Senior Lean Manufacturing Engineer / Continuous Improvement Engineer

Brightmachines; Florence (KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Bright Machines in Florence, KY is seeking a Senior Lean Manufacturing Engineer / Continuous Improvement Engineer to lead operational excellence initiatives at our Florence facility. You will focus on optimizing automated assembly lines for high‑volume server and data center hardware production.

This hands‑on role requires strong problem‑solving, floor presence, and collaboration across manufacturing, automation, quality, process engineering, supply chain, and leadership teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 7+ years of experience in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Experience supporting high‑volume automated production lines.
• Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing systems and operational excellence tools.
• Proven success improving throughput and efficiency in fast‑paced manufacturing environments.
• Experience in electronics assembly, server manufacturing, data center hardware, or complex electromechanical systems strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with a data‑driven mindset.
• Excellent communication and cross‑functional leadership skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑moving, production‑first environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead Lean and continuous improvement initiatives across automated server assembly lines
• Improve key manufacturing metrics including throughput, cycle time, first‑pass yield, uptime, and OEE
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in high‑volume production environments
• Drive implementation of Lean tools including Kaizen, 5S, Standard Work, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, and visual management
• Optimize line balancing, workstation flow, labor utilization, and material movement across production
• Partner with automation and manufacturing engineering teams to improve equipment performance and line reliability
• Conduct root cause investigations using 8D, A3, Fishbone, PFMEA, and 5 Whys
• Develop and track operational KPIs to sustain measurable improvements
• Support ramp activities for new server programs and line expansions
• Train and mentor manufacturing teams on Lean principles and continuous improvement culture

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Manufacturing Engineering

Data-driven mindset

Cross-functional leadership

Problem solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)

Tools

MES

ERP

Manufacturing analytics systems

Job description

RETHINK MANUFACTURING

The only way to ignite change is to build the best team. At Bright Machines®, we’re innovators and experts in our craft who have joined together to manufacture the AI and data center infrastructure at the edge. We believe unifying software, intelligent automation, and data is the answer to delivering quality and flexibility at scale. We deliver products to meet the demands of today while continuously investing in our Bright Factory model to take advantage of what comes next.

Working with us means you’ll have the opportunity to make lasting, impactful changes for our company and our customers. If you’re ready to apply your exceptional skills to a brighter way of manufacturing AI infrastructure, we’d love to speak with you.

Bright Machines is seeking a Senior Lean Manufacturing Engineer / Continuous Improvement Engineer to lead operational excellence initiatives at our Florence, Kentucky facility. Our Florence facility is at the forefront of next‑generation manufacturing—using automated production lines, advanced robotics, and intelligent software to build server and data center hardware at scale. We are creating smarter, faster, and more resilient production systems to meet the rapidly growing demands of the AI and cloud infrastructure market.

This role will focus on optimizing automated assembly lines producing high-volume server and compute infrastructure products. You will lead continuous improvement efforts across manufacturing operations—driving higher throughput, improving line efficiency, reducing waste, and enabling scalable, repeatable manufacturing performance.

This is a highly visible, hands‑on role requiring strong floor presence, technical problem‑solving, and collaboration across manufacturing, automation, quality, process engineering, supply chain, and leadership teams.

• Lead Lean and continuous improvement initiatives across automated server assembly lines
• Improve key manufacturing metrics including throughput, cycle time, first‑pass yield, uptime, and OEE
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in high‑volume production environments
• Drive implementation of Lean tools including Kaizen, 5S, Standard Work, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, and visual management
• Optimize line balancing, workstation flow, labor utilization, and material movement across production
• Partner with automation and manufacturing engineering teams to improve equipment performance and line reliability
• Conduct root cause investigations using 8D, A3, Fishbone, PFMEA, and 5 Whys
• Develop and track operational KPIs to sustain measurable improvements
• Support ramp activities for new server programs and line expansions
• Train and mentor manufacturing teams on Lean principles and continuous improvement culture

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 7+ years of experience in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, or Manufacturing Engineering
• Experience supporting high‑volume automated production lines
• Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing systems and operational excellence tools
• Proven success improving throughput and efficiency in fast‑paced manufacturing environments
• Experience in electronics assembly, server manufacturing, data center hardware, or complex electromechanical systems strongly preferred
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with a data‑driven mindset
• Excellent communication and cross‑functional leadership skills
• Comfortable working in a fast‑moving, production‑first environment

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (or equivalent certification)
• Experience in electronics, robotics, automation, or data center hardware manufacturing
• Experience launching or scaling new production lines
• Familiarity with MES, ERP, and manufacturing analytics systems
• Experience in highly automated or Industry 4.0 environments

BE EMPOWERED TO CHANGE AN INDUSTRY

Bright Machines is a next‑generation, AI‑enabled manufacturer focused on data center infrastructure production. We use proprietary AI‑based robotics and software to assemble AI infrastructure hardware products for hyperscalers, neoclouds, and leading OEMs to reduce their time to revenue.