Director Lean Transformation & Continuous Improvement

Why this role matters

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Creates a repeatable regional system for productivity improvement, simplification and operational discipline.

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Translates value-stream insight into actions that improve lead time, flow, capacity, quality and delivery performance.

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Builds internal capability so Lean transformation is owned by the business rather than dependent on a central expert.

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Provides fact-based visibility to leadership on benefits, barriers, risks and resource needs.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

What the Director will own

1. Regional Lean strategy and deployment

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Translate enterprise operations and growth priorities into a focused CHINA Lean transformation roadmap.

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Expand the Coherent Lean System within the region by continual deployment of standards, governance routines and maturity expectations.

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Prioritize value streams and improvement opportunities using customer demand, revenue contribution, cost, gross margin improvement, risk, lead time and capacity data.

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Align site leaders and functional partners on transformation milestones, owners, resources and expected value.

1. Value-stream transformation and productivity

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Lead Kaien Projects focused on current-state and future-state value-stream mapping, including material, information and decision flows.

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Identify and remove the 8 wastes within the value streams such as defects, over production, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, excess inventory, excess motion, extra processing and other forms of waste.

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Scale flow, pull, line balancing, takt-based kanban planning, right-sized batch sizes, standard work and visual management.

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Build improvement portfolios that link operational actions to productivity, gross margin, working capital and customer outcomes.

1. Capability building and change leadership

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Develop a regional network of Lean leaders, Kaizen facilitators, site champions and transformation practitioners.

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Design and deliver practical capability-building, including Lean fundamentals, problem solving, Kaizen, VSM and leader standard work.

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Coach leaders at all levels to sustain new behaviors through daily management, tiered accountability and transparent escalation.

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Build an inclusive transformation culture that engages frontline employees and respects local cultural and operating differences.

1. Governance, benefits and communication

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Establish a consistent cadence for reviewing project status, realized benefits, risks, dependencies and decisions required.

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Create concise executive briefings and operating reviews that make performance, priorities and barriers visible.

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Ensure benefits are baselined, validated with Finance and tracked through realization rather than claimed at project launch.

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Share successful practices across CHINA and with global Lean communities to accelerate replication.

1. Cross-functional integration

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Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, EHS, Procurement, Finance, HR and IT to remove systemic barriers.

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Integrate Lean priorities with S&OP, capacity planning, quality improvement, digital enablement and site strategic planning.

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Support leadership decisions on organization, staffing, capital, technology and resource allocation required for transformation.

SUCCESS PROFILE

How performance will be assessed

First 12–18 months: expected outcomes

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Establish the system — Launch a clear CHINA Lean deployment model, governance cadence, maturity baseline and prioritized regional roadmap.

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Deliver visible wins — Demonstrate measurable improvements in selected value streams, with documented impact on flow, lead time, productivity, quality, delivery or working capital.

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Build the network — Develop site leaders and facilitators who can independently lead Kaizen, VSM and daily-management routines.

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Scale what works — Replicate proven practices across sites and product families while adapting implementation to local conditions.

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Strengthen executive visibility — Provide leadership with clear, decision-ready reporting on value, barriers, risks and resource requirements.

Core performance measures

Measure category

Illustrative indicators

Business value

Validated productivity, gross-margin contribution, cost avoidance, capacity release and working-capital improvement

Flow and delivery

Lead time, throughput, on-time delivery, queue time, batch size, schedule adherence and flow efficiency

Quality and stability

First-pass yield, defects, rework, corrective-action closure and process capability

Capability and sustainability

Certified facilitators, leader standard work, daily-management adoption, project sustainment and replication rate

Culture Commitment

Ensure adherence to company’s values (ICARE) in all aspects of your position at Coherent Corp.:

I ntegrity – Create an Environment of Trust

C ollaboration – Innovate Through the Sharing of Ideas

A ccountability – Own the Process and the Outcome

R espect – Recognize the Value in Everyone

E nthusiasm – Find a Sense of Purpose in Work