Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Rachael Byrum

Iowa City

Summary

Results-driven leader with a proven track record of delivering transformative outcomes across complex, cross-functional environments. Known for driving efficiency, optimizing resource allocation, and leading high-performance teams to exceed operational goals. Demonstrates decisive leadership in conflict resolution, continuous improvement, and strategic execution—consistently producing measurable, organization-wide impact.

Overview

5
5
years of professional experience

Work History

Operations Team Manager

Proctor & Gamble
07.2024 - Current
  • Lead and manage daily operations for a team of 60+, overseeing end-to-end workflow for product shipments to major North American club stores, ensuring on-time and accurate deliveries.
  • Spearhead onboarding, training, and continuous development for new and existing team members, fostering a high-performance culture and reducing turnover by X% (if applicable).
  • Increased overall planning throughput by 20%, optimizing room capacity and workflows to maximize operational efficiency.
  • Drove cost savings of over $600,000 by implementing key equipment improvements, significantly enhancing productivity and minimizing downtime.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with supply chain and logistics teams to ensure seamless coordination and strict adherence to delivery deadlines across multiple regions.
  • Leverage data-driven insights to forecast and plan for seasonal capacity fluctuations, maintaining operational readiness during peak periods without compromising quality.

Manufacturing Process Engineer

Procter & Gamble
02.2023 - 07.2024
  • Led the full lifecycle execution of a $250,000 capital improvement initiative, achieving a ~90% reduction in process-related line stops by identifying root causes, coordinating with vendors, and delivering targeted solutions ahead of schedule.
  • Facilitated the successful validation and integration of a new packaging format into production, increasing cell Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) by 80% over the initial validation target.
  • Eliminated three chronic production losses, resulting in an 18% boost in overall line performance and a 61% increase in MTBF through data-driven root cause analysis and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Designed and implemented an equipment ownership system for a team of 25 technicians to enhance skill-building, establish accountability, and systematically address recurring issues through experimental machine transformations.
  • Directed the site-wide qualification process for autonomous maintenance equipment, ensuring standardization, capability alignment, and long-term sustainability of TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) practices.

Industrial Engineering Intern

Tesla
05.2022 - 08.2022
  • Strategically executed three production line rebalances, optimizing resource allocation and enabling the reassignment of two full-time operators while significantly lowering operator utilization across four key workstations.
  • Designed and implemented a robust multivariable linear regression model to analyze manufacturing performance drivers, uncovering two critical input variables with strong predictive power over throughput and guiding data-informed process improvements.
  • Conducted comprehensive MODAPTS time studies across all quality inspection stations, establishing standardized benchmarks that improved consistency, labor planning, and process accountability.
  • Led a cross-functional initiative to investigate inefficiencies in the inspection workflow, successfully identifying and eliminating redundant quality checks—resulting in measurable reductions in total inspection time and increased overall production efficiency.

Lead Industrial Engineering Intern

Raytheon Technologies
06.2020 - 05.2022
  • Piloted a plant-wide standardization initiative, leading to process improvements across all production areas—most notably, achieving a 2.5% reduction in standard times for mainline operations.
  • Designed and implemented an automated tracking tool for out-of-station WIP, enabling real-time visibility of bottlenecks and driving a ~25% reduction in build time variation.
  • Co-led two Kaizen events, identifying and eliminating inefficiencies by conducting five in-depth variation analyses, which resulted in measurable improvements in throughput and process stability.
  • Automated year-to-date lead time analysis, providing visibility into deviations from standard build times and isolating high-impact bottleneck cells for targeted improvement.
  • Developed and deployed a dynamic capacity modeling tool, leveraging queuing theory to optimize workload distribution across test rigs and support data-driven scheduling decisions.
  • Facilitated and led cross-functional leadership meetings focused on capacity, productivity, and variation, using historical data trends to inform strategic planning for future demand.

Education

Mechanical Engineering

Iowa State University
Ames, IA
12-2022

Skills

  • Strategic Planning & Execution
  • Organizational Development
  • Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
  • KPI Development & Tracking
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • End-to-End Manufacturing Operations
  • Automation & Smart Factory Initiatives
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA) / 5 Whys
  • Agile Problem Solving & Rapid Experimentation
  • Technology-Driven Process Improvement

Timeline

Operations Team Manager

Proctor & Gamble
07.2024 - Current

Manufacturing Process Engineer

Procter & Gamble
02.2023 - 07.2024

Industrial Engineering Intern

Tesla
05.2022 - 08.2022

Lead Industrial Engineering Intern

Raytheon Technologies
06.2020 - 05.2022

Mechanical Engineering

Iowa State University

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