Continuous Improvement Specialist II, Industrial Engineering; Santa Ana, CA)

Continuous Improvement Specialist II

Location:

Santa Ana, California (onsite, 5 days per week, occasional travel). Working directly under the Senior Manager, Continuous Improvement.

• Lead analysis of end‑to‑end business processes using Value Stream Mapping (VSM), DMAIC, and related methodologies to identify inefficiencies, risks, and improvement opportunities across functions.
• Independently execute assigned continuous improvement initiatives, determining appropriate analytical methods, adapting standard approaches as needed, and recommending sustainable, data‑driven solutions.
• Plan and facilitate structured improvement events (e.g., Kaizen workshops), including defining scope, coordinating cross‑functional participation, and documenting outcomes and controls to improve safety, quality, service, cost and people engagement.
• Develop, refine, and maintain standard work, SOPs, and process documentation to support consistent operating practices, compliance, and performance improvement.
• Define and refine KPIs and performance measurement frameworks; analyze operational and financial data to evaluate trends, improvement results, capacity, and productivity.
• Prepare dashboards, analyses, business cases, and ROI estimates that support leadership decision‑making and prioritization.
• Perform workflow, time‑based, and process analyses to inform optimization recommendations and support planning activities.
• Provide professional, consultative guidance to managers on process design, improvement strategies, and operational controls.
• Exercise judgment within established policies and procedures to prioritize improvement opportunities, interpret results, and recommend courses of action aligned with organizational goals.
• Support planning, tracking, and reporting of improvement initiatives, including timelines, resource needs, and budget inputs for assigned work.
• Build productive working relationships with operational teams, support functions, and external vendors to resolve issues and implement improvement solutions.
• Communicate complex analytical findings clearly and concisely to non‑technical audiences, including leaders and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Contribute to capability building by supporting training materials, best practice documentation, and knowledge sharing related to continuous improvement methodologies.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.
• Typically requires a minimum of 2 years of related experience, or an advanced degree with limited professional experience.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification preferred; required within a defined period if not already obtained.
• Applied professional expertise in continuous improvement, analytics, and business operations to resolve a variety of operational issues.
• Exercise discretion and independent judgment within defined procedures to address problems of moderate scope and recommend improvements.
• Works with minimal day‑to‑day supervision; receives general direction on new or complex assignments, with work reviewed for quality, effectiveness, and alignment with objectives.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills applied to moderately complex business operations.
• Proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Excel, PowerBI, Tableau).
• Ability to exercise professional judgment and provide standard advisory recommendations within established frameworks.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills for preparing analyses, reports, and presentations.

Annual base salary range: $79,000 – $93,000, varying by location, experience, and skill set.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Fertility, commuter, and educational assistance…