{"id":825875,"url":"https://alion.io/job/mcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program","title":"Operation Excellence Leader - Leadership Development Program","company":{"id":679376,"name":"McFarlane Aviation","domain":"mcfarlaneaviation.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/mcfarlaneaviation","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workable","truth_index":null},"role":"Management","role_family":"Management","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Burlington, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":63000,"max_usd":152000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":2726},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Kanban","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Office","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-01","last_verified_at":"2026-10-20T11:18:42Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":49,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":49},"description":"Company: Victor Sierra Aviation\nPosition Description: Operational Excellence Leader\nLocation: Assigned VSA operating company (specific location determined at offer): Burlington, NC, Baldwin City, KS and/or Palmer, AK\nDepartment: Operational Excellence\nReports to: VP of Operations with dotted line to the operating company's Site Leader\nProgram Duration: 24 months across two operating company assignments\nTravel/Relocation: 25 - 50%\nABOUT VICTOR SIERRA AVIATION\nVictor Sierra Aviation (VSA) is the parent company of McFarlane Aviation, McFarlane Alaska, Tempest Aero Group®, Av8, and Aviation Products Systems. We acquire and build businesses that lead in engineering, manufacturing, and distribution of exceptional aerospace products globally.\nTHE OPPORTUNITY\nThe Operational Excellence Leader plays a critical role in advancing operations across our businesses. This role is responsible for driving business process improvements that enhance safety, quality, delivery, and cost, while embedding a culture of continuous improvement. This is a 24-month developmental assignment across two VSA operating company: the Operational Excellence Leader embeds with the team, drives an OPEX transformation across the operating company (including all of its locations), and builds the track record and exposure the program is designed to set up, positioning for future operations and leadership opportunities across Victor Sierra Aviation.\nPROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS\nImmersive Assignment: Spend 24 months embedded at two VSA operating companies, across all their locations driving an OPEX transformation from the ground up.\nFast Trust-Building: Build credibility and working relationships quickly with the team, given the depth of ownership the assignment requires.\nStructured Handoff: Close out the assignment with a documented transition package which includes status of initiatives, open action items, and lessons learned to ensure continuity for the operating company and the successor to the program.\nBuilt-In Career Path: The program is designed to set Operational Excellence Leaders up for success, with a clear path into future operations and leadership opportunities across Victor Sierra Aviation.\nKEY RESPONSIBILITIES\nOperational Excellence Execution\nKaizen Leadership: Lead and facilitate OPEX initiatives, including kaizen events and continuous improvement projects, to reduce waste, improve flow, and increase efficiency across production lines.\nPerformance Impact: Drive measurable improvements in safety, first-pass yield, productivity, and delivery performance.\nOPEX Toolkit: Apply Lean and Six Sigma tools such as 3P, Value Stream Mapping, 5S, A3, SMED, Standard Work, Kanban, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Visual Management.\nFlow & Utilization: Improve piece flow, capacity utilization, and productivity across the operating company’s facilities, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks end-to-end.\nCoaching, Training, & Culture Building\nCoaching & Mentoring: Coach and mentor employees at all levels, from operators to plant leadership, in OPEX practices and structured problem solving.\nCapability Building: Develop OPEX capabilities across the organization, supporting certification programs and ongoing capability development.\nCulture Transformation: Lead cultural transformation initiatives to build ownership, engagement, and discipline around continuous improvement.\nCross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership\nOperations Partnership: Partner closely with the operating company's operations leader and leadership team to align OPEX priorities with day-to-day operating goals.\nCross-Team Partnership: Partner with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Maintenance teams to align improvement activities with plant and vertical goals.\nBest-Practice Standardization: Standardize best practices across sites within the vertical(s), ensuring alignment with both operational and compliance requirements.\nLeadership Reporting: Provide regular updates and performance reporting to leadership using clear metrics and dashboards.\nCompliance, Safety, & Quality Focus\nRegulatory Compliance: Ensure all OPEX initiatives are compliant with applicable aerospace regulatory standards including FAA, AS9100, ISO 9001, and customer-specific requirements.\nAudit Support: Support or lead internal process audits to identify gaps in adherence to regulatory and internal standards.\nSafety Championing: Champion initiatives that improve workplace safety and compliance while maintaining or improving operational efficiency.\nQUALIFICATIONS\nRequired\nBachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field, with an aptitude for learning manufacturing and performance reporting tools\n3-5 years of experience in manufacturing, engineering, or operations, ideally within aerospace or another highly regulated environment\nSome leadership or informal team-lead experience, or a clear, demonstrated desire to grow into a leadership role\nWorking knowledge of, or willingness to quickly learn, aerospace quality standards and regulatory requirements (FAA, AS9100, ISO)\nDemonstrated problem-solving ability, with examples of contributing to measurable improvements in a manufacturing or operations setting\nExcellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills\nProficient in Microsoft Office, Visio, and project management tools\nWillingness and ability to relocate for a 24-month assignment at an assigned VSA operating company (which may include travel across that operating company’s locations)\nPreferred\nMaster’s degree (MBA or MS in Industrial Engineering or Operations)\nLean/Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or higher; Black Belt or Master Black Belt a plus)\nExperience in supply chain optimization and manufacturing flow within an aerospace context\nUnderstanding of cost management and manufacturing KPIs, including trend analysis and standard costing\nWHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR\nYou’re comfortable stepping into a new organization without long tenure or built-in credibility, and quick to earn trust and traction once you’re there. You bring strong leadership presence, structured problem-solving skills, and the confidence to influence across organizational levels in a regulated environment. You’re results-oriented and persistent, comfortable working under pressure while holding a high bar for accuracy and compliance, and flexible enough to adjust your approach as the business’s needs evolve. This is a hands-on role - expect regular time on the shop floor alongside production equipment and tooling, over a 24-month assignment at an assigned VSA operating company.\nJOIN THE VICTOR SIERRA TEAM\nAt Victor Sierra Aviation, you’ll be part of a team that’s shaping the future of aviation manufacturing and support. Whether you’re assembling components, innovating new processes, or collaborating across our family of operating companies, your work directly contributes to keeping the skies safe and our customers flying. We believe in craftsmanship, integrity, and teamwork-values that define everything we do.\nWe offer:\nA collaborative, hands-on environment where your ideas and expertise make an impact.\nA team of aviation professionals who take pride in their work and support one another.\nCompetitive pay, comprehensive benefits, growth opportunities, and meaningful work that keeps aircraft performing at their best.\nVictor Sierra Aviation is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We make employment decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business needs-without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7675,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Growth opportunities"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Corporate Training","Aerospace Manufacturing","General Aviation"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-12T14:29:16Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":38,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.685,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":49,"expected_fill_days":40,"reasons":["conf:3","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/mcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/mcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-20T13:56:47Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":15579,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":679376},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=679376"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fmcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fmcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fmcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/mcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fmcfarlaneaviation-operation-excellence-leader-leadership-development-program"}]}