Operational Excellence Specialist

Janicki Industries is an innovative, family-owned aerospace company located at the foot of the Cascades. We focus on engineering and manufacturing complex projects for companies in the aerospace, defense, and space industries. 

We are looking for an Operational Excellence Specialist to join our growing team.

This position is located on-site in Hamilton, Washington State.

Department Summary:

The Operational Excellence (OE) team partners with every part of Janicki to drive improved documentation, training, and standardization in support of our engineering and manufacturing processes. We identify inefficiencies, build scalable solutions, and equip teams across the organization to do their best work as Janicki continues to grow. We're growing our Operational Excellence team and are looking for an Operational Excellence Specialist to join a group that owns documentation, training, and continuous improvement work across the company. You'll work alongside other OE Specialists and an OE Lead, reporting to the OE Manager. Every Specialist on the team owns the full OE portfolio — documentation, training, gap identification, and contribution to improvement projects — with each person starting from a different focus area and growing into the others over time.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain operational documentation — standard operating procedures, work instructions, how-to guides, and reference materials — for engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams.
• Partner with internal customers and subject matter experts to translate technical know-how into clear, usable standards that hold up on the shop floor and in the lab.
• Maintain and improve internal training programs — refresh existing content, develop new materials, and facilitate training to technical audiences including engineers, technicians, and operators.
• Identify gaps in documentation and training using a mix of sources: direct observation, conversations with frontline staff, audit findings, quality data, and recurring support questions.
• Partner with stakeholders to author clear requirements for documentation, training, and improvement work; prioritize that work against overall demand; and validate at implementation that the requirements were met.
• Own initiatives to close those gaps end-to-end — scoping the work, partnering with the right people, building the content, and validating that the change moved the needle.
• Contribute to broader continuous improvement projects, kaizen events, and new product or process introductions as part of the OE team.

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum 3 years of experience in documentation, training, technical writing, instructional design, knowledge management, or a related role.
• Minimum requirement is a high school diploma or GED.
• Strong technical aptitude — comfortable learning new processes, tools, and systems quickly and translating them for others.
• Demonstrated ability to write clear, usable procedures and training materials for technical audiences.
• Comfort presenting and delivering training to a range of audiences, from senior engineers to frontline operators.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to identify patterns, gaps, and root causes.
• Due to our ITAR and EAR regulations, applicants must be a US Citizen or of Legal Permanent Resident Status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b (a) (3).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (engineering, business, communications, education, or similar) or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience developing controlled documents in a regulated environment (ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 13485, GMP, or similar).
• Experience working in or directly supporting a manufacturing, engineering, aerospace, or other technical operations environment.
• Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or above) or other continuous improvement experience.
• Background in instructional design, technical training, or curriculum development.
• Experience with document control systems, knowledge bases, learning management systems (LMS), or quality management systems (QMS).
• Experience supporting new product introductions, process changes, or major operational rollouts.
• Experience measuring the impact of documentation or training programs (reduced errors, faster onboarding, improved audit outcomes).
• Experience participating in kaizen events, value stream mapping, or other structured improvement work.

Detailed Wage Information:

Salary range for this role is between $83,000 - $110,000, plus discretionary bonus, 401(k) matching, vacation, and health benefits. Employees can also receive additional pay for off shifts. The range provided is Janicki’s estimate of the base compensation for this role. Actual amount offered will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as experience, location, education, training, skills, and abilities.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contribution
• Disability insurance as well as Life/AD&D insurance
• HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer contribution and FSA (Flexible Savings Account)
• 401k with employer matching
• Paid time off and paid holidays (including two floating holidays)
• Education reimbursement program
• Several shift options
• Premium pay for off-shifts 

Not sure that you’ll be the perfect fit for this role? You should still apply! We’ll review your application for other opportunities. We are always on the lookout for talented people!

By applying for this job, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career opportunities where similar skills and requirements have been identified as a match. Should this match be identified, you may be contacted for this and future openings.

Janicki Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Janicki Industries does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age, retaliation, veteran/military service status, or any other legally protected status.  Janicki is proud to be a military friendly employer.

Applicants or employees wishing to view a copy of Janicki Industries’ Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify the Human Resources Department at (360) 404-1997.

As a federal government contractor and a recipient of federal funding, Janicki is required to abide by federal drug testing requirements (including preemployment drug testing for cannabis). Additionally, because of Janicki’s work on aerospace products and the high volume of safety sensitive positions, Janicki takes the safety of its employees very seriously and requires that employees pass a preemployment drug test prior to starting employment.