Senior Manager Operational Excellence

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

The Senior Manager Operational Excellence (EG 130) acts as an advanced OpEx leader who drives complex continuous improvement and cross-functional initiative across the site. This role influences mid‑ to senior‑level leaders, and plays a key role in strengthening site‑wide Operational Excellence capability.

In addition to strategic leadership, the role ensures the consistent application of Operational Excellence fundamentals, including performance management, standard work, and data‑driven problem solving. The position actively coaches teams and leaders on Lean behaviours, supports structured improvement activities, and embeds continuous improvement into day‑to‑day operations.

The role supports the development and deployment of Lean Leadership, Tiered Management, and structured problem‑solving methodologies, ensuring sustainable performance in Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost, while reinforcing a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement across the site.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Lead and execute medium‑ to large‑scale cross‑functional Operational Excellence initiatives and projects aligned with site priorities, driving execution and decision‑making across key functions (Supply Chain, MS&T, QA/QC, FE, IT, EHS, Finance).
• Apply and coach core OpEx methodologies including Gemba, Kaizen, DMAIC, and structured problem solving to grow OpEx capability.
• Partner with functional owners to support transformation by identifying systemic behaviors and process issues that hinder performance.
• Deploy and mature site governance systems.
• Facilitate workshops, kaizens, and problem-solving sessions with strong autonomy.
• Drive adoption of change management best practices across site initiatives.
• Act as an escalation point for complex performance issues, ensuring a consistent operational discipline across functions.
• Monitor KPIs to drive continuous improvement.
• Benchmark systems and processes to identify improvement opportunities that enhance efficiency and reduce risk.
• Influence site adoption of Lean practices and ensure that all OpEx-related changes meet cGMP and site quality standards.
• Support harmonization of OpEx practices across the site by collaborating with the OpEx network.

Qualifications

Specific Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Capability proven in Lean and/or Six Sigma expertise
• Demonstrated ability to lead improvement initiatives in complex environments.
• Solid strategic thinking capability.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a complex, multicultural, matrixed environment.
• Strong analytical mindset and data-driven approach.

Education/Experience/ Licenses/Certifications:

• Scientific or Engineering bachelor’s degree required.
• Lean or Six Sigma experience required; Black Belt preferred.
• 7-8+ years in high tech or manufacturing environment (Pharmaceutical/Med Device Industry experience preferred)
• Proven experience in leading Continuous Improvement and Change Management efforts.
• Demonstrated success in deploying Lean tools and leading cross-funcitonal projects.
• Travel:This position does not required travel

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to [email protected]. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at [email protected]. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.