Director, Continuous Improvement

Regal Rexnord; Des Plaines (IL); On-site; USD 132,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401k with Matching

Tuition Assistance

Job summary

Regal Rexnord is seeking a Director, RBS for the Automation and Motion Control segment to accelerate operational excellence across multiple sites. This role partners with site leadership to deploy RBS, develop leadership capabilities, and prioritize initiatives with the highest business impact.

The position requires 10+ years in CI/ manufacturing, strong coaching and communication skills, and the ability to travel up to 75% to support plants regionally and internationally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, marketing, operations, supply chain, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years in continuous improvement, manufacturing or operations roles.
• Proven application of CI tools incl. 80/20, value stream mapping, 6S, flow, standard work, visual management, and structured problem solving.
• Black Belt in Lean/Continuous Improvement preferred.
• Ability to lead through others, influence senior leaders, and align cross-functional stakeholders around strategic priorities.
• Experience developing CI/RBS talent, coaching leaders, and building organizational capability through training, Gemba coaching, and leader standard work.
• Strong written and verbal communication with plant teams, peers, executives, and external stakeholders.
• Up to 75% travel to support plants and divisions.

Responsibilities

• Partner with site leadership to align operational strategies with enterprise objectives.
• Lead deployment of the Regal Business System across facilities.
• Develop roadmaps and prioritize high-impact initiatives.
• Coach leaders on lean principles and CI behaviors.
• Drive improvements in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Facilitate Kaizen events and cross-functional projects.

Skills

Lean leadership

Continuous improvement

Change management

Cross-functional leadership

Executive communication

Leadership development

Strategic planning

Travel up to 75%

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Work Model: This role can be performed remotely from an approved location, with flexibility based on business needs and applicable requirements.

____________________

Reporting to the Vice President, Regal Rexnord Business System (RBS) for the Automation and Motion Control (AMC) Segment, the Continuous Improvement (RBS) Director for the AMC Segment serves as the strategic leader responsible for accelerating operational excellence and driving sustainable business performance improvements across assigned manufacturing sites. This role partners closely with site leadership teams to deploy CI (RBS) principles, develop leadership capabilities, improve operational metrics, and create a culture of continuous improvement.

The Director, RBS acts as both coach and change agent, ensuring that RBS tools and behaviors become integrated into daily management systems and leadership practices. Success in this role is measured by measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and growth, employee engagement, and overall business results.

The role is accountable for translating AMC strategic objectives into clear RBS roadmaps, prioritizing initiatives with the highest business impact, and ensuring disciplined execution through leaders, site teams, and RBS/CI talent. The Director, RBS will regularly communicate progress, risks, and business impact to segment and division leadership and will influence stakeholders outside of the direct function to align priorities, resources, and decisions.

Key Responsibilities

This Role Will Make an Immediate Impact By:

• Partner with site leadership teams to align operational strategies with division and enterprise objectives.
• Facilitate the development and execution of annual and multi-year operational strategies.
• Lead deployment of the Regal Business System across assigned facilities.
• Ensure site improvement priorities support commercial growth, profitability, customer service, and capacity requirements.
• Drive accountability for achievement of business objectives and key performance indicators.
• Drive a culture where performance gaps are addressed through structured problem solving.
• Partnering with division and segment leadership to prioritize improvement initiatives, recommend resource plans, and support staffing and talent decisions within the RBS/CI organization.

Other Key Responsibilities Include

• Assess site maturity and develop roadmaps to advance RBS capabilities.
• Standardize the use of RBS tools and systems across sites.
• Conduct regular RBS assessments, audits, and gemba reviews.
• Ensure sustainability of improvements through standard work and leader accountability.
• Coach site leaders on RBS principles, lean leadership, and continuous improvement behaviors.
• Develop leadership capability in daily management, problem solving, visual management, and accountability systems.
• Facilitate workshops, training sessions, and leadership development activities at sites.
• Build organizational capability to achieve self-sustaining continuous improvement.
• Establish and improve visual management systems throughout manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and support functions.
• Drive implementation and effectiveness of tiered accountability processes.
• Ensure performance measures are visible, actionable, and aligned to business objectives.
• Improve management routines to accelerate issue identification and resolution.
• Develop problem-solving capabilities at all levels of the organization.
• Facilitate Kaizen events, Rapid Improvement Events, and cross-functional improvement projects.
• Coach teams in root cause analysis methodologies including A3, 5 Whys, Fishbone, and PDCA.
• Ensure countermeasures are implemented, verified, and sustained.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, marketing, operations, supply chain, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of continuous improvement, manufacturing or operations experience. Experience leading Lean/RBS transformation and maturity improvement across multiple sites, divisions, or business functions.
• Proven application of multiple CI tools, including 80/20, value stream mapping, 6S, flow, standard work, visual management, and structured problem solving.
• Black Belt in Lean/Continuous Improvement preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through others, influence senior leaders, and align cross-functional stakeholders around strategic improvement priorities.
• Experience developing CI/RBS talent, coaching leaders, and building organizational capability through formal training, Gemba coaching, and leader standard work.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with plant teams, peers, executives, and external stakeholders as needed.
• Ability to travel up to 75% of the time to support assigned plants and divisions, regionally and internationally.

Preferred Skills & Qualifications

• MBA Preferred
• Lean deployment experience within a large, global, decentralized manufacturing environment.
• Industrial manufacturing industry experience.
• Knowledge of enterprise-wide business system tools or and continuous improvement frameworks.
• Experience in engineer-to-order or configure-to-order business environments.
• Experience improving transactional process areas such as customer care, engineering, finance, commercial, product management, or quote-to-cash.

Pay Transparency

Expected Base Salary Range: $132,000 – $205,600

The salary range provided is intended to display the value of the company's base pay compensation for this position. Salary is dependent on a multitude of factors, including but not limited to the physical worksite location, the geographic market of that location, candidate's skill set, level of experience, education and internal peer compensation comparisons among other potential factors.

Export Controlled ITAR/EAR Compliance (Location & Position Dependent)

Restrictions imposed by federal export control laws may limit this job opportunity to candidates who are a ‘U.S. Person’, which includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents, individuals granted asylum in the United States, and refugees in the United States, or who otherwise can qualify for a license that permits them to hold the position.

Sponsorship

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States without requiring company sponsorship to obtain or keep U.S. work authorization.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Coverage
• Spending accounts (HSA, Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA)
• Paid Time Off and Holidays
• 401k Retirement Plan with Matching Employer Contributions
• Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
• Paid Leaves
• Tuition Assistance

About Regal Rexnord

Regal Rexnord is a publicly held global industrial manufacturer with 30,000 associates around the world who help create a better tomorrow by providing sustainable solutions that power, transmit and control motion. The Company’s electric motors and air moving subsystems provide the power to create motion. A portfolio of highly engineered power transmission components and subsystems efficiently transmits motion to power industrial applications. The Company’s automation offering, comprised of controls, actuators, drives, and precision motors, controls motion in applications ranging from factory automation to precision control in surgical tools.

The Company’s end markets benefit from meaningful secular demand tailwinds, and include factory automation, food & beverage, aerospace, medical, data center, warehouse, alternative energy, residential and commercial buildings, general industrial, construction, metals and mining, and agriculture.

Regal Rexnord is comprised of three operating segments: Industrial Powertrain Solutions, Power Efficiency Solutions, and Automation & Motion Control. Regal Rexnord has offices and manufacturing, sales and service facilities worldwide. For more information, including a copy of our Sustainability Report, visit RegalRexnord.com.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Regal Rexnord is an Equal Opportunity and **Affirmative** Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, ancestry, national origin, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status (unless required by the applicable law or government contract), disability or protected veteran status or any other status or characteristic protected by law. Regal Rexnord is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are committed to building a team that represents diverse and inclusive backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. If you’d like to view a copy of the company’s affirmative action plan for protected veterans/individuals with disabilities or policy statement, please email [e-mail]. If you have a disability and you believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or to submit an online application, please e-mail [e-mail].

Equal Employment Opportunity Posters

Notification to Agencies

Please note that Regal Rexnord Corporation and its affiliates and subsidiaries ("Regal Rexnord") do not accept unsolicited resumes or calls from third-party recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Master Service Agreement or similar contract and approval from HR to submit resumes for a specific requisition, Regal Rexnord will not consider or approve payment to any third-parties for hires made.