Continuous Improvement Specialist II

Collectors•Santa Ana, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Collectors is seeking a Continuous Improvement Specialist II to drive operational excellence by leading improvement efforts that strengthen organizational operations. This role involves managing moderate scope initiatives, analyzing process and performance data, and recommending solutions to enhance efficiency, quality, cost-effectiveness, and risk control. The specialist will apply professional judgment within established guidelines and play an active role in improving and sustaining enterprise processes and performance standards. This position reports to the Senior Manager, Continuous Improvement and is based onsite in Santa Ana, California, with occasional travel.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.
Typically requires a minimum of 2 years of related experience, or an advanced degree with limited professional experience.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification preferred; required within a defined period if not already obtained.
Applies developing professional expertise in continuous improvement, analytics, and business operations to resolve a variety of operational issues.
Exercises discretion and independent judgment within defined procedures to address problems of moderate scope and recommend improvements.
Works with minimal day-to-day supervision; receives general direction on new or complex assignments, with work reviewed for quality, effectiveness, and alignment with objectives.
Strong analytical and problem solving skills applied to moderately complex business operations.
Proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI, Tableau).
Ability to exercise professional judgment and provide standard advisory recommendations within established frameworks.
Effective written and verbal communication skills for preparing analyses, reports, and presentations.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.
Collectors uses e-Verify to validate your ability to work legally in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification preferred; required within a defined period if not already obtained.

Responsibilities

Lead analysis of end-to-end business processes using Value Stream Mapping (VSM), DMAIC, and related methodologies to identify inefficiencies, risks, and improvement opportunities across functions.
Independently execute assigned continuous improvement initiatives, determining appropriate analytical methods, adapting standard approaches as needed, and recommending sustainable, data-driven solutions.
Plan and facilitate structured improvement events (e.g., Kaizen workshops), including defining scope, coordinating cross-functional participation, and documenting outcomes and controls to improve safety, quality, service, cost and people engagement.
Develop, refine, and maintain standard work, SOPs, and process documentation to support consistent operating practices, compliance, and performance improvement.
Define and refine KPIs and performance measurement frameworks; analyze operational and financial data to evaluate trends, improvement results, capacity, and productivity.
Prepare dashboards, analyses, business cases, and ROI estimates that support leadership decision-making and prioritization.
Perform workflow, time-based, and process analyses to inform optimization recommendations and support planning activities.
Provide professional, consultative guidance to managers on process design, improvement strategies, and operational controls.
Exercise judgment within established policies and procedures to prioritize improvement opportunities, interpret results, and recommend courses of action aligned with organizational goals.
Support planning, tracking, and reporting of improvement initiatives, including timelines, resource needs, and budget inputs for assigned work.
Build productive working relationships with operational teams, support functions, and external vendors to resolve issues and implement improvement solutions.
Communicate complex analytical findings clearly and concisely to non-technical audiences, including leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
Contribute to capability building by supporting training materials, best practice documentation, and knowledge sharing related to continuous improvement methodologies.