Director Process Improvement Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team:

The Product Supply organization plays a critical role in enabling Mattel to deliver products through the Supply Chain from Global Procurement activities to a Global Manufacturing and Co Manufacturing network. Product Supply Team partners across Supply Chain, Procurement, Quality, Engineering, Finance, IT and external manufacturing partners to improve operational performance, strengthen execution and support scalable growth.

The Opportunity: 

Mattel is seeking a Staff Data Analyst, Lean and Process Improvement, Co Manufacturing, to lead complex process improvement initiatives across Product Supply Organization. Reporting to the Director, Contract Manufacturing & Process Improvement, this role will own diagnostics, solution design, implementation and sustainment of Lean driven improvements that increase visibility, reduce waste, improve service, strengthen governance and enable more effective decision making.

This is a strategic individual contributor role for a highly analytical, structured problem solver who can move from current processes or data to insight to action. The ideal candidate will be comfortable working with operations teams, senior leaders, facilitating process redesign discussions, building business cases and translating complex operational challenges into practical, scalable solutions.

What Your Impact Will Be: 

• Lead value stream diagnostics: Own current state and future state assessments across Global Procurement, Manufacturing, Co Manufacturing Teams and Key Stakeholders to identify issues and opportunities.
• Identify process wastes and performance gaps: Use Lean tools such as value stream mapping, SIPOC, A3 problem solving, 5 Whys, root cause analysis, Kaizen, standard work and control plans to identify bottlenecks, rework, manual workarounds, unclear ownership, decision delays and data quality gaps.
• Develop the improvement roadmap: Build and maintain a prioritized pipeline of process improvement opportunities, supported by business impact, complexity, resource needs, risk, timeline and stakeholder readiness.
• Translate data into actionable insights: Analyze operational, financial and supply chain data and processes to identify trends, performance drivers, recurring issues and improvement opportunities.
• Build performance visibility: Develop dashboards that enable operations and top management decision making processes, such as; scorecards and leadership reporting that track cycle time, service, schedule adherence, capacity utilization, supplier performance, inventory health, quality trends, rework, issue aging, cost drivers and initiative benefits.
• Create business cases for change: Quantify expected value from improvement initiatives, including productivity, lead time reduction, cost avoidance, service improvement, risk mitigation, working capital improvement and decision speed.
• Redesign processes and operating models: Partner with business owners to define future state workflows, process maps, RACIs, governance routines, decision rights, escalation paths, standard work, documentation and control mechanisms.
• Drive implementation from concept through sustainment: Lead pilots, implementation plans, adoption tracking, training materials, stakeholder communications, testing, cutover support and post implementation reviews.
• Facilitate Lean events and working sessions: Plan and lead cross functional workshops with Product Supply, Contract Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, Quality, Engineering, Finance, IT and external partners to align on problems, options, decisions and execution plans.
• Strengthen data quality and process governance: Define consistent metrics, data definitions, source of truth expectations and reporting routines to improve confidence in Product Supply and co manufacturing decision making.
• Partner on systems and reporting enablement: Work with IT, analytics and business teams to document business requirements, improve data flows, automate manual reporting and support adoption of digital tools that enable process visibility and control.
• Influence senior stakeholders: Prepare executive ready recommendations, readouts and decision materials that clearly communicate findings, tradeoffs, risks, benefits and required actions.
• Coach others on Lean ways of working: Build process improvement capability across the team by coaching stakeholders on Lean tools, problem solving routines, data backed decision making and sustainment practices.
• Track benefits and accountability: Establish clear success measures, monitor initiative progress, validate realized benefits and ensure improvements are embedded into day to day operations.
• Promote continuous improvement culture: Help Product Supply move from reactive issue resolution to proactive performance management through standard routines, root cause discipline, ownership clarity and scalable best practices.

This role will work closely with the Director, Contract Manufacturing, Product Supply leadership, Manufacturing, Contract Manufacturing, Global Supply Chain Planning, Procurement, Quality, Engineering, Product Development, Finance, IT, Data and Analytics, regional supply teams and external co manufacturing partners.

The role will also prepare insights and recommendations for senior Product Supply leaders and cross functional executives to support operating decisions, transformation priorities and performance improvement.

What We’re Looking For:

Must Haves

• Bachelor degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Business, Data Analytics, Statistics, Finance or a related field.
• 6 to 10 years of experience in process improvement, supply chain, manufacturing operations, strategy, operations excellence, business analytics or management consulting.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex process improvement initiatives from diagnostics through implementation and sustainment.
• Deep knowledge of Lean methodologies, process design, root cause analysis, value stream mapping, standard work, operating model design and change management.
• Strong analytical capability with the ability to work with large, complex datasets and translate insights into practical business recommendations.
• Experience building dashboards, scorecards, executive readouts and performance management tools.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills, with experience using Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Google BigQuery or similar tools preferred.
• Strong business judgment, structured problem solving and ability to operate with ambiguity.
• Proven ability to influence leaders and stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to simplify complex information, frame decisions and present clear recommendations.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, lead working sessions and drive accountability across cross functional teams.
• Comfort working in a global, matrixed environment with internal teams and external manufacturing partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, Master degree or advanced degree in a relevant discipline.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt or equivalent process improvement certification.
• Experience in consumer products, manufacturing, supply chain, toy industry, retail supply chain or seasonal product environments.
• Experience with ERP, planning, procurement, quality, manufacturing or supplier management systems.
• Experience supporting contract manufacturing, vendor manufacturing or third party production networks.
• Experience using Python, R, process mining, automation tools or applied AI to improve reporting, diagnostics and decision making.
• Demonstrated a growth mindset by staying curious and continuously learning, embracing challenges, and improving themselves.

*The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here!
How We Work:
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate: At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute: We are a performance-driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best-in-class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Who We Are:
Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, MEGA and Polly Pocket, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world’s leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

Mattel’s award-winning workplace culture has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, Newsweek, Great Place to Work, TIME, and more.

Visit us at https://jobs.mattel.com/ and www.instagram.com/MattelCareers.
Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers, and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran and protected veteran status, disability status, and or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment.

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