Operational Excellence Engineer: Lean Process Improvement

Baxter Healthcare; Deerfield (IL); On-site; USD 76,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage start day

401(k) with company match

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)

Paid holidays and paid time off 20–35 

Discretionary bonuses eligibility

Job summary

Baxter Healthcare in Deerfield, IL is seeking an Operational Excellence Engineer to lead cross-functional teams, manage project timelines, and drive operational improvements across the site. You will apply Lean, Kaizen, and Baxter Operating System (BOS) methodologies to develop plans, track progress, and deliver measurable results while coordinating with stakeholders and leadership.

Bachelor’s degree in STEM and 1+ years of related experience preferred; strong communication and problem-solving

Qualifications

• Strong organizational, leadership, and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and lead without direct authority.
• Experience organizing projects, managing timelines, and coordinating work across multiple teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify issues and drive effective solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Preferred: Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives and utilizing Lean, Kaizen, root-cause analysis, or other operational excellence methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate cross-functional teams to achieve operational excellence and project objectives.
• Develop project plans, establish timelines, and monitor progress to ensure successful execution.
• Facilitate continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Kaizen, Baxter Operating System (BOS), and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Drive accountability by ensuring teams complete improvement charters, action plans, and project deliverables on schedule.
• Conduct root-cause analyses and support implementation of corrective and preventive actions to prevent recurrence of issues.
• Identify project risks and barriers, develop mitigation plans, and communicate status updates to stakeholders and leadership.
• Support process documentation, standardization efforts, and deployment of new operational solutions across the site.
• Serve as a key liaison between stakeholders, project teams, and leadership, providing regular communication on progress and outcomes.

Skills

Organizational skills

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Project coordination

Timeline management

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication

MS Office

Lean

Kaizen

Root-cause analysis

Baxter Operating System (BOS)

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Industrial Engineering preferred

Tools

Lean

Kaizen

Root-cause analysis

Baxter Operating System (BOS)

Structured problem-solving

Job description

Baxter Healthcare in Deerfield, IL is seeking an Operational Excellence Engineer to lead cross-functional teams, manage project timelines, and drive operational improvements across the site. You will apply Lean, Kaizen, and Baxter Operating System (BOS) methodologies to develop plans, track progress, and deliver measurable results while coordinating with stakeholders and leadership.

Bachelor’s degree in STEM and 1+ years of related experience preferred; strong communication and problem-solving