Lead Process Engineer

Jobtailor; Kentucky; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Kimberly-Clark seeks a senior process engineering leader to optimize Baby & Child Care assets. You will drive OEE improvements, deploy capacity strategies, and translate production data into actionable playbooks across the value stream. Heavy collaboration with R&D, Supply Chain, and suppliers is required, with travel up to 25%.

You will mentor teams, manage annual Glidepaths, and ensure compliance with policies while advancing site objectives and cost transformation efforts.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in engineering or a relevant scientific field.
• Track record of cross-functional collaboration across R&D, Supply Chain, and operations.
• Strong Lean, problem solving, and process validation fundamentals.
• Ability to mentor expert personnel and lead technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership to optimize overall equipment effectiveness for Baby Child Care assets.
• Support and drive capacity and capability liberation using production data.
• Collaborate with mills and value stream teams to manage Glidepaths and performance targets.
• Deliver production data reports to platform leads for health tracking and decision making.
• Coordinate travel with mills and staff to provide onsite support.
• Document work per policy and ensure protection of proprietary information and regulatory compliance.

Skills

Cross-functional networks

Mentoring

LEAN

Problem-solving

Technical documentation

Communication

Leadership of technical teams

Travel readiness

Education

B.S./M.S. in Engineering or scientific discipline

Job description

Responsibilities

• Flow to work as part of the Value Stream Engineering Optimization Team.
• Expected to support manufacturing and converting activities across all Baby & Child Care.
• In the event of escalation, assist Asset Operations teams in returning assets to target performance.
• Provide technical leadership for sector-wide Overall Equipment Effectiveness improvement initiatives by identifying optimization opportunities, developing and executing action plans, and driving accountability across Baby Child Care assets.
• Support and implement strategy deployment for capacity and capability liberation by leveraging production data to inform Baby Child Care Overall Equipment Effectiveness Strategy, Supply Chain Priority Initiatives, and Cost Transformation efforts.
• Collaborate with mill and value stream teams to develop and manage annual Glidepaths for the Baby Child Care portfolio, including providing input and supporting adjustments.
• Deliver periodic production data reports to Platform Leads and key stakeholders to support platform health tracking, performance analysis, and data-driven decision‑making across the Baby Child Care Supply Chain.
• Effectively collaborate with a cross‑functional team that includes R&D, Supply Chain, mill operations, procurement, equipment suppliers, and external service providers.
• Partner with mill teams while maintaining a customer focused mindset.
• Lead, coach, and mentor team members to increase technical understanding and ability to execute programs to improve Baby Child Care’s business results.
• Coordinate team travel planning in partnership with mills and staff to ensure effective onsite support.
• Document and report unit work in accordance with Kimberly‑Clark policy, ensuring effective communication, protection of proprietary information, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Requirements

• B.S. or M.S. in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline from an accredited university, including Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials/Polymer Science, or Biomedical Engineering.
• Multiple years of process engineering experience in progressively broader technical or operational roles, with a demonstrated track record of achievement and growth.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong cross‑functional networks at the enterprise level.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor subject matter expert personnel.
• Strong fundamentals in engineering systems and tools to drive technical innovation.
• Ability to lead technical teams and projects that meet business objectives.
• Effective collaboration skills across R&D, Supply Chain, mill operations, procurement, equipment suppliers, and external service providers.
• Solid understanding of manufacturing systems, materials, product, and competitive process knowledge.
• Strong LEAN, problem‑solving, process validation, and technical documentation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to travel 25% of the time.