Manufacturing Process Improvement Manager
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Job Type: Direct Hire
Starting Salary: $85,000/year; higher based on experience
Position Summary
We are looking for a Manufacturing Process Improvement Manager to lead continuous improvement efforts across a manufacturing operation. This position will work closely with operations and production leaders to improve productivity, reduce waste, strengthen quality, and optimize manufacturing processes.
The ideal candidate has hands-on experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, root cause analysis, and structured problem-solving and can turn improvement opportunities into measurable results.
Success in this role will be measured through improvements in productivity, labor efficiency, cycle time, quality, safety, and on-time delivery.
What You'll Do
- Develop and manage continuous improvement initiatives aligned with operational goals.
- Partner with manufacturing and operations leadership to identify process, productivity, and cost-reduction opportunities.
- Lead Kaizen events, process improvement workshops, and structured problem-solving activities.
- Apply Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Root Cause Analysis, and other continuous improvement methods to solve operational challenges.
- Review manufacturing processes to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for sustainable improvement.
- Work directly with production teams to implement and maintain improved processes and best practices.
- Train, coach, and mentor employees on continuous improvement tools and techniques.
- Build employee engagement and participation in improvement initiatives.
- Establish and monitor KPIs to measure project results and overall improvement performance.
- Analyze operational data and use findings to recommend and prioritize improvements.
- Present project progress, results, and recommendations to plant and senior leadership.
- Identify opportunities to improve labor efficiency through workflow optimization, process design, and strategic capital investments.
- Support improvement activities across multiple shifts when needed.
- Promote accountability, teamwork, innovation, and continuous learning.
- Ensure process improvements support safety, quality, and customer satisfaction.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
- 5+ years of experience leading or implementing continuous improvement initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience in an engineer-to-order, fabrication, industrial, or manufacturing operation preferred.
- Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other Continuous Improvement certification strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated success managing improvement projects with measurable operational results.
- Strong understanding of Lean principles, value stream mapping, root cause analysis, Kaizen facilitation, and change management.
- Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret operational data.
- Strong leadership and influencing skills across departments and organizational levels.
- Excellent presentation, communication, facilitation, and training abilities.
- Strong project management, organization, and time management skills.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- Strong commitment to safety, quality, accountability, and operational excellence.
Work Environment & Physical Requirements
- Regularly walk and work throughout the manufacturing floor while interacting with production teams.
- Ability to stand, bend, and move throughout manufacturing areas during process assessments and improvement activities.
- Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs.
- Ability to support multiple shifts and work flexible hours when improvement activities require it.
- Comfortable working in both office and manufacturing environments.
This is an opportunity to take ownership of manufacturing improvement initiatives, work directly with operations teams, and deliver measurable gains in efficiency, quality, safety, and overall plant performance.