Continuous Improvement Engineer

Our client is a leading global provider of rod lift optimization solutions, products, technologies, and services to the oil and gas industry. With over 100 years of industry leadership, they manufacture a complete line of surface pumping units, sucker rods, downhole sucker rod pumps and automation systems worldwide.

The Continuous Improvement Engineer serves as the process and operational excellence leader connecting R&D, Engineering, Marketing, and Commercial Planning. This role is responsible for driving product development through the stage-gate process, improving engineering workflows, managing project prioritization, and ensuring customer and market intelligence is translated into actionable business decisions.

The position leverages AI-enabled tools to automate workflows, improve visibility, streamline engineering requests, and support research and reporting. The engineer owns these systems, continuously improving both the processes and the technology that supports them.

Scope of Responsibility

• Lead and improve the R&D stage-gate process across product development initiatives.
• Manage engineering request intake, prioritization, and workflow for the Mechanical Systems Engineering team.
• Capture and synthesize Voice of Customer (VOC) feedback to support product development.
• Conduct competitive and market research to inform engineering, product strategy, and commercial planning.
• Monitor product line performance and communicate key business insights.
• Continuously improve the AI-enabled workflow tools supporting these functions.

Key Responsibilities:

R&D Process & Stage-Gate Management

• Lead projects through the company's stage-gate product development process.
• Maintain and improve the automated stage-gate workflow system.
• Monitor project progress, identify bottlenecks, and ensure milestone requirements are completed.
• Provide project status, pipeline visibility, and reporting to engineering and leadership teams.

Engineering Workflow Management

• Serve as the primary coordinator for engineering project requests.
• Manage the engineering request system, ensuring projects are prioritized according to business objectives and engineering capacity.
• Ensure requests contain complete technical information before entering the engineering workflow.
• Maintain backlog visibility and coordinate priorities with engineering and commercial leadership.

Continuous Improvement

• Evaluate existing engineering and product development processes for efficiency improvements.
• Develop standardized workflows, documentation, and best practices.
• Lead initiatives that reduce cycle time, eliminate waste, and improve cross-functional collaboration.
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive tasks using AI and other digital tools.

Voice of Customer & Market Intelligence

• Collect and analyze customer, field service, and sales feedback.
• Identify recurring issues, unmet customer needs, and product improvement opportunities.
• Present findings to Engineering, Product Management, and Commercial teams.

Competitive & Product Research

• Perform market and competitive analysis across product lines.
• Maintain AI-assisted research tools while validating outputs for accuracy.
• Translate research into recommendations for product development, positioning, and roadmap planning.

Product Performance & Business Analytics

• Track product performance metrics including sales volume, margin, market trends, and win/loss data.
• Develop dashboards and reports that support product and commercial decision-making.
• Present actionable insights to leadership.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Coordinate activities between Engineering, R&D, Marketing, Sales, and Operations.
• Facilitate communication between stakeholders to ensure alignment on priorities and timelines.
• Support strategic planning through data-driven recommendations.

AI & Digital Process Ownership

• Own and maintain the digital systems supporting engineering workflows and product development.
• Continuously improve AI-enabled tools used for workflow management, research, reporting, and prioritization.
• Evaluate and implement new technologies that improve engineering productivity and business efficiency.
• Ensure AI-generated outputs are validated before informing business decisions.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related technical discipline.
• 3–7 years of experience in manufacturing, engineering, product development, operations, or continuous improvement.
• Experience managing cross-functional engineering or product development projects.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with experience improving business processes.
• Experience with project management or workflow tools (Monday.com, Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Smartsheet, or similar).
• Experience using AI tools (ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, Gemini, or similar) in a professional setting is preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with ERP or PLM systems is a plus.

Preferred Experience:

• Stage-Gate or New Product Development (NPD)
• Lean Manufacturing or Continuous Improvement methodologies
• Voice of Customer (VOC)
• Product Management support
• Business Process Improvement
• Engineering Change Management
• Project Coordination
• Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
• Market & Competitive Analysis
• AI-enabled workflow automation

What Success Looks Like:

• R&D projects consistently progress through the stage-gate process on schedule.
• Engineering requests are prioritized efficiently with minimal rework.
• AI-enabled workflow tools improve engineering productivity and project visibility.
• Product, customer, and competitive insights support better engineering and commercial decisions.
• Continuous improvement initiatives reduce development cycle time and improve cross-functional collaboration.