Operational Excellence Engineer — Lean Six Sigma

Foster Farms; Kelso (WA); On-site; USD 96,100 - 120,120; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

FSA (Health Care & Dependent Daycare)

401(k) with company contributions

Vacation, sick, holiday, funeral leave

Tuition reimbursement

EAP

Job summary

Foster Farms seeks an Operational Excellence Manager I to drive data-driven improvements across poultry processing operations. You will apply Lean, Six Sigma, and audit-based methodologies to strengthen execution, standardize processes, and reduce variability while ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards.

You will lead end-to-end improvement projects, analyze performance metrics, and collaborate with live production, maintenance, engineering, QA, and safety teams to deliver

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a related field.
• Minimum of five years in poultry/meat processing or high-volume operations.
• Lean Six Sigma certification (Green/Black) preferred.
• Experience supporting audits, assessments, or compliance programs.
• Strong data analysis, database management, and business operations experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel.

Responsibilities

• Analyze data to assess performance and identify improvement opportunities across poultry processing operations.
• Lead Lean and continuous improvement initiatives including waste reduction and cost reduction.
• Conduct process mapping, time studies, value stream mapping, and root-cause analysis.
• Support internal audits, assessments, and compliance reviews.
• Partner with QA and Food Safety to implement CAPAs and ensure compliance.
• Drive standardization across departments to improve consistency and execution.

Skills

Lean

Six Sigma

Continuous improvement

Data analysis

Project management

Communication

Excel (advanced)

Education

Bachelor's degree (Business, Operations, Industrial/Mechanical Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management)

Tools

SQL

ERP systems

MS Office

Job description

Foster Farms seeks an Operational Excellence Manager I to drive data-driven improvements across poultry processing operations. You will apply Lean, Six Sigma, and audit-based methodologies to strengthen execution, standardize processes, and reduce variability while ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards.

You will lead end-to-end improvement projects, analyze performance metrics, and collaborate with live production, maintenance, engineering, QA, and safety teams to deliver