Senior Continuous Improvement Manager

Wells•Hillsboro, TX

11d

About The Position

The Senior Continuous Improvement (CI) Manager develops, deploys, and sustains the continuous improvement strategy across multiple precast concrete manufacturing facilities. The role drives operational excellence using Lean Manufacturing, structured problem-solving, and data-driven decision-making to improve safety, quality, productivity, reliability, and cost performance. It partners with plant, corporate, and executive leadership to translate strategic objectives into measurable plant-level results and sustain them over time. The role owns the effectiveness of the Tiered performance review system across all plants by coaching plant leaders, auditing meeting discipline, analyzing performance data and Pareto trends, and converting identified losses into structured improvement projects. It supports deployment of CI tools and methodologies and develops CI Engineers and plant leaders. The position reports to the SVP of Continuous Improvement and provides direction, coaching, and development to CI Engineers through a dotted-line relationship. It leads through influence, coaching, and cross-functional collaboration. The role operates across office, manufacturing, and travel environments at multiple precast concrete production facilities. It requires regular presence on manufacturing floors, frequent travel (30–40%) by car and air, and may include occasional evenings or weekends to support plant needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Industrial Technology, Business, or a related field.
At least 8 years of manufacturing, operations, or continuous improvement experience.
At least 3 years leading continuous improvement programs across multiple sites or in a leadership role coaching and developing others.
Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or related continuous improvement certification; Green Belt is the minimum stated level.
Expert-level understanding of Lean Manufacturing principles and continuous improvement methodologies, with a record of delivering sustained results.
Ability to interpret complex operational data, identify meaningful trends, and translate findings into prioritized, high-impact actions.
Proficiency with Pareto analysis, root cause analysis, and corrective action processes.
Strong analytical and strategic problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and lead others, including people who do not report directly to the role.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, including presenting to executive leadership.
Ability to influence and motivate employees and leaders at all levels and drive cultural change.
Strong project and portfolio management skills, including managing multiple projects across multiple sites and meeting deadlines.
Working knowledge of financial analysis, including quantifying and validating cost savings and returns on improvement initiatives.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
Knowledge of manufacturing performance metrics and KPI management systems.
Ability to travel frequently and manage a flexible schedule, including occasional extended trips.
Ability to walk production areas regularly and spend extended periods on the manufacturing floor.
Ability to climb stairs and ladders and access elevated work areas as needed.
Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.
Ability to work in an industrial manufacturing environment with exposure to dust, noise, vibration, and varying temperatures, including outdoor yard conditions.
Ability to wear required PPE, including a hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, and safety footwear.
Ability to travel by car and air and sit for extended periods during travel.

Nice To Haves

Six Sigma Black Belt certification (strongly preferred).
Experience with Power BI and AI.
Experience in precast concrete or a similar heavy manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

Support and execute the multi-plant continuous improvement strategy and roadmap in alignment with company objectives and annual operating goals.
Deploy CI standards, governance, tools, templates, KPIs, and project methodology across facilities.
Partner with the SVP of Continuous Improvement and executive leadership to prioritize projects, set enterprise performance targets, and establish reporting cadence.
Identify, evaluate, and replicate best practices across plants and facilitate knowledge sharing.
Support business planning and capital justification with CI input on flow, capacity, and standard work.
Own the effectiveness of the Tiered (1–4) performance review system, coaching and auditing plant leadership to ensure reviews occur consistently, follow standards, and drive timely action.
Participate in Tier 1 and Tier 2 reviews and coach CI Engineers and plant leaders in facilitating Tiers 1–4.
Analyze Pareto charts and plant performance data to identify recurring losses, production constraints, quality defects, downtime, safety concerns, and comparative performance.
Partner with the SVP of CI to develop enterprise performance metrics, dashboards, and reporting systems.
Develop, prioritize, and manage a portfolio of cross-facility CI projects based on data-driven opportunities and business impact.
Set project objectives, timelines, success metrics, and accountability measures, and ensure projects are resourced and aligned with strategic priorities.
Lead or sponsor complex, cross-functional, and multi-site improvement projects; facilitate root cause analysis using 8-Step Problem-Solving, 5-Why, Fishbone Diagram, and Process Mapping.
Guide CI Engineers in project selection, scoping, and execution, and lead or unblock high-impact initiatives as needed.
Report project progress and results to plant and executive leadership using visual management systems and dashboards.
Establish and maintain, in partnership with Finance, a methodology to track and verify realized savings in productivity, quality, safety, uptime, material utilization, and labor efficiency.
Lead process observations, workflow studies, and value stream mapping to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks.
Identify and reduce precast production losses, including mold/form changeovers, curing cycle time, batching and rebar fabrication flow, crane and yard logistics, and finishing or patching rework.
Drive implementation and sustainment of Lean Manufacturing principles, including 5S, standard work, visual management, waste elimination, and continuous flow.
Establish standard work and audit processes to sustain improvements after project closure.
Plan and lead Kaizen events, improvement workshops, and employee engagement activities, including multi-plant events.
Provide direction, coaching, and performance feedback to CI Engineers and develop their CI, project leadership, and data analysis capabilities.
Collaborate with plant managers and production, maintenance, quality, engineering, supply chain, and finance teams to identify opportunities and secure alignment and resources.
Partner with maintenance and engineering teams to improve reliability and process capability.
Influence and build trust with leaders and employees at all levels and lead change as new processes and ways of working are introduced.
Ensure improvement activities comply with company safety policies, quality standards, and regulatory requirements; apply CI tools to support safety initiatives and incorporate safety into standard work.
Support annual strategic initiatives and operational improvement goals established by executive and plant leadership.
Prepare and present CI results, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership.