What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lean Specialist position at AUTOCAM MEDICAL DEVICES, LLC?
The Lean Specialist is responsible for driving and standardizing continuous improvement initiatives across all U.S. manufacturing facilities. This role partners with site leadership to implement and sustain Lean methodologies, with a strong emphasis on standard work, SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies), and waste elimination.
Reporting directly to the COO, this position serves as a key change agent, deploying enterprise-wide operational excellence strategies that improve quality, delivery, and cost performance while ensuring consistency across sites.
Responsibilities
Enterprise Continuous Improvement Leadership
• Lead the deployment of Lean Manufacturing principles across all U.S. facilities
• Drive a consistent operational excellence framework across plants
• Identify and prioritize high-impact improvement opportunities aligned with business objectives
• Facilitate Kaizen events and structured problem-solving initiatives (A3, DMAIC)
Standard Work Development & Sustainment
• Establish, document, and deploy standard work across critical operations
• Partner with site teams to ensure adherence and sustainability of standard processes
• Audit and continuously improve standard work to drive consistency and repeatability
• Train plant leadership and operators on standard work principles and execution
SMED & Changeover Optimization
• Lead SMED initiatives to significantly reduce setup and changeover times
• Analyze current changeover processes and separate internal vs. external activities
• Implement best practices to improve equipment uptime, flexibility, and responsiveness
• Drive replication of successful SMED improvements across all facilities
Operational Performance & Metrics
• Develop and standardize key performance metrics (OEE, changeover time, scrap, throughput, lead time)
• Use data analytics to identify trends, gaps, and improvement opportunities
• Support sites in achieving measurable performance improvements
Process Optimization & Best Practice Deployment
• Drive cross-site standardization of best practices and processes
• Support facility layout, flow improvements, and capacity optimization efforts
Cross-Site Collaboration & Leadership
• Act as a liaison between corporate leadership and plant operations
• Influence and support plant leaders to adopt and sustain improvements
• Share best practices and lessons learned across all facilities
Training & Culture Development
• Train and coach employees at all levels on Lean tools and methodologies
• Build internal capability in standard work, SMED, and problem-solving
• Drive a culture of accountability, discipline, and continuous improvement