Continuous Improvement & Manufacturing Engineer Manager

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop the plant Manufacturing Engineering team.
• Establish performance expectations, prioritize departmental workloads, provide ongoing feedback, and address performance gaps.
• Manage the manufacturing engineering and continuous improvement project portfolio, balancing immediate operational needs with long-term improvement initiatives.
• Serve as the facility's primary Lean facilitator and personally lead Kaizen events, Gemba reviews, and structured problem-solving activities.
• Coach managers, supervisors, engineers, and production employees in the practical application of Lean principles and tools.
• Design, implement, and sustain visual management systems, including performance boards, tiered meetings, action tracking, escalation processes, and leader standard work.
• Lead root-cause investigations from initial containment through verified root cause, permanent corrective action, and sustained prevention.
• Improve manufacturing methods, tooling, fixtures, workflow, labor utilization, ergonomics, process capability, and documentation.
• Partner with Production, Quality, Maintenance, Design Engineering, Process Engineering, and plant leadership to resolve operational challenges.
• Support new-product launches, production transfers, manufacturability reviews, production readiness, and post-launch stabilization.
• Promote a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement throughout the facility.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a closely related technical field.
• Seven or more years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, continuous improvement, or manufacturing operations.
• At least three years of direct people-management experience, preferably leading engineers or other technical professionals.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional improvement initiatives with measurable results.
• Hands-on experience personally facilitating structured problem-solving activities.
• Experience developing and sustaining Lean daily management and visual management systems.
• Strong working knowledge of: Lean manufacturing, Kaizen facilitation, A3 problem solving, Root-cause analysis, 5 Why analysis, Fishbone diagrams, Pareto analysis, Process mapping, Standard work, Leader standard work, Gemba routines, Mistake-proofing, Basic statistical analysis.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for analysis, reporting, and project tracking.
• Strong project-management, analytical, organizational, communication, and leadership capabilities.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Willingness to spend significant time working directly on the production floor.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in automotive, high-mix, or similarly regulated manufacturing environments.
• Familiarity with IATF 16949, PPAP, or related customer quality-system requirements.
• Leverage of Lean Six Sigma certification.
• Experience with Minitab or similar statistical software.
• Working knowledge of ERP or MES systems.
• Experience with SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or similar CAD software.
• Experience supporting new-product launches or production line transfers.