Lean Manufacturing Optimization Engineer

A day in the life

You start your morning on the production floor, observing workflow and talking with operators about yesterday’s bottlenecks. By mid-morning you’ve mapped a value stream, pinpointed non–value-added steps, and kicked off a rapid Kaizen to tackle changeover time. After lunch, you’re running a DMAIC review with stakeholders, validating improvements with real data in Minitab. You wrap the day documenting new Standard Work and aligning maintenance and quality on TPM pillars to lock in the gains.

• Own and deliver continuous improvement initiatives using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma (DMAIC/DMADV), and TPM to move the needle on safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Analyze processes end to end—conduct workflow studies and value stream mapping (VSM) to expose Muda, constraints, and bottlenecks across production, supply chain, and administrative flows.
• Leverage data to solve problems: build baselines, quantify opportunities, apply statistical tools, and verify sustainable results.
• Run a portfolio of CI projects with rigorous project management—on time, on budget, and on target for impact.
• Build capability: design and facilitate training on 5S, Standard Work, Kaizen events, and SPC to empower frontline teams and embed a CI mindset.
• Standardize best practices by creating clear, maintainable Standard Work that sustains improvements across the facility.
• Partner cross-functionally with operations, maintenance, quality, and supply chain to integrate improvements into daily management routines within demanding industrial environments.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical, or a related engineering field.
• Experience: 3–5 years driving continuous improvement in a heavy industrial, manufacturing, or production setting.
• Lean/TPM expertise: Hands-on application of Kaizen, 5S, SMED, Kanban; proficiency with VSM and workflow analysis; experience implementing TPM pillars.
• Analytical skills: Strong data analysis with statistical software (e.g., Minitab, Excel); excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.

• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Background with advanced manufacturing systems or Industry 4.0 concepts.

• Bachelor’s Degree; Engineering Degree
• Continuous Improvement; Lean Manufacturing Principles; Kaizen
• Six Sigma experience
• 5 Why (Root Cause Analysis Method); Root Cause Analysis
• Design for Manufacturability (DFM); Design for Assembly (DFA)
• Operational Metrics & KPI Management
• Operational Risk Management
• High-level Operations Analysis
• Quality Control Data Analysis