Thales
Lean and Continuous Improvement Leader
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Lean and Continuous Improvement Leader
Lean and Continuous Improvement Leader – Templecombe, United Kingdom
Location
Templecombe, United Kingdom Role Type: Full-time (4 days on-site)
About the Role
At Thales Underwater Systems, our purpose is to provide leading underwater sensors and decision superiority, securing navies worldwide. We operate across Mine Counter Measures, Anti-Submarine warfare, Services, and Future Capabilities.
We are seeking a Lean and Continuous Improvement Leader to deliver tangible operational excellence in our Templecombe manufacturing facility. This is not just about talking about continuous improvement—we want someone who lives it every day.
Your mission is to make our operations sharper, faster, and better. This role embeds directly into day-to-day manufacturing, ensuring Lean principles are applied holistically—problems are solved at the source, not just through workshops.
This is a high-impact, collaborative role with influence at all levels—working closely with Site Production, Engineering, APRU Managers, the Head of Manufacturing, and the UK Head of Lean Continuous Improvement. Your work will shape behaviours, work Culture, and improve Quality, Delivery, and Cost.
Join Thales—building trusted technology and shaping a better future together.
Key Responsibilities
- Be the trusted Lean expertise for the Templecombe site, embedding continuous improvement into the fabric of daily operations.
- Work hands-on alongside frontline teams, helping them grow the capability to solve their own problems.
- Lead through coaching and mentoring, not just policy—bringing Lean tools to life in ways that drive employee engagement and results.
- Radically improve Quality, Delivery, and Cost by identifying and eliminating waste across all manufacturing processes.
- Visualize and communicate problems clearly, using tools like Value Stream Mapping, 5S, flow optimisation, and Visual Management.
- Foster a culture of ownership where teams proactively seek improvement opportunities and challenge the status quo.
- Collaborate closely with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to align improvement efforts with business strategy and goals.
- Drive change with confidence—leading teams with clarity and maintaining momentum toward continuous improvement goals.
- Empower public-facing leadership to see improvement as an ongoing process, not a set of tasks.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Requirements
Technical Expertise
- Strong, hands-on experience applying Lean principles—whether supported by formal certifications (such as Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt+) or built through direct shop-floor experience.
- Fluency in Lean tools such as:**
- Value Stream Mapping
- 5S
- Flow optimisation
- Visual management
- Practical ability to embed and scale these tools so they drive both performance and employee confidence.
Mindset and Skills
- A Natural problem solver, comfortable diving deep into complex issues and quickly translating insights into actionable improvements.
- Curiosity and analytical rigor—finding the root cause of challenges and experimenting with solutions to move beyond quick fixes.
- Resilience in high-pressure environments, especially in low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing settings where each problem is unique.
Leadership and Soft Skills
- Exceptional influencing skills: building trust, gaining alignment, and motivating cross-functional teams and leadership.
- Ability to guide without authority, helping teams take ownership of improvements—skills translating from frontline problem-solving to coaching senior stakeholders.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills—articulating complex ideas to both technical and operational audiences.
- Enthusiasm for shaping work culture, making continuous improvement feel like a natural and valued part of everyday work.
Other Requirements
- This role is reserved for UK citizens. You must be able to successfully achieve a Security Clearance (SC) without caveats. The modifying circumstances are limited:
- You are a citizen of a non-ITAR country who obtains clearance under the MOD’s dual-national scheme (preference given to UK lapsed SC clearance holders).
- To qualify for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for at least the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years within that 5-year period is acceptable, subject to additional checks.
- We also require access to a minimum of three years of financial, employment, and residential history outside the UK in your younger adult years.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
What We Offer
Attractive Benefits
- Private medical insurance – Access to comprehensive healthcare.
- Flexible leave policies – Optional transactions, including buying or selling leave.
- Cycle-to-work scheme – Eco-friendly benefits.
- Employee discounts on products and services.
- Paid volunteering day – Encouragement of community involvement.
- Stocks and shares scheme – Long-term rewards for employees.
- Annual bonus – Performance-linked financial benefits.
At Thales, we value and reward all our employees publicly. Benefits vary by role.
Diversity and Inclusion
At Thales, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected for who they are and the strengths they bring to the team.
We actively support:
- Equal opportunities in pay and working conditions.
- Employee networks and activities allowing people to connect around shared interests such as deversity, flexibility, parental rights, health, and more.
- Wellbeing initiatives that support physical, mental, and emotional health.
Quality, Safety, Environment
- Safety is our focus—maintaining a principle that quality and excellence are built into every process.
Find out more about our approach to these important pillars here.
Looking for More Opportunities?
If this role doesn’t quite match your experience or interests, join our Thales Talent Community—and we’ll share your details with our recruitment teams for future opportunities.
Ready to Shape the Future?
Join Thales. Innovate with Us.
Apply now and help secure the world we live in.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills