Lean Technician: CI & Shop Floor Improvement

Dakota Bodies; City of Watertown (NY); On-site; USD 48,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Dakota Bodies in Watertown, SD is seeking an entry-level Continuous Improvement (CI) / Lean Technician to drive process stability and waste reduction across fabrication, assembly and paint operations.

You will partner with production, engineering and maintenance to apply Lean tools, participate in Kaizen events, perform time studies, and support standard work, PFEP and daily management systems on the shop floor.

Qualifications

• Basic understanding of Lean Manufacturing principles (5S, Kaizen, Standard Work).
• 1–3+ years experience in manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to read technical drawings or work instructions preferred.
• Proficiency with Excel and basic data tracking tools.

Responsibilities

• Lean & Continuous Improvement Execution: support 5S, Standard Work, Kaizen and Visual Management.
• Identify waste in production processes (motion, waiting, defects, overproduction, transport).
• Participate in Kaizen events and rapid improvement activities.
• Assist in developing and maintaining Lean daily management systems.
• Process Improvement & Analysis: conduct time studies and line balancing activities.
• Support bottleneck identification and throughput improvements.
• Analyze production data to identify trends, losses and opportunities.
• Assist in validating takt time alignment and standard work adherence.
• Shop Floor Support (Gemba): perform daily walks, engage with operators, and solve issues.
• Support corrective actions and sustain improvements.
• Standard Work & Documentation: help develop SOPs and visual work instructions.
• PFEP maintenance and material flow improvements.
• Safety, Quality & Culture: promote safety and assist in root cause analysis.
• Support training for operators on Lean concepts and new processes.
• Drive operator engagement in CI activities.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with Engineering, Production, Maintenance and Quality.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing mindset

Problem solving

Data collection and analysis

Communication and teamwork

Time study

Gemba engagement

Standard work development

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associate degree or technical training

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Dakota Bodies in Watertown, SD is seeking an entry-level Continuous Improvement (CI) / Lean Technician to drive process stability and waste reduction across fabrication, assembly and paint operations.

You will partner with production, engineering and maintenance to apply Lean tools, participate in Kaizen events, perform time studies, and support standard work, PFEP and daily management systems on the shop floor.