Sr. Continuous Improvement Manager

SPX Technologies • Olathe, KS

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

SPX Cooling Technologies is a leader in high quality industrial HVAC equipment used to cool large facilities like hospitals, data centers, and power plants. As The Lean & Continuous Improvement Leader is responsible for developing, deploying, and sustaining the Lean operating system across the Cooling business. This leader will partner with operations and functional leadership to build the capabilities, processes, and problem-solving culture required to safely support growth while improving quality, delivery, productivity, cost, inventory, and customer experience. This role requires a highly visible, hands-on Lean leader who is equally comfortable on the manufacturing floor coaching frontline teams and working with senior leaders to establish strategy and priorities. The successful candidate will go beyond leading individual improvement projects and will build sustainable Lean capability throughout the organization. A primary objective of the role is to push problem solving and continuous improvement deeper into the organization by developing leaders and employees who can identify waste, understand root causes, implement countermeasures, and sustain improvements without dependence on the Continuous Improvement function. The leader will establish and reinforce mastery of Lean fundamentals including daily management, leader standard work, visual management, standard work, 5S, value stream mapping, flow, pull, Kaizen, structured problem solving, and waste elimination. The role will also help the organization use Lean principles to unlock capacity and support growth while minimizing unnecessary increases in cost, inventory, complexity, and capital.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Supply Chain, Business, Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in Lean/CI, change management, operational excellence, or manufacturing leadership.
• Demonstrated experience implementing Lean in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading cross-functional improvement initiatives.
• Proven track record delivering measurable improvements in productivity, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, lead time, and/or capacity.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and change-management skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading Lean transformation across multiple manufacturing facilities.
• Experience in engineered-to-order, configure-to-order, mixed-model, or high-mix manufacturing environments.
• Manufacturing leadership experience with direct accountability for operational results.
• Experience supporting rapidly growing manufacturing operations.
• Industrial Engineering background.
• Lean certification, Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification
• Experience with SAP or similar ERP/manufacturing systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the Lean / CI strategy aligned with business growth and operational priorities.
• Partner with site and functional leaders to identify the largest opportunities affecting safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, inventory, and capacity.
• Establish and mature a common Lean operating system across manufacturing locations.
• Establish common problem-solving methodologies utilizing PDCA, A3 thinking, root-cause analysis, 5-Why, Pareto analysis, fishbone analysis, and other appropriate methods.
• Lead improvements in factory layout, product flow, line balancing, bottleneck identification and mitigation, labor utilization, material presentation, and production routing.
• Establish a disciplined Kaizen process focused on the highest-value operational opportunities.
• Lead and coach cross-functional teams through improvement events and longer-term transformation initiatives.
• Implement follow-up mechanisms to verify that improvements are sustained.
• Serve as a teacher, coach, and role model for ops leadership throughout the organization.
• Develop site leaders, supervisors, functional leaders, and frontline employees in Lean thinking, CI mindset, and structured problem solving.
• Coach leaders in effective Gemba walks, visual management, leader standard work, daily management, 5S, and employee engagement.

Benefits

• Generous and flexible paid time off including paid personal time off, caregiver, parental, and volunteer leave
• Competitive health insurance plans and 401(k) match, with benefits starting day one
• Competitive and performance-based compensation packages and bonus plans
• Educational assistance, leadership development programs, and recognition programs

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior