Senior Industrial Engineer

Hufriedygroup; Illinois; On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

HuFriedyGroup in Illinois is seeking a Senior Industrial Engineer to drive strategic process improvements across manufacturing, assembly, and distribution. You will apply Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, lead data-driven projects, and mentor cross-functional teams to enhance safety, throughput, and cost efficiency.

The role emphasizes optimization of labor standards, facility layouts, automation opportunities, and performance dashboards to sustain operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering or related field is required.
• Master's degree is preferred.
• 7–10 years of Industrial Engineering experience in distribution or supply chain operations.
• Experience leading process improvement initiatives, Lean projects, and capital equipment implementations.
• Experience developing labor standards, time studies, capacity planning, and workflow optimization.
• Experience with facility layout design, warehouse optimization, material flow, and automation projects.
• Experience preparing business cases, ROI analyses, and capital expenditure justifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead industrial engineering projects to improve productivity, capacity, quality, safety, and cost.
• Analyze operational data and trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Develop labor standards, time studies, capacity planning, and standard work.
• Lead Lean initiatives, Kaizen events, and value stream mappings.
• Design facility layouts, material flow, and storage systems.
• Lead automation and capital equipment projects with ROI analysis.
• Collaborate with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Facilities.
• Develop future state processes and dashboards to monitor performance.
• Mentor engineering and operations teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Value Stream Mapping

5S

Continuous Improvement

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Power BI

SQL

Minitab

Python

Job description

Job Description

Join Our Team at HuFriedyGroup – Innovating Excellence in Dental Instrument Manufacturing

HuFriedyGroup is a leading manufacturer of dental instruments and infection prevention products. Our 10,000-plus products, hand-crafted by highly skilled artisans, are known for their precision, performance, longevity, reliability, and quality. To help dental professionals be The Best in Practice, HuFriedyGroup provides a unique combination of world class products, value-added services, clinical education, and dental community platforms that result in superior clinician performance and enhanced safety for dental professionals and their patients. Working at HuFriedyGroup is so much more than a job, as every employee has a part in driving and supporting the organization’s inspirational vision to be a global force in advancing dental performance through Best-In-Practice dentistry that improves lives around the world.

Position Summary

The Senior Industrial Engineer leads strategic initiatives that improve safety, quality, productivity, and operational performance across manufacturing, assembly, and distribution operations. This role partners with cross-functional teams to optimize processes, implement automation, and drive continuous improvement that supports business growth. Using engineering principles, data analysis, and Lean methodologies, the Senior Industrial Engineer identifies opportunities to reduce waste, increase efficiency, improve capacity, and enhance the employee and customer experience. This position serves as a technical leader who helps build a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead complex industrial engineering projects that improve productivity, capacity, quality, safety, and cost performance across manufacturing, assembly, and distribution operations.
• Analyze operational data, production trends, labor performance, and process variability using statistical methods to identify improvement opportunities and support data-driven decision making.
• Develop labor standards, conduct time studies, perform capacity modeling, and establish standard work to optimize workforce utilization and operational efficiency.
• Lead Value Stream Mapping events, Lean Six Sigma projects, Kaizen events, and other continuous improvement initiatives to eliminate waste, improve flow, reduce lead times, and increase throughput.
• Design and optimize facility layouts, material flow, warehouse operations, manufacturing cells, and storage systems to maximize space utilization, ergonomics, and operational effectiveness.
• Identify, justify, and lead implementation of automation solutions, material handling improvements, and capital equipment projects, including financial analysis, project management, commissioning, and post-implementation validation.
• Partner with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Facilities to investigate key performance gaps, perform root cause analysis, and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Develop future-state manufacturing and distribution processes that support business growth, new product introductions, capacity expansion, and changing operational requirements.
• Develop dashboards, performance metrics, and reporting tools to monitor operational performance, communicate improvement opportunities, mentor engineering and operations teams, and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum QualificationsEducation

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering or a related engineering discipline required.
• Master's degree preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of 7–10 years of Industrial Engineering experience in distribution, or supply chain operations.
• Experience leading process improvement initiatives, Lean projects, and capital equipment implementations.
• Experience developing labor standards, conducting time studies, capacity planning, and workflow optimization.
• Experience with facility layout design, warehouse optimization, material flow, and automation projects.
• Experience preparing business cases, return-on-investment analyses, and capital expenditure justifications.
• Experience leading cross-functional projects and mentoring engineering or operations teams.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping, 5S, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, warehouse operations, automation, and material handling systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience using Microsoft Excel, Power BI, SQL, Minitab, Python, or similar analytica