Lean CI Lead: Manufacturing (On-Site, 50% Travel)

Linked Professional Services; Owosso (MI); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Linked, LLC is seeking a hands-on Continuous Improvement Specialist to drive lean manufacturing, operational excellence, and cost efficiency across Owosso, MI-based facilities. The role involves cross-functional teamwork with production, engineering, quality, and maintenance, plus up to 50% travel to support initiatives at multiple sites.

This on-site position emphasizes standardized work, data-driven improvement, and mentoring of teams in lean tools and problem solving.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, continuous improvement, operational excellence, or business process improvement.
• Demonstrated experience applying Lean Manufacturing principles in a production environment.
• Experience leading Kaizen events, process improvement workshops, or operational improvement initiatives.
• Working knowledge of continuous improvement methodologies, including 5S, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, standardized work, root cause analysis, and Six Sigma principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational excellence initiatives across manufacturing operations and supporting departments.
• Plan and facilitate Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), root cause analysis, and cross-functional problem-solving activities.
• Identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, inventory performance, and operating costs.
• Develop and implement waste reduction strategies to minimize downtime, scrap, rework, process variation, and non-value-added activities.
• Establish and maintain standardized work procedures, visual management systems, process controls, and operational best practices.
• Analyze production and business performance data to identify trends, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop, monitor, and report key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure operational performance and improvement results.
• Partner with production, engineering, quality, maintenance, supply chain, and leadership teams to optimize manufacturing processes and workflows.
• Support ERP/MRP system improvements, data accuracy initiatives, and opportunities for process automation.
• Train, coach, and mentor employees and leadership teams on Lean principles, continuous improvement tools, and problem-solving methodologies.
• Lead change management efforts to support the successful implementation and sustainability of process improvements.
• Conduct process audits, evaluate improvement effectiveness, and ensure compliance with operational and quality standards.
• Support new product launches, capacity improvement projects, and strategic operational initiatives.
• Track project progress, cost savings, performance improvements, and overall return on improvement initiatives.
• Support continuous improvement projects across multiple manufacturing locations as needed.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Kaizen

Value Stream Mapping

5S

Six Sigma

Data analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, Supply Chain

Tools

Microsoft Office

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Linked, LLC is seeking a hands-on Continuous Improvement Specialist to drive lean manufacturing, operational excellence, and cost efficiency across Owosso, MI-based facilities. The role involves cross-functional teamwork with production, engineering, quality, and maintenance, plus up to 50% travel to support initiatives at multiple sites.

This on-site position emphasizes standardized work, data-driven improvement, and mentoring of teams in lean tools and problem solving.