Vishal Vinayak

About Vishal Vinayak

Led, controlled, and coordinated the entire range of manufacturing activities within a given Product Line or Value Stream including Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory, and Productivity.Responsible for activities of the cells, area, and equipment to ensure that the relevant activities, products, or services are planned, processed, and delivered to specified standards, within budget and target KPIs. I am a scalable, results-driven Continuous Improvement leader with a passion for operational excellence, lean transformation, and cross-functional collaboration. Grounded in the discipline I learned at Toyota, I lead with a hands-on, people-centric approach—focusing on where the work is done, empowering those who do it, and aligning with leaders to drive meaningful change.I foster a culture of continuous improvement (What I learned from Toyota) and operational excellence that enhances effectiveness and efficiency while driving productivity gains. Transformation agent (Manufacturing is my hobby), embedding principles of Lean Manufacturing, Operational Excellence, and Continuous Improvement. Focused on optimizing processes, enhancing productivity, delivering measurable results, and growth.My leadership is simple; embed discipline of Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence by engaging with people, building capabilities, improving effectiveness, efficiencies, and building productivity gains•Establish and maintain effective relationships with widely diverse groups, including individuals at all levels both within and outside the organization -Manage multiple changing priorities and work effectively in a team or an independent setting-Plan, organize, prioritize, work independently, and meet deadlines-Provide leadership and influence others-Able to negotiate win/win solutions that allow all parties to achieve positive results. Specialties: Stage Gate Review (Audit findings, readiness review of NPI), FDA, MDR, MDSAP and BSI Audit (ISO 9001, ISO 13485), Change Management, Business Process Improvement, Quality Regulations, Root Cause Problem Solving, Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen Events, SMED, WMS, Toyota Production System, Continuous Improvement Leader, SQDC, Value Stream Planning, Quality Triage. Kaizen, Waste Identification (Muda), Standard Work, Continuous Improvement, A3 Problem Solving, 5 Why\'s, DMAIC, JIT, PDCA, DFR, DFM, Poka-Yoke, Kanban, Continuous Flow, Heijunka, Gemba Walk, Takt / Cycle Time.

Experience

1. Engineering Operations Manager

   Whitefox Defense Technologies, Inc

   Jul 2025 — Present · San Luis Obispo County, CA, US

   Scale high-performing teams by aligning organizational structure with business strategy, recruiting top talent, and developing capabilities through clear KPIs, mentorship, and evolving role clarity- Empower ownership and collaboration by fostering a culture of accountability, breaking down silos through cross-functional engagement, and embedding continuous improvement using Lean tools and real-time feedback- Design and implement scalable, integrated processes using Lean principles and ERP systems to enable seamless end-to-end supply chain flow—from sourcing to final delivery- Optimize operational efficiency through value stream mapping, standardized work order processes, and synchronized material planning to ensure on-time, cost-effective production- Drive alignment and performance through robust SIOP practices, tracking KPIs, and championing ongoing process improvements to deliver consistent quality and operational excellence- Translate demand into action by aligning forecasts through SIOP, driving material requirements planning (MRP), and collaborating closely with suppliers to ensure timely and reliable delivery.

Education

• Panjab University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Computer Science

• Project Management Academy - San Jose

  PMP

• Aptech Learning

  Associate's degree, Computer Science

Skills

• Lean Manufacturing
• Peoplesoft
• Pmp
• Microsoft Office
• Cognos
• Toyota Production System
• Jit
• Kaizen
• 5s
• Kanban
• Value Stream Mapping
• Tpm
• Continuous Improvement
• Poka Yoke
• Pdca
• A3
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Process Improvement
• Quality System
• Leadership
• Manufacturing
• Manufacturing Operations
• Project Management
• Business Process Improvement
• Jit Production
• Total Productive Maintenance (Tpm)