Continuous Improvement SpecialistWork Mode: Onsite
Location:Onsite - Sheridan, AR
OpportunityLead the deployment, sustainment, and continuous improvement of Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence practices across operations. This role will serve as a change agent and Lean expert, partnering closely with Operations, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Leadership to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people engagement.
This position is both hands-on and strategic: you will lead improvement initiatives, develop standards, coach teams, and embed Lean thinking into daily management systems. You will play a critical role in building capability, driving measurable business results, and supporting a culture of continuous improvement across the organization.
Specific Responsibilities- Lead and support trainings, Kaizen events, value stream mapping, and process redesign initiatives across operations.
- Apply Lean tools such as 5S, Standard Work, SMED, Kanban, Poka-Yoke and Waste Elimination.
- Lead the plant layout modifications, update current and future layouts.
- Own and deploy the Lean/Continuous Improvement roadmap aligned to business objectives, operational KPIs, and cultural maturity.
- Lead the development and sustainment of Lean Management Systems including Daily Management, Standard Work, Visual Management and Leader Standard Work.
- Facilitate root cause analysis and corrective actions for safety, quality, delivery, cost and productivity issues.
- Act as a Lean coach and mentor to operators, engineers, supervisors and leaders.
- Effectively communicate project status, results, and lessons learned to stakeholders and leadership.
- Use data-driven problem solving (A3, DMAIC, 8D where applicable) to validate improvements and ensure sustainability.
- Support the development of dashboards for Key Metrics and visual systems to enable fact-based decision making at all levels.
- Partner with Operations and Quality to improve first-pass yield, process stability, and defect reduction.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Supply Chain and Sourcing to improve flow, material presentation, and end-to-end value streams.
- Coach, mentor and influence employees at all levels to strengthen problem-solving skills and promote a culture of continuous improvement into daily operations.
Skills/Requirements - Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations Management or a related field.
- 2+ years experience as an Engineer in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence within manufacturing or operations environments preferred.
- Experience facilitating Kaizen events and coaching teams at multiple organizational levels.
- Strong analytical, communication and change management skills.
- Software: Autocad, PowerBI, Microsoft Suite, Minitab
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Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.We believe in supporting you from the moment you join us, which is why Kohler offers day 1 benefits. This means you'll have access to your applicable benefit programs from your first day on the job, with no waiting period. The salary range for this position is $92,400 - $141,000. The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidate's experience, their education, and the work location. In addition, this position is eligible for a performance bonus/variable incentive compensation.
