Director, Continuous Improvement

RESTEK CORPORATION•Bellefonte, PA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Restek is seeking a Director of Continuous Improvement to establish an enterprise-wide continuous improvement program and build the systems, talent, and Lean culture needed to make operational excellence part of everyday work across Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Customer Experience. Reporting to the Vice President of Operations, this role will lead both multi-year transformation programs and focused Kaizen events. The work will support strategic priorities by reducing waste and scrap, raising quality, improving flow and customer experience, and growing profitability. The Director will own the multi-year CI roadmap, create management systems and maturity measures, and partner with Finance to validate savings and reflect improvement gains in the P&L. The role will lead cross-functional improvement projects, build CI capabilities and training, develop practitioners and change agents, coach leaders, and establish metrics and dashboards that make progress visible throughout the organization. This is a full onsite position. Employment requires successful completion of a standard background check and pre-employment drug screen.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
10 years of progressive operations and continuous improvement experience, including at least 5 years in a senior CI or operational excellence leadership role in manufacturing, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Proven track record leading enterprise-level Lean transformations with sustained, financially validated results.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
Hands-on experience across multiple functions, such as manufacturing, supply chain, quality, customer service, and/or engineering.
Credibility with both manufacturing-floor employees and leadership.
Experience leading and developing CI practitioners and managers.
Deep knowledge of Lean methods, including 5S, standard work, visual management, flow, pull, SMED, TPM, and Kaizen.
Knowledge of Six Sigma methods, including DMAIC, SPC, and DOE; Value Stream Mapping; Hoshin Kanri; and structured problem-solving methods such as A3, 8D, 5-Why, and fishbone.
Advanced Excel and Power BI or equivalent skills for data-driven decision making.
Strategic and detail-oriented execution, servant-leader and coaching approach, and ability to influence from the manufacturing floor to the Leadership Team.
Outstanding written, verbal, and executive presentation skills.
Successful completion of a standard background check in accordance with Restek policy and a pre-employment drug screen.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification.
Experience in a regulated manufacturing environment, such as FDA, ISO 9001, ISO 13485, or GMP, or in scientific instruments, life sciences, chromatography, analytical, or precision-manufactured products.
Experience bringing digital tools and analytics, such as MES, ERP, Power BI, or advanced analytics, into the continuous improvement toolkit.

Responsibilities

Own the multi-year continuous improvement roadmap, aligned with Restek’s strategic plan, annual operating plan, and Operations priorities.
Establish a management system for sustained improvement, including daily management, tiered huddles, A3 problem solving, and a CI maturity model.
Partner with Finance to validate savings and ensure improvement gains are reflected in the P&L.
Lead and facilitate high-impact Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping, and transformation projects related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, and customer outcomes.
Drive measurable improvements in OEE, first-pass yield, scrap and rework, on-time delivery, lead time, inventory turns, customer response time, and total cost of quality.
Ensure improvement work is appropriately scoped, resourced, sustained, and informed by best practices from within and outside Restek.
Improve Manufacturing safety, quality, throughput, changeover, and productivity using standard work, visual management, and a Lean production system.
Support Customer Experience improvements through faster response and resolution, better processes, and digital enablement.
Strengthen Supply Chain supplier quality and delivery, optimize inventory, streamline order-to-cash, and deliver measurable cost savings.
Partner with Engineering on design for manufacturability, new product introduction, and change management.
Build, lead, and develop the Continuous Improvement team.
Design and deliver CI training, including Lean fundamentals, Yellow/Green/Black Belt paths, problem-solving methods, and leader standard work.
Coach senior leaders and frontline managers in CI thinking and develop change agents across the organization.
Establish metrics and dashboards to make progress visible from the manufacturing floor to the executive team, and share wins and learnings across the organization.
Model Restek’s core values, communicate openly, build trust, support team growth and well-being, create clarity around goals, hold oneself accountable, collaborate across functions and regions, and lead with humility and service.