Kaizen-Driven Lean Improvement Engineer

Actalent; Bedford (OH); On-site; USD 66,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Job summary

Actalent seeks a hands-on Continuous Improvement Engineer to lead lean initiatives on the manufacturing floor, partnering with Operations leadership and production teams. You will identify opportunities across the value stream, develop a lean roadmap, and coach teams to sustain gains in throughput, lead time, quality, and material flow.

The role emphasizes real-time solution implementation, gemba walks, and daily management practices to drive measurable improvements and ensure readiness across

Qualifications

• 5+ years of manufacturing experience implementing lean or continuous improvement projects.
• Proven experience improving manufacturing flow and reducing lead times in a production environment.
• Hands-on expertise with lean tools, including value stream mapping, standard work, visual management, 5S, Kaizen, material flow optimization, and structured root-cause problem solving such as PDCA, A3, or 5 Whys.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes with the ability to interpret engineering drawings and bills of materials (BOMs).
• Ability to analyze capacity and develop practical changes to layouts, work methods, and material movement.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and influence supervisors and manufacturing teams in lean and continuous improvement practices.
• Comfort working directly on the manufacturing floor in a hands-on, leadership-focused role.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive lean improvement roadmap across operations that supports production demand, capacity requirements, and facility growth.
• Evaluate end-to-end material and information flow from engineering release and purchasing through fabrication, assembly, wiring, testing, and shipment to identify bottlenecks, delays, rework, and waste.
• Lead Kaizen events and continuous improvement projects using lean tools such as Value Stream Mapping, 5S, standard work, visual management, pull systems, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Improve facility layouts, workstations, staging areas, material routes, point-of-use storage, kitting processes, and replenishment methods to enhance flow and efficiency.
• Conduct detailed time studies, capacity analyses, work sequencing reviews, and workload balancing to increase throughput and optimize resource utilization.
• Partner with Engineering, Planning, Purchasing, and Quality to improve production readiness, BOM and drawing handoffs, engineering change processes, and resolution of recurring material shortages.
• Develop clear work instructions, visual standards, and standardized processes that support consistent, repeatable, and safe operations.
• Strengthen daily management practices through gemba walks, visual performance metrics, escalation processes, and structured action tracking.
• Coach supervisors and manufacturing teams on lean manufacturing principles, value stream mapping, Kaizen practices, plant layout optimization, continuous improvement methods, and time study techniques.
• Observe both facilities during the first 30 days, listen to employees, map priority flows, establish baseline measures, and align with Operations on the highest-value opportunities.
• Launch initial improvement initiatives within the first 30 days that are achievable and aligned with agreed priorities.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Value Stream Mapping

5S

Kaizen

PDCA

5 Whys

Coaching on floor

Leadership on floor

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

Oracle NetSuite

Job description

Actalent seeks a hands-on Continuous Improvement Engineer to lead lean initiatives on the manufacturing floor, partnering with Operations leadership and production teams. You will identify opportunities across the value stream, develop a lean roadmap, and coach teams to sustain gains in throughput, lead time, quality, and material flow.

The role emphasizes real-time solution implementation, gemba walks, and daily management practices to drive measurable improvements and ensure readiness across