Continuous Improvement Office Leader

Job Summary:

The Continuous Improvement (CI) Office Leader drives operational excellence by identifying improvement opportunities, leading cross-functional initiatives, and applying Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to enhance efficiency, quality, and customer experience. Acting as a change agent, the CI Office Leader fosters a culture of continuous improvement, reduces waste, improves processes, and supports data-driven decision making. The role partners with leaders and teams to implement sustainable improvements that deliver measurable business outcomes, influencing stakeholders and aligning teams without direct authority. Success requires strong leadership, facilitation, analytical, and communication skills to embed continuous improvement into daily operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Drive high-impact operational initiatives that enhance business performance, employee engagement, and customer outcomes.
• Facilitate Kaizen events and Lean fundamentals workshops with cross-functional teams, including value stream mapping and root cause analysis sessions.
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem-solving methodologies (e.g., DMAIC, 5 Whys, Fishbone) to identify inefficiencies and implement sustainable solutions.
• Provide training and coaching to employees on continuous improvement tools and methodologies, fostering active participation and embedding data-driven problem-solving into daily operations.
• Translate data into actionable insights by identifying performance gaps, optimizing processes, and improving operational outcomes.
• Identify, prioritize, and manage a pipeline of improvement initiatives while partnering cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Engineering to identify bottlenecks and implement scalable, sustainable solutions.
• Champion cultural transformation by promoting a zero-defect mindset and fostering a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement across the site.
• Lead change management efforts by addressing resistance and ensuring successful adoption of new processes, tools, and organizational changes.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate initiative effectiveness, ensuring delivery of measurable results aligned with defined goals and milestones.
• Develop and track ROI and overall business impact of improvement initiatives; deliver clear, concise reports and presentations to senior leadership on progress, outcomes, and value realization.
• Develop, plan, and execute a multi-year Continuous Improvement strategy and roadmap aligned with organizational goals to drive productivity gains and cost reductions.

Education

• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or Operations Management.

Experience and/or Training

• Experience leading a Continuous Improvement office, including driving process optimization and transformation initiatives.
• Formal Lean training; Lean certification and Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.
• Proven ability to influence stakeholders and drive change across cross-functional teams.
• Strong knowledge, preferably with hands-on experience, in complex electromechanical assembly, metal fabrication processes (lasering, forming, welding, hardware insertion, and metal finishing), and powder coating
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Skilled in interpreting customer drawings, technical documents, and specifications.
• Familiarity with CAD/CAM systems such as SolidWorks, Pro/ENGINEER (Creo), and DraftSight (preferred).
• Strong organizational abilities with excellent documentation skills.
• Previous project management experience or a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is preferred.