Director of Lean & Continuous Improvement

Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corporation; Town of Brookfield (WI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package including medical, ?n

401(k) retirement plan with company 0

Paid vacation and holidays

Tuition reimbursement and professional

Enterprise-level leadership role

Collaborative, inclusive workplace

Job summary

Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corporation is seeking a Director of Continuous Improvement to establish and lead a broad CI function from Brookfield, WI. You will shape the enterprise CI strategy, strengthen Lean capabilities, and partner with plant and senior leaders to improve safety, quality, cost, throughput and overall performance.

You will lead CI Specialists, guide the Steering Committee, develop Lean training and management systems, and translate improvement opportunities into

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience including Lean, CI or Six Sigma initiatives.
• Experience leading Lean implementation teams across a multi-plant manufacturing network.
• Proven success developing Lean principles, systems and processes for sustainable improvements.
• Hands-on experience applying CI tools in a high-speed manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading people and cross-functional teams while managing concurrent projects.
• Strong problem-solving, project leadership, coaching, facilitation and change management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills from shop floor to executive level.
• Ability to travel approximately 30% to manufacturing locations.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead a Continuous Improvement organization across a multi-plant network.
• Develop, implement, and track a multi-year CI strategy and roadmap.
• Lead the CI Steering Committee with senior management on priorities and results.
• Coach and develop CI Specialists providing plant support.
• Apply Lean methods (5S, Visual Factory, TPM, Kaizen, SMED, VSM) across sites.
• Provide hands-on leadership for concurrent improvement projects through structured problem solving.
• Strengthen process discipline, standard work, and CI tools across operations.
• Partner with manufacturing teams to deliver cost savings, throughput gains, and waste reduction.
• Develop dashboards, tracking tools, and governance to measure CI progress.
• Create Lean training materials and support capability building across the organization.
• Communicate CI performance and risks to plant leaders and executives.
• Travel to sites ~30% to lead CI activities.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Operational excellence

Six Sigma

Cross-functional leadership

Problem-solving

Project leadership

Change management

Effective communication

Travel 30%

Tools

5S / Visual Factory

TPM

Kaizen events

SMED / Quick Changeover

Value Stream Mapping

Job description

Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corporation is seeking a Director of Continuous Improvement to establish and lead a broad CI function from Brookfield, WI. You will shape the enterprise CI strategy, strengthen Lean capabilities, and partner with plant and senior leaders to improve safety, quality, cost, throughput and overall performance.

You will lead CI Specialists, guide the Steering Committee, develop Lean training and management systems, and translate improvement opportunities into