Operational Excellence Engineer

Ultipro; Hamilton (WA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k with employer matching

Paid time off

Floating holidays

Job summary

Janicki Industries in Hamilton, WA, seeks an Operational Excellence Engineer to drive standard operating procedures, training, and process documentation on the shop floor. This hands-on role partners with engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams to translate tacit knowledge into clear, repeatable standards and to lead technical training programs.

You will contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, NPI readiness, and process changes while ensuring documentation and training align with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent technical experience.
• Minimum 3 years in manufacturing, engineering, or technical operations.
• Clear technical documentation writing ability (SOPs, work instructions, training materials).
• Experience presenting and training technical audiences (engineers, operators, technicians).
• Strong analytical skills with ability to identify root causes and gaps.
• US Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident due to ITAR/EAR regulations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, work instructions, and process documentation with engineering, manufacturing and quality teams.
• Translate tacit knowledge into clear, repeatable standards for shop floor use.
• Own internal training programs: maintain content, develop materials, and deliver training to technical audiences.
• Identify gaps in documentation and training from quality data, audits, requests, and on-site observation.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define requirements and validate outcomes after implementation.
• Lead improvement initiatives, scoping work and coordinating SMEs to close gaps.
• Support NPI and process changes with documentation and training readiness.
• Contribute to kaizen events, value stream mapping, and 5S/standard work rollouts.

Skills

Technical writing

Public speaking

Analytical skills

Root cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Lean Six Sigma certification

Job description

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you will find the contact information to request the appropriate accommodation by visiting the following our Accessibility Accomodation for Applicants page.

Operational Excellence Engineer

• Posted on June 4, 2026

Locations

Showing 1 location

Hamilton, WA 98255, USA

• On-site
• Travel Required : Yes
• Pay or shift range: $83,000 USD to $145,000 USD The estimated range is the budgeted amount for this position. Final offers are based on various factors, including skill set, experience, location, qualifications and other job-related reasons.
• Technical
• Full-Time
• Requisition #: OPERA002253

Description

Janicki Industries is an innovative, family-owned aerospace company located at the foot of the Cascades. We focus on engineering and manufacturing complex projects for companies in the aerospace, defense, and space industries.

We are looking for an Operational Excellence Engineer to join our growing team.

This position is located on-site in Hamilton, Washington State.

Department Summary:

The Operational Excellence (OE) team partners with every part of Janicki to drive improved documentation, training, and standardization in support of our engineering and manufacturing processes. We identify inefficiencies, build scalable solutions, and equip teams across the organization to do their best work as Janicki continues to grow. We're hiring an Operational Excellence Engineer to serve as the technical backbone of how we capture, standardize, and scale operational knowledge across our engineering and manufacturing teams. This is a hands‑on, cross‑functional role that partners directly with engineers, technicians, and operators to translate deep technical know‑how into clear, usable standards that drive performance. This is not a back‑office documentation role. You will spend time on the floor, in design reviews, and alongside subject matter experts — building the SOPs, work instructions, and training that keep our operations consistent, compliant, and continuously improving. You will also identify where our standards and training fall short and lead the work to close those gaps. This role has a clear growth path into continuous improvement, process engineering, or program management within our broader Operational Excellence organization.

• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams to develop and maintain standard operating procedures, work instructions, and process documentation.
• Translate tacit knowledge from subject matter experts into clear, repeatable standards that hold up on the shop floor.
• Own the lifecycle of internal training programs: maintain existing content, develop new materials, and facilitate training with technical audiences.
• Identify gaps in documentation and training by analyzing quality data, audit findings, support requests, and direct observation of operations.
• Partner with stakeholders to author and refine requirements for documentation, training, and process improvement work; sequence that work against competing priorities; and validate at implementation that the requirements have been met and the intended outcomes delivered.
• Lead initiatives to close those gaps — scoping the work, partnering with the right SMEs, and validating that improvements actually moved the needle.
• Support New Product Introduction (NPI) and process change activities by ensuring documentation and training are in place before launch.
• Contribute to continuous improvement projects, kaizen events, and root cause analyses as part of the broader OE team.
• Champion documentation and training as strategic tools for quality, safety, and operational performance — not as administrative overhead.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline (mechanical, manufacturing, industrial, quality, or related) — or equivalent technical experience in a manufacturing or engineering environment.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a manufacturing, engineering, or technical operations environment.
• Demonstrated ability to write clear technical documentation — SOPs, work instructions, training materials, or equivalent.
• Comfort presenting and delivering training to technical audiences, including engineers, operators, and technicians.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to identify root causes, patterns, and systemic gaps.
• Due to our ITAR and EAR regulations, applicants must be a US Citizen or of Legal Permanent Resident Status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b (a) (3).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing controlled documents in a regulated environment (ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 13485, GMP, or similar).
• Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or above).
• Experience leading or participating in kaizen events, value stream mapping, or 5S/standard work rollouts.
• Background in quality engineering, process engineering, or manufacturing engineering.
• Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI), new line launches, or major process changes.
• Experience designing or delivering technical training programs.
• Familiarity with document control systems, knowledge management platforms, or learning management systems (LMS).

Detailed Wage Information:

Salary range for this role is between$83,000 - $145,000, plus discretionary bonus, 401(k) matching, vacation, and health benefits. Employees can also receive additional pay for off shifts. The range provided is Janicki’s estimate of the base compensation for this role. Actual amount offered will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as experience, location, education, training, skills, and abilities

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contribution
• Disability insurance as well as Life/AD&D insurance
• HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer contribution and FSA (Flexible Savings Account)
• 401k with employer matching
• Paid time off and paid holidays (including two floating holidays)
• Several shift options
• Premium pay for off-shifts

By applying for this job, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career opportunities where similar skills and requirements have been identified as a match. Should this match be identified, you may be contacted for this and future openings.

Janicki Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Janicki Industries does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age, retaliation, veteran/military service status, or any other legally protected status. Janicki is proud to be a military friendly employer.

Applicants or employees wishing to view a copy of Janicki Industries’ Afffirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify the Human Resources Department at [phone].

As a federal government contractor and a recipient of federal funding, Janicki is required to abide by federal drug testing requirements (including preemployment drug testing for cannabis). Additionally, because of Janicki’s work on aerospace products and the high volume of safety sensitive positions, Janicki takes the safety of its employees very seriously and requires that employees pass a preemployment drug test prior to starting employment.

Travel Required

Yes.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.