Continuous Improvement Leader

About the role

Reports to Plant Manager. Regular, full‑time, exempt position. Day shift. Located at an assigned plant in the USA with 5‑10% travel.

This role leads continuous improvement and World Class Manufacturing (WCM) projects at the plant level, trains plant team members in Lean and Six Sigma tools, and builds and deploys a Lean and Continuous Improvement culture.

Responsibilities

• Communicate with employees at all levels to understand improvement opportunities and maintain forums for employee dialogue and suggestions.
• Provide training and mentoring on continuous improvement methodologies, WCM, and Lean Manufacturing.
• Participate in production meetings and ensure reliability of production data.
• Generate, plan, and execute new continuous improvement initiatives.
• Monitor production KPIs, analyze periodic data and reports, and develop SCADA and MES systems in cooperation with HQ.
• Implement and oversee 5S standards: train new employees, perform 5S and infrastructure audits, conduct Gemba walks, coach during 5S actions, and manage 5S budgeting.
• Manage autonomous maintenance activities: review maintenance cards, implement and maintain SOPs, update training materials, and ensure periodic action module/CMMS review.
• Lead SMED activities: measure changeover times, prepare procedures, conduct workshops and training, and drive constant optimization.
• Perform regular assessments of continuous improvement practices progress in the plant.
• Maintain regular communication with the HQ continuous improvement team, participate in meetings, and manage information flow between the plant and CI leaders.
• Enhance synergy, communication, and collaboration between Operations and QC to improve Operations’ KPIs.
• Evaluate audit reports and analyze data to identify improvement areas, ensuring corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
• Audit and support the Quality department to implement best practices and global improvements for product quality, minimizing NCR and other product losses.

Qualifications / Skills

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education and experience.
• ISO, Lean/Continuous Improvement experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of Lean/Continuous Improvement concepts, principles, and practices.
• Lean/Six Sigma certification preferred.
• Demonstrated success in process improvement‑related initiatives.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal, facilitator, and leadership skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Products (Word, Excel, Outlook).