Continuous Improvement Manager

Emerson•Marshalltown, IA

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Continuous Improvement Manager identifies, prioritizes, and manages projects aligned with plant strategic objectives. The role leads cross-functional manufacturing, operational, and business process improvement initiatives, analyzing production, quality, inventory, labor, and transactional data to find trends, performance gaps, and opportunities. It develops business cases, project charters, and implementation plans; facilitates structured problem solving and root cause analysis; and partners with Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, and IT to deliver sustainable improvements. The position leads projects in productivity, throughput, lead time reduction, quality improvement, cost reduction, and capacity expansion. It designs dashboards, reports, visual management tools, and performance metrics to support decisions; identifies automation and information-flow improvements; maps processes to eliminate waste and complexity; and measures, communicates, documents, and sustains project results. The manager also coaches teams in continuous improvement and problem-solving methods and supports plant leadership with analysis, updates, and recommendations based on operational data. The role is based in Marshalltown, Iowa. Emerson describes a collaborative and inclusive culture, career development support, and a variety of employee benefits and workplace amenities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Business Analytics, or a related technical field.
Minimum of 3 years of manufacturing, engineering, operations, quality, or continuous improvement experience.
Experience leading cross-functional projects from identification through implementation.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Experience using data analysis and visualization tools such as Power BI, Excel, SQL, Power Query, or similar platforms.
Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive organizational change.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Lean, Six Sigma, or Operational Excellence certification.
Experience with Power Platform development, automation tools, or manufacturing systems.
Experience managing capital, productivity, or digital transformation projects.
Knowledge of ERP and manufacturing data systems.
Project management experience.

Responsibilities

Identify, prioritize, and manage a portfolio of continuous improvement projects aligned with plant strategic objectives.
Lead cross-functional teams executing manufacturing, operational, and business process improvement initiatives.
Analyze production, quality, inventory, labor, and transactional data to identify trends, performance gaps, and improvement opportunities.
Develop business cases, project charters, and implementation plans for improvement initiatives.
Facilitate structured problem solving and root cause analysis using data-driven methodologies.
Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, and IT teams to deliver sustainable improvements.
Lead projects focused on productivity, throughput, lead time reduction, quality improvement, cost reduction, and capacity expansion.
Design and implement dashboards, reports, visual management tools, and performance metrics to support operational decision-making.
Identify opportunities to automate manual processes, improve data accessibility, and enhance information flow throughout the organization.
Map and evaluate manufacturing and business processes to eliminate waste, reduce complexity, and improve efficiency.
Measure and communicate project results, ensuring improvements are sustained and documented.
Coach teams on continuous improvement principles and structured problem-solving techniques.
Support plant leadership by providing analysis, project updates, and recommendations based on operational data.