Lean Project Lead

International Paper•United States,

7d•$134,500 - $157,800•Remote

About The Position

The Lean Project Lead will deploy Daily Management at assigned plants, including establishing tiered meeting cadences and coaching shift leaders. They will lead Gemba walk implementation, build and launch Visual Management boards using plain language, and coach hourly workers and frontline supervisors through structured Problem Solving. The role also supports the installation of digital visual management tools, follows standard work for the Early Deployment process, flags risks and adoption gaps, and captures site-level progress for reporting.

Requirements

2+ years of hands-on plant, manufacturing, or operations experience (corrugated/packaging industry strongly preferred); internal operational background is preferred over a consulting-only background.
Working knowledge of Daily Management, Gemba, Visual Management, and structured Problem Solving — through direct application on a plant floor, not just classroom exposure.
Ability to coach and build trust with hourly workers and frontline supervisors, and to translate Lean concepts into plain, operational language.
Comfort working independently at a new site every few weeks, adapting to different plant cultures and leadership styles.
Basic comfort with digital visual management tools and willingness to coordinate on-site hardware installation logistics.
Willingness and ability to travel 80–85%, including regular Monday–Thursday or full-week site assignments.

Nice To Haves

Experience in corrugated packaging, converting, or a similar high-mix manufacturing environment.
Prior experience standing up a site from scratch (greenfield) or leading a rapid-cycle deployment.
Exposure to FMEA or maintenance-linked problem solving.

Responsibilities

Deploy Daily Management at assigned plants: stand up the tiered meeting cadence, coach shift leaders and supervisors on running it, and hand off ownership to plant leadership before the site closes out.
Lead Gemba walk implementation — establish the routine, coach leaders on what to look for and how to engage the floor, and build the habit so it continues without a Lean team member present.
Build and launch Visual Management boards (performance, safety, and problem-solving boards) using plain, plant-floor language — no Lean jargon on materials hourly workers will use.
Coach hourly workers and frontline supervisors through structured Problem Solving (5-Why, A3) on real issues from their own line, positioning them as the process experts rather than recipients of top-down change.
Support installation and go-live of digital visual management tools (LIME, ACE, Kiwi run screens) at the site, coordinating with maintenance/IT on hardware needs (monitors, wiring, mounting).
Follow standard work for the Early Deployment process so the six-week cadence stays consistent and repeatable from site to site and wave to wave.
Flag risks, adoption gaps, or resource needs to Ben in real time so the team can problem-solve during the deployment window, not after.
Capture site-level progress and hand-off readiness to support steering committee and network-wide reporting.