen workshops, and problem-solving sessions with cross-functional teams

• Analyze current state processes to identify waste, bottlenecks, variation, and opportunities for improvement using data-driven methods

• Design future state processes that eliminate non-value-added activities, improve flow, and enhance customer value

• Collaborate with operations teams to pilot, refine, validate, and scale process improvements across the organization

• Engage frontline employees as active participants in identifying problems, developing solutions, and implementing improvements

• Establish performance measurement systems that track improvement impact, ROI, and alignment with business objectives

• Create executive-level reports, dashboards, and visualizations that communicate progress, business value, and strategic insights

Minimum Skills or Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related technical field (required)

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification (required); Black Belt certification (strongly preferred)

• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in operational excellence, continuous improvement, lean management, or process engineering roles

• Experience with both field operations and administrative process improvement in complex, multi-site organizations (preferred)

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to use data and statistical methods to drive decisions and validate results

• Strong facilitation skills with ability to lead diverse, cross-functional groups through structured problem-solving and decision-making processes

• Excellent communication skills (written, verbal, and presentation) with ability to tailor messages for all organizational levels from frontline to executive

• Proficiency with process mapping tools (Visio, Lucidchart), and data visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI)

• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, build consensus across functional boundaries, and navigate organizational politics effectively

• Ability to travel will be required. Between 25-50%

Objectives or Goals to Measure Performance:

• Number and complexity of completed improvement projects, with evaluation of scope, impact, and strategic alignment

• Expansion of lean capability and culture across the organization, measured through training completion, certification achievement, and employee engagement in improvement activities

• Stakeholder satisfaction scores from operations leaders, project managers, and functional partners regarding operational excellence support, partnership quality, and value delivered

• Cross-functional collaboration effectiveness, measured through participation rates, project sponsorship, and resource commitment from business partners

• Portfolio management effectiveness, including project prioritization alignment with business strategy, resource allocation optimization, and pipeline health

• Innovation and continuous improvement of the operational excellence function itself, including methodology refinement, tool development, and process optimization

SOLV Energy Is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At SOLV Energy we celebrate the power of our differences. We are committed to building diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces that improve our communities. SOLV Energy prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind against an employee or applicant based on race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, or ethnicity, mental or physical disability, veteran status, parental status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Benefits:

Employees (and their families) are eligible for medical, dental, vision, basic life and disability insurance. Employees can enroll in our company’s 401(k) plan and are provided vacation, sick and holiday pay.

Compensation Range:

$105,321.00 - $129,018.00

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

SOLV Energy does not accept unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies. We require all third-party recruiters to communicate exclusively with our internal talent acquisition team. SOLV Energy will not pay a placement fee to any third-party recruiter or agency that has not coordinated their recruiting activity with the appropriate member of our internal talent acquisition team.

In addition, candidate introductions or resumes can only be submitted to our internal talent acquisition recruiting team if a signed vendor agreement is already on file and the third-party recruiter or agency has received formal instructions from our internal talent acquisition team to submit candidates for a particular job posting.

Any unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes sent by third-party recruiters to SOLV Energy or directly to any of our employees, or received through our website or career portal, will be considered property of SOLV Energy and will not be eligible for a placement fee. In the event a third-party recruiter submits a resume or refers a candidate without a previously signed vendor agreement, SOLV Energy explicitly reserves the right to pursue and hire the candidate(s) without financial liability to such third-party recruiter.

Job Number: J12753

If you’re interested in a meaningful career with a brighter future, join the SOLV Energy Team.