Senior Continuous Improvement Engineer

Stryker; Kalamazoo (MI); On-site; USD 78,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)

Short-term disability insurance

Job summary

Stryker in Kalamazoo, MI, seeks a Senior Continuous Improvement Engineer to lead lean initiatives across production systems. You will facilitate value stream mapping, drive future-state changes, and collaborate with finance to quantify impact.

You will coach teams while personally delivering improvement projects, in a regulated manufacturing setting. Required: bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of experience in manufacturing or continuous improvement; preferred: engineering degree and lean

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• Minimum 2 years of manufacturing/engineering experience.
• Minimum 2 years of process improvement/lean manufacturing experience.
• Preferred: engineering degree, Lean certification, regulated industry experience, VSM/kaizen leadership, metric-driven improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and co-facilitate value stream mapping workshops and kaizen events.
• Implement future-state improvements to reduce lead times, changeover times, and inventory.
• Design and optimize material/workflow systems between cells.
• Collaborate with Finance and operations to quantify and report cost reductions.
• Coach employees on lean principles while executing improvement projects.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Value stream mapping

Kaizen events

Process improvement

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Coaching/training

Education

Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

As a Senior Continuous Improvement Engineer, you will support manufacturing operations by analyzing processes, leading improvement initiatives, and driving measurable results across production systems. This position combines hands‑on execution with cross‑functional collaboration to optimize performance in a regulated manufacturing environment.
What You Will Do

• Lead and co-facilitate value stream mapping workshops and kaizen events to identify opportunities for operational improvement.
• Implement future‑state process improvements that reduce lead times, changeover times, inventory levels, and other key lean performance metrics.
• Design and optimize material and workflow systems between manufacturing work cells to improve production flow and efficiency.
• Partner with Finance and operational teams to quantify, track, and report cost reduction and productivity improvement results.
• Coach and train employees on lean manufacturing principles, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies while personally executing improvement projects.

What You Will Need
Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 2 years of professional experience in manufacturing, engineering, operations, continuous improvement, or a related field.
• Minimum 2 years of experience supporting process improvement, operational excellence, or lean manufacturing initiatives.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
• Lean Manufacturing certification.
• Experience working in a highly regulated industry such as medical device, pharmaceutical, aerospace, or similar manufacturing environments.
• Experience leading value stream mapping, kaizen events, or productivity improvement projects.
• Experience analyzing operational metrics and implementing process improvements that improve efficiency, quality, or cost performance.

United States of America Pay Ranges:
$77,700 - $129,500 USD Annual
Health benefits include: Medical and prescription drug insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, critical illness insurance, accident insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, personalized healthcare support, wellbeing program and tobacco cessation program. Financial benefits include: Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), 401(k) plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), basic life and AD&D insurance, and short-term disability insurance. Stryker offers innovative products and services in MedSurg, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. Alongside its customers around the world, Stryker impacts more than 150 million patients annually. Depending on customer requirements employees and new hires in sales and field roles that require access to customer accounts as a function of the job may be required to obtain various vaccinations as an essential function of their role.