Senior Operations Lean Insights Manager

Why PlayStation?

PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.

PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

Senior Operations Lean Insights Manager 

San Mateo, CA (Hybrid/Collab)

Role overview:

As the Senior Operations Lean Insights Manager, you will have the opportunity to build a comprehensive understanding of PlayStation’s Global Logistics & Supply Chain operations. This highly analytical role requires the ability to deliver solutions that improve the wide-ranging Operational capabilities of the PlayStation Business throughout the Supply Chain and Business Operations as a whole. With the Lean Toolkit on your belt backed up by considerable experience within Operations, you will support across Logistics, Warehousing, Playstation Direct (B2C), Product Compliance, Operations Systems, Procurement & Packaging – taking centralised ownership and responsibility on providing the business with key insights into the drivers and levers impacting the Supply Chain visualised within a metrics-driven approach.  

What you’ll be doing:

• Develop a strategic roadmap for the Operations division within SIE, initially focused on building a metrics-driven approach before moving onto the development & delivery of a Continual Improvement programme.
• Develop best-practice solutions to day to day, week to week, and month to month challenges faced within the Operations group that have cross-functional needs.
• Lead with Lean, utilise the Lean framework and tools to identify and remove waste, develop opportunities for continuous improvement, and deliver tangible metrics-connected results from change management activities.
• Review and Analyze Operations data globally, identifying opportunities for improvement and efficiency generation in processes and systems. Act as the funnel for generating action plans, A3 projects, and general feedback for any red-flagged metrics.   
• Complete modelling & analytics exercises in support of, and collaboration with cross-functional Supply Chain teams, automated where possible to provide key insights to global stakeholders on major and minor change activities – focusing on areas such as cost-to-serve, capacity, Network Analysis, volumetrics, routing, Center-of-Gravity modelling, Inventory Management Modelling, Planning, and NPI amongst others. 
• Gather requirements from key internal stakeholders and customers, utilize all available data sources, and provide strategic options for Operations activity improvements. Responsible for developing a roadmap of activities and then delivering to said Roadmap.
• Take the lead on complex cross-functional strategic and tactical improvement projects, with an understanding of systems integration and BI platforms, and how they can be developed and automated to generate useful information. Influencing and supporting colleagues at all levels of the business in the design and delivery of creative solutions. 
• A champion of Lean waste removal, reviewing Logistics processes and how they interact with the Warehousing Operations, Sales Operations, and the Supply Chain flow to identify waste in administrative and tactical activities, removing waste where possible, and automating where needed.
• Review of process interactions between all Operations business units, such as supporting Logistics VSM and PM exercises and maintenance of generated maps, able to connect outputs of changes to improvements in areas such as OTD and cost in logistics, Warehousing in inventory management and assembly planning, PSD in OTS and delivery to name but a few.
• Metrics improvement with a focus on SQDC, in areas such as: Product Safety & Risk, OTS, OTD/OTIF, TAT, and reducing and avoiding Cost.
• Support as a secondary global Operations BI and metrics platforms super user and delivery expert, designing, finetuning and developing Tools for internal business units, whilst setting a Logistics KPI bowler & data validity strategy, with a plan to deliver a centralized global set of Metrics to the business.
• Standardization of general Operations processes and systems.
• Coach, Mentor, and Develop colleagues across business units interacting with Operations, acting as a Operations metrics, BI Tools, process and systems expert.
• Understand and engage with regional teams and activities to develop solutions which align back to the global standard, which you will be a part of setting and maintaining.

What we’re looking for:

• 8+ years of experience in Lean business operations management with a focus on Hoshin Kanri, metrics management, and road-mapping of activities strategically & tactically within an operations group.
• Experience developing core functional and strategic metrics solutions, systemising and automating the input of SQDC metrics, and delivering a standardised update to senior leadership that provides key insights into opportunities for continuous improvement or otherwise.
• Experience of developing metrics platforms and dashboards, running KPI runways/bowlers, and utilizing BI and BW tools with experience predominantly of DOMO, with experience Tableau or Qlik being desirable.
• Considerable digital technical know-how with proficiency and knowledge in the frameworks and connectivity between systems to automate and systemise data.
• In-depth experience running Lean Kaizen events and change management activities in general.
• Considerable Experience within Supply Chain Operations, with a deep understanding of Operational Best Practices and how products flow from End to End within a Supply Chain. Able to work backwards from the point at which the product lands at a customer all the way back through to Factory output.
• Broad knowledge of Warehousing Operations, Logistics & Transportation services, and Other Operations functions, with a focus on Analytics and cross functional supply chain interactions.
• Strong experience of leading and influencing teams in developing and deploying cross functional improvement projects, with a focus on data analytics and modelling to develop strategic and tactical roadmaps
• ERP systems knowledge (SAP GUI, SAP Fiori, SAP Business Objects, SAP IBP)
• Experience working with SQL, BI tools and Data Products platforms such as DOMO, including experience in the architecture and process of connecting BI solutions with cloud storage data warehousing set-ups such as Snowflake in order to access the data.
• Working experience using and supporting functional improvements to TMS and WMS systems
• Experience of Lean is required – including experience in lean tools and principles such as Kaizen, Waste Identification and Removal (TIMWOOD), Standard Work, Continuous Improvement, A3 Problem Solving, 5 Why’s, DMAIC, JIT, VSM, PDCA, RCA, Jidoka, Poka-Yoke, Kanban, Continuous Flow, Demand Management, Heijunka, Bottleneck Analysis, Gemba, Hoshin Kanri, Takt, and Andon

Desirable:

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, or Lean Leader/Practitioner Certifications
• Detailed knowledge of Operational practices within consumer-packaged good industry or video game industry is desirable

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Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond. 

PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.