Director of Continuous Improvement

Wisenbaker Builder Services; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Wisenbaker Builder Services is seeking a senior Continuous Improvement leader to own and drive our Lean Management System across manufacturing, field operations, and support functions. You will lead a team of CI managers, coordinate external Lean consultants, and develop training programs for roughly 140 managers to sustain improvements.

You will engage with the CEO and senior leaders on gemba walks, leader standard work, visual management, and problem solving, extending Lean into office and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Continuous Improvement, Lean, Operational Excellence, Manufacturing Excellence, or related operational leadership roles.
• 5+ years in a senior leadership capacity, with responsibility for leading CI/Operational Excellence teams, managers, or enterprise-level transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience building, deploying, and sustaining a Lean Management System across multiple locations or business units, not solely facilitating individual Lean projects or Kaizen events.
• Strong background in manufacturing operations, with experience applying Lean principles in complex, high-volume, or multi-site environments.
• Proven experience implementing core Lean methodologies, including Leader Standard Work, Daily Management Systems, Gemba, Visual Management, Standard Work, Problem Solving, Value Stream Mapping, 5S, Kaizen, and root-cause analysis.
• Proven ability to translate improvement initiatives into measurable business results, including productivity, labor efficiency, quality, cost, margin, throughput, lead time, safety, and customer performance.
• Experience operating in a multi-site organization and establishing consistent standards while recognizing the operational differences between locations and functions.
• Experience with EOS/Traction or a similar management framework is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the Lean management system across manufacturing, field, installation, branches, and support functions.
• Coach and develop CI Managers, aligning areas while solving unique problems.
• Coordinate outside Lean consultants and integrate their work into one system.
• Develop curriculum, training, routines, and coaching for ~140 managers to lead Continuous Improvement themselves.
• Work with CEO and Senior Leadership Team on gemba walks, leader standard work, visual management, problem solving, and sustaining the system.
• Extend Continuous Improvement into office and digital processes and explore AI-assisted visual controls and process-mining capabilities.
• Build the infrastructure, capability, and leadership discipline for the Wisenbaker Way to endure beyond the transformation.

Skills

Continuous Improvement

Lean

Operational Excellence

Manufacturing Excellence

Leader Standard Work

Daily Management Systems

Gemba

Visual Management

Problem Solving

Value Stream Mapping

5S

Kaizen

Root cause analysis

Tools

EOS/Traction

Job description

The Job:

Wisenbaker Builder Services is one of Texas’s leading providers of cabinets, countertops, and installation services to the home-building industry.

Our operations are growing, our next chapter of growth is already underway in Florida, and through all that growth, our promise to our builders remains simple: We help them make their closings. Now, we’re strengthening how we deliver on that promise. We call it the Wisenbaker Way, our company-wide journey to bring Lean thinking and leadership into the operating discipline that already drives WBS.

The goal is to remove waste, improve execution, grow margin, develop stronger leaders, and create a business capable of sharing more of its success with the people who helped create it.

If you’ve spent your career building better operations, and you’re ready to build something that can outlast you, we want to talk.

What you will own:

You will own the Wisenbaker Lean Management System as one coherent enterprise-wide system. You’ll ensure manufacturing and field operations don’t develop two different versions of Lean. You’ll create the standards and leadership behaviors that allow approximately 140 managers to operate from the same playbook.

• Build and own the Lean management system that our operations will follow across manufacturing, field, installation, branches, and support functions.


• Coach and develop our CI Managers, creating alignment while allowing each area to solve the problems unique to its operation.


• Coordinate our outside Lean consultants and ensure their work converges into one Wisenbaker system.


• Develop the curriculum, training, routines, and coaching that will equip approximately 140 WBS managers to lead Continuous Improvement themselves.


• Work directly with our CEO and Senior Leadership Team on gemba walks, leader standard work, visual management, problem solving, and the leadership behaviors required to sustain the system.


• Extend Continuous Improvement into office and digital processes and explore AI-assisted visual controls and process-mining capabilities that can expose waste and opportunities we haven’t historically been able to see.


• Build the infrastructure, capability, and leadership discipline necessary for the Wisenbaker Way to continue long after the initial transformation.

Who we are looking for:

You’ve already seen what happens when Lean works, and what happens when organizations treat it as a temporary initiative.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in Continuous Improvement, Lean, Operational Excellence, Manufacturing Excellence, or related operational leadership roles.


• 5+ years in a senior leadership capacity, with responsibility for leading CI/Operational Excellence teams, managers, or enterprise-level transformation initiatives.


• Demonstrated experience building, deploying, and sustaining a Lean Management System across multiple locations or business units, not solely facilitating individual Lean projects or Kaizen events.


• Strong background in manufacturing operations, with experience applying Lean principles in complex, high-volume, or multi-site environments.


• Proven experience implementing core Lean methodologies, including Leader Standard Work, Daily Management Systems, Gemba, Visual Management, Standard Work, Problem Solving, Value Stream Mapping, 5S, Kaizen, and root-cause analysis.


• Proven ability to translate improvement initiatives into measurable business results, including productivity, labor efficiency, quality, cost, margin, throughput, lead time, safety, and customer performance.


• Experience operating in a multi-site organization and establishing consistent standards while recognizing the operational differences between locations and functions.


• Experience with EOS/Traction or a similar management framework is a plus.

Your goal isn’t to become indispensable. Your goal is to build an organization that no longer needs you to drive every improvement.

About The Company

At Wisenbaker, we don’t just support the homebuilding industry, we help build it from the ground up. As one of the largest interior finish solutions providers in the country, we partner with top homebuilders to deliver flooring, countertops, and cabinets that turn houses into homes. But we’re more than materials, we’re a people-powered operation where hard work is noticed, growth is real, and leadership actually leads. If you're ready to be part of something built to last, welcome to Wisenbaker.