The Continuous Improvement Engineer works cross-functionally with Production, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and other departments to identify root causes, develop solutions, and ensure improvements are sustained over time.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead continuous improvement projects focused on process efficiency, productivity, quality, cost reduction, and waste elimination.
- Analyze production data, downtime, scrap, labor, cycle times, and other operational metrics to identify improvement opportunities.
- Conduct root-cause analysis using 5 Why, Fishbone, Pareto, FMEA, and other problem-solving methodologies.
- Implement Lean Manufacturing tools including 5S, Kaizen, Standard Work, Value Stream Mapping, Visual Management, SMED, and TPM.
- Develop and track project KPIs to measure improvement results and ensure long-term sustainability.
- Partner with operations and maintenance teams to improve equipment reliability, uptime, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
- Optimize manufacturing layouts, material flow, workstations, staffing, and production processes.
- Develop and maintain standard work, process documentation, work instructions, and process control plans.
- Identify opportunities for automation, ergonomic improvements, labor optimization, and material waste reduction.
- Lead Kaizen events and facilitate cross-functional improvement teams.
- Develop business cases and calculate ROI, cost savings, labor savings, and payback for improvement projects.
- Support new equipment, tooling, product launches, and process changes.
- Collaborate with Quality to reduce defects, rework, scrap, and customer complaints.
- Train employees and supervisors on Lean principles, problem-solving techniques, and standardized processes.
- Ensure improvement projects meet company safety, quality, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
- Report on project status, results, risks, and recommendations to management.
- Establish controls and follow-up activities to ensure improvements remain effective.
- Engage fully in plant safety protocols and environmental compliance.
- Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Experience in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
- Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement principles.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to analyze data and convert findings into practical engineering solutions.
- Strong project-management and organizational skills.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment while coordinating with cross-functional teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
- Experience with OEE, SPC, FMEA, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 5S, SMED, and TPM.
- Experience with manufacturing automation, robotics, or process controls.
- Experience with ERP/MES systems and manufacturing data analytics.
- CAD experience and knowledge of manufacturing layouts.
- Experience developing capital-investment proposals and ROI analyses.
- Previous experience leading cross-functional improvement projects.
Equal Opportunity Employer Veterans/Disabled
