Lean Business Partner

Lean Business Partner (Contract)
Department: Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Location: This is a hybrid contract role with strong conversion potential, primarily based near San Diego, CA
Role Type: Contract (6-12 Months) with high potential for conversion to Full-Time Employee (FTE).
About Our Client
We are partnering with a prominent, globally recognized leader in the high technology and software industry that specializes in financial and business management solutions. Our client operates on a massive scale, supporting millions of customers worldwide through continuous innovation and a commitment to operational excellence. This team focuses on driving large-scale LEAN and continuous improvement initiatives across their complex ecosystem, especially within their supplier and partner network.
Job Description
We are seeking an accomplished, hands-on Lean practitioner to join the Continuous Improvement team as a Lean Business Partner. This is a partner role, not a consultant role, focused on becoming a true champion of Lean culture across multiple business units. You will be responsible for deploying Lean Management Systems from the ground up to drive sustained, measurable results.
The ideal candidate is a balanced leader, capable of setting strategic direction for large transformation programs (like monolith-to-microservices modernization) while also leading hands-on Kaizen events (~50% of the week) and providing one-on-one coaching and training (~25-30% of the week). You must be adept at influencing senior staff and VPs to "win hearts and minds," building partnerships, and challenging stagnant metrics in mature environments.
This role exists to lead Gembas, standardize processes, increase Lean maturity, and deliver complex re-engineering. The successful hire will implement change management and actively mentor Lean champions to sustain practices independently.
Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead Gemba walks, standards workshops, and complex Kaizen events.
• Implement full Lean Management Systems (Daily Management, Leader Standard Work).
• Conduct maturity assessments and present improvement plans to leadership.
• Facilitate complex Value Stream Mapping (VSM) workshops to document and streamline global processes.
• Coach and train teams and individuals (up to 30% of time) to build sustainable Lean practices.
• Apply advanced problem-solving and diagnostics to identify critical process bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with executive and staff levels (VP+) to negotiate priorities and advocate for Lean deployments.
• Direct work efforts in a matrixed environment and deliver complex re-engineering and standardization of global processes.
• Implement Change Management related to LEAN implementations (e.g., Prosci ADKAR/Kotter).

• 7 to 10 years of professional experience driving large, cross-functional LEAN initiatives.
• Extensive track record implementing full Lean Management Systems—candidates must have led deployments, not just participated.
• 3–5+ years actively running Kaizen events.
• Experience in strategic program management, including driving migration programs or monolith-to-microservices modernization.
• Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB) or Black Belt (LSSBB).
• Strong background in influencing and managing relationships with leadership across Business Units.
• Demonstrated ability to "sell Lean," win over teams, and challenge comfort zones.
• Comfortable with frequent organizational change, shifting goals, and ambiguity.
• Comfortable using G-Suite and virtual collaboration platforms.

• Professional certification in Change Management (e.g., Prosci - ADKAR, Kotter).
• Prior experience with Supplier or Partner development global programs.
• Exposure to the high technology / software industry and sales process improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Operations, Finance, or Management is required.

• Pay Rate:$100 - $150 per hour
• Travel: Approximately once per month (average 6x/year) for Kaizen events, with travel expenses reimbursed.
• Contract-to-Hire: High potential for conversion to a full-time, salaried employee.

Call-to-Action
Join us to drive cultural and process transformation at one of the world's leading technology companies! Apply now and detail your experience leading Lean system deployments from start to finish.
Keyword | Lean Business Partner | Lean Six Sigma | Continuous Improvement | Kaizen | Program Management | LSSBB | Operational Excellence