Continuous Improvement Specialist

Lee Kum Kee USA; California (MO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Life Insurance

401k Plan

Paid Holidays

Sick Days

Birthday Leave

Job summary

Lee Kum Kee USA is seeking a Manufacturing Excellence specialist to co-own the plant dashboard, validate SAP data, and drive continuous-improvement initiatives across OEE, yield, downtime, and cost reduction.

You will partner with the Sr. Manager of Operational Excellence to ensure accurate reporting, standardized work, and sustained gains through Lean Six Sigma and structured problem solving.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Manufacturing or related field preferred.
• Minimum 3 years manufacturing/CI/Operational Excellence experience.

Responsibilities

• Co-own the manufacturing dashboard and monitor KPIs, review performance, and drive corrective actions.
• Validate production orders, material usage, yield, scrap, labor in SAP and build reliable reports.
• Validate SAP routings and manufacturing standards with leadership; coordinate data changes for approvals.
• Support CI and cost-reduction initiatives focusing on OEE, yield, downtime, and labor.
• Lead or support 5S deployment, audit scoring, and corrective-action follow-up.
• Coordinate revisions and ensure current documentation is updated and trained.
• Coach leaders and operators in Lean tools and data interpretation to sustain gains.

Skills

OEE analysis

Data analysis

SAP

Excel

Power BI

Lean Six Sigma

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering or related field

Tools

SAP ERP

Power BI

Machine Metrics

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Ready to bring fresh ingredients to your career? At Lee Kum Kee, we’re committed to your growth, offering a place where creativity and innovation thrive. If you're eager to make an impact and advance your career,

BENEFITS

• Medical, Dental, and Life Insurance coverage
• 401(k) Retirement Plan through Principal
• Ten (10) Paid Holidays
• Five (5) Sick Days
• Annual (1 Day) Birthday Time Off

POSITION SUMMARY

• Co-own the manufacturing dashboard with the Sr. Manager of Operational Excellence; monitor OEE, yield, downtime, waste, tonnage, attainment, labor productivity, overtime, and other approved KPIs/KRAs; review daily and shift performance, investigate misses, and coordinate corrective actions using SAP, Excel, Power BI, Machine Metrics, and other approved systems.
• Serve as a manufacturing-data subject matter expert in SAP by validating production orders, confirmations, material usage, yield, scrap, labor, and related transactions while extracting, trending, and analyzing data to resolve discrepancies and build reliable reporting and analytical tools.
• Co-own validation of SAP routings and manufacturing standards with the Sr. Manager of Operational Excellence, including line rates, crew size, labor hours, changeovers, efficiency factors, yield, and scrap assumptions; compare actual performance to standards and coordinate justified master-data changes through the appropriate approval process.
• Support or lead CI and COGS initiatives focused on OEE, yield, throughput, downtime, labor, changeovers, waste, rework, capacity, and cost reduction by using Gemba and structured problem solving, tracking project status and savings, and driving actions through implementation, verification, and sustainment.
• Support plant-wide 5S deployment and gatekeep the audit/scoring system established by the Sr. Manager of Operational Excellence, including audit completion, corrective-action follow-up, approved-item lists, red-tag controls, visual standards, area ownership, and sustainment coaching.
• Serve as the gatekeeper for operational standard work and controlled documentation by coordinating approved revisions, maintaining current versions, and ensuring updates are communicated, trained, implemented, and sustained.
• Support development and delivery of 5S, Lean fundamentals, structured problem solving, root-cause analysis, data analysis, and Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training while coaching leaders and frontline employees to interpret performance data and sustain improvements.
• Support deployment and sustainment of the Lee Kum Kee Operating System (LOS), including tiered/DOR meetings, visual management, escalation, leader standard work, Gemba routines, structured problem solving, LOS maturity/compliance audits, corrective-action tracking, and coaching process owners to embed LOS into daily management and loss elimination.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, Business, Operations, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, or related field preferred; equivalent manufacturing/CI experience considered.
• Minimum 3 years of manufacturing, operations, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence experience.
• Experience with SAP/ERP systems, manufacturing KPIs, data analysis, 5S, root-cause analysis, and process‑improvement projects preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma certification and excel experience preferred.
• Strong Excel, data‑analysis, and problem‑solving skills with the ability to translate manufacturing data into actionable improvements.
• Working knowledge of OEE, yield, downtime, labor productivity, waste, throughput, routing speed, and manufacturing standards.
• Strong cross‑functional communication, facilitation, project‑management, and coaching skills.
• Ability to work effectively on the production floor, influence

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Founded in 1888, Lee Kum Kee, a Hong Kong-based global food company, specializes in creating condiments and sauces that promote Chinese cuisine worldwide. With more than 300 products to choose from, Lee Kum Kee takes the mystery out of cooking authentic and delicious Asian foods in the comfort of your kitchen. Lee Kum Kee is committed to providing authentic and innovative condiments and sauces featuring the highest quality ingredients. Armed with a unique management culture, stringent quality control, superb and innovative products, coupled with the century long brand reputation, Lee Kum Kee has achieved unanimous recognition and won numerous prestigious awards.

It is Lee Kum Kee’s policy to seek and employ the most qualified persons in all jobs in a manner which will ensure equal employment opportunity as well as administer personnel actions in a manner as to not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability or protected veteran status. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.