Operational Excellence Specialist

Janicki Industries•Sedro-Woolley, WA

12h•Onsite

About The Position

Janicki Industries is seeking an Operational Excellence Specialist to join their growing team. The Operational Excellence (OE) team collaborates with all parts of Janicki to enhance documentation, training, and standardization for engineering and manufacturing processes. This role involves identifying inefficiencies, developing scalable solutions, and empowering teams to perform optimally as the company expands. The OE team is responsible for documentation, training, and company-wide continuous improvement initiatives. Specialists on this team manage the full OE portfolio, including documentation, training, gap identification, and contributing to improvement projects, with initial focus areas that evolve over time.

Requirements

Minimum 3 years of experience in documentation, training, technical writing, instructional design, knowledge management, or a related field.
Experience working in or directly supporting a manufacturing, engineering, aerospace, or other technical operations environment.
Strong technical aptitude, with the ability to quickly learn new processes, tools, and systems and explain them to others.
Demonstrated ability to write clear, usable procedures and training materials for technical audiences.
Comfort presenting and delivering training to diverse audiences, from senior engineers to frontline operators.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify patterns, gaps, and root causes.
Must be a US Citizen or of Legal Permanent Resident Status due to ITAR and EAR regulations.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (engineering, business, communications, education, or similar) or equivalent professional experience.
Experience developing controlled documents in a regulated environment (ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 13485, GMP, or similar).
Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or above) or other continuous improvement experience.
Background in instructional design, technical training, or curriculum development.
Experience with document control systems, knowledge bases, learning management systems (LMS), or quality management systems (QMS).
Experience supporting new product introductions, process changes, or major operational rollouts.
Experience measuring the impact of documentation or training programs (e.g., reduced errors, faster onboarding, improved audit outcomes).
Experience participating in kaizen events, value stream mapping, or other structured improvement work.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain operational documentation, including standard operating procedures, work instructions, how-to guides, and reference materials for engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams.
Collaborate with internal customers and subject matter experts to convert technical knowledge into clear, practical standards for shop floor and lab use.
Maintain and enhance internal training programs by refreshing existing content, creating new materials, and delivering training to technical personnel such as engineers, technicians, and operators.
Identify deficiencies in documentation and training through direct observation, staff conversations, audit findings, quality data, and common support inquiries.
Partner with stakeholders to define clear requirements for documentation, training, and improvement projects, prioritize this work based on demand, and verify that requirements are met upon implementation.
Manage end-to-end initiatives to address identified gaps, including scoping, collaborating with relevant personnel, developing content, and validating the impact of changes.
Contribute to broader continuous improvement projects, kaizen events, and new product or process introductions as part of the OE team.