Manufacturing Continuous Improvement Leader

Smurfit Westrock; Village of Farmingdale (NY); Hybrid; USD 103,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Life and disability insurance

Job summary

Smurfit Westrock in Farmingdale, NY, seeks a Process Improvement Manager to lead continuous improvement initiatives and elevate plant performance. This role acts as a change agent, partnering with site leadership to implement the WestRock Operating System and achieve safety, quality, cost, service and people goals.

You will drive CI projects, coach teams, manage the CI pipeline, and report results including cost and productivity benefits.

Qualifications

• B.S. or A.S. in a technical field preferred but not required.
• Manufacturing experience required; paper/packaging experience is a plus.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt preferred; Yellow/Green Belt training within 6 months and certified within 18 months.
• Knowledge of continuous improvement tools including structured problem-solving methodology.
• Experience leading team-based process improvement projects for manufacturing applications with proven results.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to influence positive change.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, teach, and mentor others.

Responsibilities

• Partner with site leaders to align CI priorities with overall business strategy and goals.
• Identify and prioritize areas of improvement using a zero-loss mindset.
• Deliver value by leading and supporting focused execution of CI projects.
• Manage the local pipeline of improvement projects aligned to productivity targets.
• Work with site leaders to assign resources to ensure project success.
• Build capability in others through coaching and mentoring project leaders and teams.
• Support implementation of enterprise initiatives including Daily Management System, Problem-Solving Practices, and Reliability Excellence.
• Coordinate regular progress reviews of CI projects with project leaders and site leadership.
• Function as a liaison to the divisional Operational Excellence team.
• Track and report results including cost/productivity benefits.
• Ensure all projects and savings are documented in the productivity tracker.
• Share best practices within and outside the site.
• Support the enterprise Learning & Development framework and tools in partnership with operations.

Skills

Continuous improvement

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Coaching/mentoring

Problem-solving

Project leadership

Education

Technical degree (B.S./A.S.)

Tools

Structured problem solving

Lean Six Sigma

Job description

Smurfit Westrock in Farmingdale, NY, seeks a Process Improvement Manager to lead continuous improvement initiatives and elevate plant performance. This role acts as a change agent, partnering with site leadership to implement the WestRock Operating System and achieve safety, quality, cost, service and people goals.

You will drive CI projects, coach teams, manage the CI pipeline, and report results including cost and productivity benefits.