Continuous Improvement Engineer

Location: Nekoosa

Drive operational excellence through process optimization, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance. This role is highly visible and impactful within the organization and serves as a developing leadership position responsible for improving manufacturing capability, equipment reliability, process stability, and operational efficiency while supporting a culture of safety, accountability, standardization, and employee engagement.

Organizational Development - 30%

• Integrate safety into all improvement initiatives while developing and sustaining standardized work that supports safe, efficient, and repeatable operations.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement through structured problem solving, visual management, and data-driven decision making.
• Build strong working relationships with shop floor employees, frontline leadership, and cross-functional teams to drive engagement, accountability, and operational improvements.
• Partner effectively with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Technology teams to support collaboration, communication, and alignment across the organization.
• Support leadership development by influencing teams, facilitating change, and promoting employee involvement in continuous improvement activities.
• Demonstrate strong project management, organizational, and communication skills while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Operational Excellence - 70%

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, throughput, scrap reduction, downtime reduction, machine reliability, and cost savings.
• Analyze operational data to identify process gaps, determine root causes, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Improve manufacturing performance through Lean Manufacturing and structured problem-solving methodologies including DMAIC, Kaizen, 8D, 5 Whys, FMEA, and SPC.
• Develop, implement, and sustain standardized work, visual management systems, and operational best practices.
• Support process optimization, equipment performance improvements, and new product introductions while maintaining quality and customer expectations.
• Manage and prioritize a continuous improvement project pipeline aligned with business objectives and operational priorities.
• Track, measure, and communicate the effectiveness of improvement initiatives through KPIs, dashboards, and performance reporting.
• Lead projects from concept through implementation while ensuring safety compliance, timeline execution, budget adherence, and expected financial return.
• Share and standardize successful operational practices across departments, shifts, and sites to improve consistency and accelerate continuous improvement adoption.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related technical field preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years of manufacturing experience with demonstrated success leading process improvement initiatives.
• Experience in Lean Manufacturing, operational excellence, or continuous improvement environments preferred.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and project management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and work effectively with shop floor employees and frontline leadership.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, along with statistical and operational analysis tools such as Minitab.
• Up to 10% travel required.

M2SP

#Nekoosa

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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