Continuous Improvement Operational Excellence Specialist

TPC Group•Houston, TX

21h

About The Position

TPC is seeking a results-oriented Continuous Improvement / Operational Excellence Specialist to lead high-impact improvement projects and develop problem-solving capability across the organization. This role will lead selected Green Belt, Black Belt, Lean, Kaizen, and operational excellence initiatives while coaching engineers, supervisors, and cross-functional teams to successfully lead their own projects. The successful candidate will be an effective change agent who can build trust, influence without direct authority, and deliver measurable results through others.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Business, or a related discipline.
Five or more years of experience in Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, Lean, Six Sigma, manufacturing, engineering, reliability, or a related field.
Demonstrated success leading cross-functional improvement projects that delivered measurable business results.
Experience coaching engineers, project leaders, or Green Belt candidates.
Strong facilitation, stakeholder-management, and change-leadership skills.
Proven ability to influence decisions and drive results without direct authority.
Strong analytical, project-management, and problem-solving capabilities.
Experience working in a manufacturing or industrial environment.

Nice To Haves

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Green Belt certification with significant project-leadership experience may also be considered.
Experience in chemical manufacturing, petrochemical, refining, or another process-industry environment.
Working knowledge of reliability improvement, maintenance work processes, TPM, RCA, statistical process control, and daily management systems.
Experience mentoring Green Belts through completed and sustained projects.

Responsibilities

Lead complex Lean, Six Sigma DMAIC, Kaizen, and operational excellence projects that improve safety, reliability, quality, cost, throughput, and productivity.
Coach and mentor engineers, Green Belts, project leaders, sponsors, and cross-functional teams through project selection, execution, control, and sustainment.
Facilitate structured problem-solving activities, including root cause analysis, process mapping, value-stream mapping, statistical analysis, and visual management.
Help business leaders identify, scope, prioritize, and resource high-value improvement opportunities.
Develop project charters, business cases, implementation plans, performance measures, and control plans.
Partner with Finance and process owners to validate project benefits and ensure results are sustained.
Build effective relationships across Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, Quality, EHSS, Supply Chain, and other business functions.
Influence leaders and teams to remove barriers, make decisions, and maintain accountability for project results.
Support CI/OE governance, project portfolio management, benefit tracking, and capability-development activities.
Deliver training and practical coaching in Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, RCA, visual management, and other improvement methods.
Promote a culture in which business teams own their processes and results, while CI/OE provides coaching, facilitation, and technical support.