Operational​/CI Leader

Overview

The Continuous Improvement (CI) Manager will lead initiatives to drive a culture of continuous improvement and operational discipline across all manufacturing and support processes. This role partners with cross-functional teams leading strategic process improvement initiatives that enhance Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost performance. This position will champion lean principles and structured problem-solving techniques ensuring alignment between site-level improvement initiatives and broader regional operational excellence strategy.

This is a highly visible role that relies on leadership and influence rather than direct supervisory responsibility. The role requires a hands-on leader who can both facilitate and execute improvement projects while building capability within the organization. The ideal candidate is passionate about transforming processes, optimizing operations, and using data-driven insights to deliver measurable results.

What You’ll Do

• Develop, lead, and execute the continuous improvement strategy in alignment with business objectives, working closely with leadership and cross-functional teams. Ensure strategies are aligned with operational and regional objectives
• Identify, prioritize, and manage continuous improvement projects that deliver measurable results in operational impact to safety, quality, delivery, and cost while removing barriers to improve process flow
• Facilitate Kaizen events, value stream mapping, root cause analyses, and other structured improvement activities to achieve targeted outcomes
• Partner with all departments including Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Sales and Finance to analyze processes, identify improvement opportunities, and implement sustainable solutions
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress of continuous improvement activities and communicate results and recommendations to site leadership. Being a driver for Daily Visual Management
• Monitor and improve key operational metrics that are linked to business goal results. Demonstrate results through performance measurement and analysis
• Develop dashboards and performance tracking mechanisms to monitor site improvement progress and provide status updates on CI initiatives and activities
• Lead training sessions and workshops to build site-wide capability in Lean and Six Sigma principles, driving engagement and accountability for continuous improvement at all levels
• Serve as subject matter expert in Lean manufacturing principles and structured problem-solving methodologies
• Influence leaders and frontline employees to adopt continuous improvement principles to drive a culture of accountability, data-driven decision making, and waste elimination
• Lead cross-functional improvement projects from concept through implementation and sustainment. Develop project charters, timelines, and measurable success criteria
• Partner with Regional Operational Excellence leaders to deploy standardized tools, systems, and best practices
• Conduct regular reviews and recommend updates and revisions to standard operating procedures, work instructions, and training materials to reflect process improvements
• Support digital transformation and process automation initiatives where applicable
• Ensure compliance with all quality regulations, standards and corporate policies including but not limited to ISO 9001:2015 and AAR M-1003 for assigned department
• Other duties as assigned

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Operations, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 5+ years of manufacturing experience with demonstrated continuous improvement leadership
• Experience with project management tools and performance tracking systems
• Experience with Microsoft Office and Project required

The Ideal Candidate Will Also Bring

• Demonstrated success implementing Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills with the ability to define problems, collect and analyze data, and develop actionable solutions
• Proven ability to influence…