Continuous Improvement Manager- West Chester, OH (Onsite)

Barnes Aerospace; Olde West Chester (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

BARNES AEROSPACE West Chester, OH is seeking a Continuous Improvement Manager to drive a step-change in performance by deploying operational excellence principles, systems and tools on site. This role partners with site leadership to strategize and execute CI initiatives across the facility.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of hands-on CI experience, strong Lean/Kaizen background, and a proven ability to lead cross-functional teams in a manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years of delivering measurable, step-change improvements in business or operational performance.
• Hands-on experience with continuous improvement tools and methodologies (e.g., Lean, Theory of Constraints, Kaizen).
• Ability to lead and influence across multiple levels of the organization.
• Strong understanding of operational excellence principles in manufacturing or industrial settings.
• Analytical, data-driven problem solving with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Act as strategic business partner to site leadership to identify opportunitites for performance improvement.
• Lead deployment, sustainment, and evolution of the VITAL Operating System at the site.
• Identify, prioritize, and lead high-impact CI projects delivering improvements in quality, cost and customer satisfaction.
• Establish CI frameworks, governance and standard work across the organization.
• Coach and mentor employees in CI methodologies and tools across all levels.
• Collaborate with operations, engineering, quality, supply chain, finance and safety to drive cross-functional improvements.
• Facilitate workshops, kaizen events, training and problem-solving sessions.

Job description

The Continuous Improvement (CI) Manager is responsible for driving a step change in business performance through the deployment of operational excellence principles, systems, and tools. This role serves as a key business partner to site leadership, leading the strategy and execution of continuous improvement initiatives across the facility.

This role is onsite at our West Chester, OH location.

Key Responsibilities

• Business Partnership & Strategy
• Act as a strategic business partner to site leadership to identify opportunities for operational and financial performance improvement.
• Analyze current processes, workflows, and systems to identify inefficiencies and develop improvement strategies that drive measurable results.
• Operational Excellence & VITAL Ownership
• Lead the deployment, sustainment, and continuous evolution of the VITAL Operating System at the site.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise CI standards, tools, and methodologies through close collaboration with the Director of Continuous Improvement.
• Project Leadership & Execution
• Identify, prioritize, and lead high-impact CI projects and initiatives that deliver quality, operational, financial, and customer satisfaction improvements.
• Drive successful execution of projects from concept through implementation and sustainment.
• Frameworks & Capability Building
• Establish and deploy structured CI frameworks, governance, and standard work across the organization.
• Build organizational capability by training, coaching, developing and mentoring employees at all levels in CI methodologies and tools.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with operations, engineering, quality, supply chain, finance, safety and other functions to enhance productivity and drive cross-functional improvements.
• Facilitate workshops, kaizen events, training and problem-solving sessions.
• Performance & Analytics
• Utilize data-driven methodologies to identify root causes, track performance, and validate improvement outcomes.
• Develop and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure CI effectiveness.
• Continuous Learning & Best Practices
• Stay current with industry trends, tools, and best practices in continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Drive standardization and sharing of best practices across the organization.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5+ years of experience delivering measurable, step-change improvements in business or operational performance.
• Proven hands-on experience with continuous improvement tools and methodologies (e.g., Lean, Theory of Constraints, Kaizen), with relevant certifications preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence across multiple levels of the organization.
• Strong understanding of operational excellence principles across manufacturing or industrial environments.
• Analytical, data-driven approach to problem solving with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong numerical and analytical capability.
• Project Management certification preferred, but not required, or a strong project management background.
• Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt) is a plus.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or a related technical discipline preferred.