Continuous Improvement & Industrial Engineer

Description

Location: North Sioux City, SD

Department: Operations / Manufacturing Excellence

Reports To: Plant Manager

We are seeking a results-driven Continuous Improvement & Industrial Engineering Engineer to lead operational excellence, manufacturing process improvement, equipment reliability initiatives, and small capital projects within our 300-500 person manufacturing facility in North Sioux City, South Dakota.

This role will serve as a key change agent responsible for improving safety, quality, productivity, equipment uptime, and overall plant performance. The successful candidate will lead Lean Manufacturing initiatives including 5S, standard work, kaizen events, SOP development, autonomous maintenance, TPM activities, and root cause problem solving while also managing facility and manufacturing improvements such as layout optimization, workflow design, equipment installations, and capital projects.

This is a hands-on position requiring a strong floor presence and the ability to work closely with operations, maintenance, quality, engineering, and supply chain teams to implement sustainable improvements that drive measurable business results.

• Lead Lean Manufacturing initiatives throughout the facility.
• Drive and sustain plant-wide 5S programs and visual workplace standards.
• Facilitate kaizen events focused on productivity, quality, safety, capacity, and cost reduction.
• Identify and eliminate waste using Lean principles.
• Conduct value stream mapping and develop future-state process designs.
• Support establishment of continuous improvement culture through employee engagement and training.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators for operational improvement initiatives.

• Develop, implement, and maintain standardized work across manufacturing operations.
• Create and revise SOPs, work instructions, visual aids, and training materials.
• Conduct time studies, labor analysis, and workflow assessments.
• Establish best practices that improve consistency, repeatability, and safety.
• Support training and coaching of supervisors and operators on Lean methodologies and standard work.

• Partner with maintenance and operations teams to improve equipment reliability and uptime.
• Support Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiatives.
• Lead implementation of autonomous maintenance programs throughout production areas.
• Analyze downtime and equipment performance data to identify recurring losses.
• Facilitate root cause investigations and corrective action implementation.
• Improve preventive maintenance effectiveness and equipment ownership at the operator level.
• Develop visual maintenance standards and equipment care procedures.

• Analyze material flow, labor utilization, and production constraints.
• Design and implement improved manufacturing cell layouts and workflow arrangements.
• Lead facility layout planning for new equipment, process changes, and future capacity requirements.
• Support warehouse and production space optimization initiatives.
• Conduct capacity analysis and bottleneck assessments.
• Evaluate opportunities to improve labor productivity, throughput, and inventory flow.
• Develop plant layout drawings and facility improvement recommendations.

• Manage small-to-medium capital projects from concept through startup.
• Develop project scopes, ROI analyses, timelines, and capital requests.
• Coordinate equipment installations, machinery moves, and facility modifications.
• Work with vendors, contractors, and internal stakeholders to execute projects safely and efficiently.
• Monitor project costs, schedules, and performance against objectives.
• Support facility infrastructure improvements including utilities, work spaces, storage areas, and production support systems.
• Ensure projects comply with safety, environmental, and quality requirements.

• Utilize Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to identify and solve operational challenges.
• Lead structured problem-solving initiatives using:
• o A3 Thinking
• o 5 Why Analysis
• o Fishbone Diagrams
• o Pareto Analysis
• o DMAIC Principles
• Analyze production, quality, maintenance, labor, and downtime data.
• Present recommendations and project results to plant leadership.

• Bachelor's degree in:
  Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations…