Continuous Improvement Manager
On-siteSan Marcos, Texas, United States
Job Summary
Lead the deployment of Lean initiatives across all U.S. operations value streams, improving material flow through 5S, visual factory, SMED, Kanban, and problem-solving principles. Develop long-term strategy and a continuous improvement pipeline, tracking goal deployment progress with dashboard reporting metrics. Implement pull processes between manufacturing, distribution, and the supply chain to ensure sustainability and reduce inventory levels. Train and coach process owners, champions, and project teams in continuous improvement tools while acting as a change agent to instill a Lean culture. Identify performance gaps against best-in-class benchmarks and lead initiatives to improve quality, service, inventory turns, and labor productivity. Support operations cost reduction, process control, machine reliability, and new product introduction projects. Establish project prioritization to deliver financial impact and provide input for annual budgets and forecasts. Requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business, 7-10 years of experience, Lean Black Belt certification preferred, and 20-40% travel.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree (B.S.) in Engineering, Business, or a similar technical discipline
- Minimum of 7-10 years of related experience and/or training
- Demonstrated experience leading a Lean transformation process (e.g., Shingo, Model Site)
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations
- Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals
- Ability to effectively present information to groups of managers, clients, customers, and the public
- Ability to apply mathematical concepts and tools such as trend charts, Pareto analysis, and standard deviation
- Strong financial acumen with the ability to analyze and communicate results in terms of financial impact
- Ability to think strategically, develop business strategies, and execute tactical plans
- Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
- Ability to interpret complex technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form
- Ability to manage multiple abstract and concrete variables
- Proficiency in presentation, manufacturing, project management, spreadsheet, and word processing software
- Ability and willingness to travel 20-40%
- Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds
- Ability to stand for extended periods on hard surfaces
- Ability to walk long distances within and between work areas
Desired Qualifications
- Formal certification as a Lean Expert and/or Lean Black Belt
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