Manufacturing Excellence: Continuous Improvement Leader

ITW; Michigan; On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) seeks a Continuous Improvement Manager - Manufacturing Excellence for our Kalkaska, MI facility.

You will lead CI initiatives, strengthen quality systems, and improve equipment reliability while embedding ITW's 80/20 principles and our Business Model across operations, engineering, maintenance, and quality teams. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong problem-solving, an operational mindset, and the ability to translate data into actionable

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase throughput
• Develop and execute a site-level CI roadmap tied to business goals and performance metrics
• Drive root cause analysis, corrective actions, and data-driven decision making
• Implement standardized processes, KPIs, and visual management systems
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to improve process capability and equipment performance
• Support new product introduction through stage-gate processes, FMEAs, and control plans
• Identify equipment upgrades and prepare capital expenditure requests
• Lead and strengthen site quality systems and processes
• Support audits (internal and external), corrective actions, and compliance initiatives
• Promote a culture of quality ownership and continuous learning
• Partner cross-functional to improve product consistency and customer satisfaction
• Provide leadership and direction to maintenance and engineering support teams
• Improve preventive and predictive maintenance systems
• Drive initiatives that reduce downtime and improve equipment reliability
• Support and champion a

Job description

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) seeks a Continuous Improvement Manager - Manufacturing Excellence for our Kalkaska, MI facility.

You will lead CI initiatives, strengthen quality systems, and improve equipment reliability while embedding ITW's 80/20 principles and our Business Model across operations, engineering, maintenance, and quality teams. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong problem-solving, an operational mindset, and the ability to translate data into actionable