Black Belt - Continuous Improvement Manager

Neogen Corporation•Lexington, KY

5d•Onsite

About The Position

As Black Belt - Continuous Improvement Manager, you will help shape how Neogen operates across its global manufacturing and business operations. You will identify high-impact opportunities, lead complex cross-functional initiatives, establish measurement systems, and deliver sustainable improvements in people, safety, quality, delivery, and cost (PSQDC). You will join Neogen's growing Continuous Improvement function and partner with leaders across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, and other business functions. This role is a strong fit for a hands-on change leader who enjoys solving complex operational problems, developing people, and scaling practical solutions across sites and cultures.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification from a recognized institution or a comparable company-sponsored certification program.
7-10 years of progressive experience leading and implementing Lean Six Sigma or Continuous Improvement initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated success diagnosing operational issues and delivering measurable, sustainable performance improvements through structured problem-solving and root cause analysis.
Strong change-management, communication, facilitation, and stakeholder-engagement skills, with the ability to influence across functions, organizational levels, and cultures.
Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally approximately 30%-50%.

Nice To Haves

experience in food safety, animal safety, biotechnology, regulated life sciences manufacturing, GMP/FDA/EU environments, or lab-based production settings
an MBA or formal business/operations management training
experience developing formal training programs
Spanish or other second-language skills

Responsibilities

Lead enterprise-wide Lean Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement initiatives focused on sustainability, standardization, and measurable business impact.
Partner with senior leaders across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, and other functions to identify and prioritize high-impact improvement opportunities.
Apply structured problem-solving, data analysis, and root cause methodologies to improve operational efficiency, throughput, quality, service, and cost.
Establish clear measurement systems and performance indicators to baseline performance, monitor progress, and sustain project results.
Serve as a change leader and global CI resource, coaching and influencing stakeholders from shop-floor teams through executive leadership.
Coach, mentor, and develop Lean Six Sigma Green Belts, junior staff, interns, and co-op students while supporting formal CI training and capability building.
Support knowledge sharing, standard work, and scalable best practices across Neogen sites in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Deliver project outcomes aligned with strategic goals across people, safety, quality, delivery, and cost (PSQDC), with global travel as business needs require.