Lean Manufacturing Changeover Specialist
Listed on 2026-09-14
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Manufacturing / Production
Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma, Manufacturing Engineer, Quality Engineering
BCforward is looking for an experienced Bars Changeover Specialist / Lean Manufacturing Changeover Specialist to support a major manufacturing operation in Albuquerque.
This is an excellent opportunity for a Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Process Improvement, or Changeover professional with a strong background in reducing changeover time, optimizing cleaning processes, and driving operational excellence.
- Own changeover reduction initiatives for the Chewy Bars platform
- Identify opportunities to reduce changeover time while maintaining quality and safety
- Map processes and value streams to identify improvement opportunities
- Apply 5 Whys, Fishbone, and Lean problem-solving methodologies
- Identify long-lead activities and develop standardized clearing methods
- Partner with production team leads to optimize resources and pre-changeover preparation
- Coach teams on effective changeover planning, scheduling, and issue management
- Collaborate with FSQ (Food Safety & Quality) to establish risk rankings and minimum effective cleaning requirements
- Create and improve standard task flows to accelerate changeovers
- Analyze equipment and cleaning processes to identify bottlenecks and improvement opportunities
- Design and conduct trials/experiments during changeovers and measure results
- Evaluate equipment, process, and tooling changes that can simplify and accelerate cleaning
- Partner with Engineering to evaluate and present potential capital improvements
- Benchmark internal and external industry best practices
- Drive sustainable Lean and Continuous Improvement practices across the operation
Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Technical field + 5+ years related manufacturing experience
OR
- High School Diploma + 10+ years related manufacturing experience
- Strong manufacturing/process improvement experience
- Experience with Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
- Ability to develop and implement standardized processes
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Proven ability to coach teams and drive adoption of standards
- Experience working with cross-functional manufacturing teams
- Experience influencing Production, FSQ, Engineering, and Maintenance teams
- Experience in food, CPG, bars, confectionery, or similar manufacturing environments
- Experience with manufacturing data and enterprise systems
Experience with the following is a plus:
- Quality Information Systems
We are looking for someone who can get onto the manufacturing floor, analyze the current process, identify waste, coach the team, test improvements, and implement sustainable changeover reductions.
If you have experience with Lean, SMED, changeover optimization, cleaning optimization, manufacturing process improvement, or operational excellence, we’d like to hear from you!
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