Sr. Specialist, Operational Excellence

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Specialist, Operational Excellence to serve as our Company's Production System Lead at our Elkhorn, NE facility. In this role, you will act as a Lean Practitioner, Coach, and Project Manager, driving operational excellence and continuous improvement across the site. You will lead the development and execution of the site’s improvement strategy, serving as the primary point of contact for Production System initiatives.

As a Lean Practitioner and Coach, you will identify, analyze, and implement improvements while mentoring colleagues at all levels to embed lean principles into daily operations. As a Project Manager, you will lead strategic projects focused on improving supply reliability, increasing productivity, and reducing costs. This is an ideal role for a pioneer of transformational change.

This role is part of a larger network of similar positions, and offers the opportunity to work with regional and global resources to identify best practices and benchmarking for production system implementation.

Key Responsibilities

Lean Practitioner / Coach

• Initiate and implement improvement projects using Lean tools (e.g., Standardization, 5S, Poka-Yoke, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, Visual Management, SMED, Capacity Analysis/Debottlenecking).

• Provide hands-on support for operational problem-solving and cross-functional investigations using scientific problem-solving techniques.

• Coach lean roadmaps and deliver training on foundational competencies (tier management, problem solving, leader standardized work, standardized work, and Hoshin Kanri).

• Act as a role model for continuous improvement, inclusion, and change management while developing colleagues at all organizational levels.

• Serve as point of contact to plant manager and regional team for production system implementation.

Lean Project Manager

• Facilitate value scouting workshops and Kaizen events.

• Lead larger cost-savings and productivity improvement projects to achieve business objectives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Project Management, Business, Biology, Engineering, or related field.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a continuous improvement environment within biopharmaceuticals, manufacturing, or quality. Military service, coursework, and degrees may be considered as alternatives.

• Proven experience in project facilitation and project management.

• Strong analytical skills with experience in data analysis and trend visualization.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Project, Minitab).

• Ability to coach and influence at all levels, with demonstrated change management skills.

• Hands-on experience deploying lean tools and concepts in multiple environments.

• Familiarity with strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri, Policy Deployment) and A3 Thinking.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project Management Certification.

• Formal Lean training or advancement in our Company’s Competency System.

• Lean Practitioner Certification

• Six Sigma Greenbelt/Blackbelt Certification

• Ability to lead transformational change

Required Skills:

Change Driver, Continuous Improvement, Continuous Monitoring, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Kaizen (Continuous Improvement), Lean Principles, Operational Excellence, Process Improvements, Project Management, Roadmapping, Site Implementation

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$106,200.00 - $167,200.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

N/a

Job Posting End Date:

05/29/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.