Continuous Improvement Manager

Continuous Improvement Manager

You may know us for our delicious cheesecakes…and for being recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For®" since 2014! What you may not know is at The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, our staff members are our highest quality ingredient.

The Continuous Improvement (CI) Manager enhances operational efficiency by leading initiatives that optimize processes, reduce waste, and drive sustainable improvements. The role partners across functions to identify opportunities, analyze performance, and build a three year CI value pipeline.

You'll thrive in this position if you are:

• An experienced people manager: you're at home managing and elevating a team. You lead by example and enable your staff to realize their potential.
• Intellectually curious: you're a lifelong learner. You pick things up, dissect them to see how they work, and figure out how to improve or fix them.
• Exhaustively meticulous: you have an unrelenting attention to detail, leaving nothing to chance while understanding what deserves your immediate attention and what can wait.
• Always thinking two steps ahead: you understand the domino effect when critical system issues occur. You aim to be proactive, but you know how to get in front of problems to contain them.

Here's more of what you'll get to do:

• Partner with executive level champions to deliver measurable business results.
• Develop and execute CI strategies and initiatives.
• Lead cross-functional teams to evaluate and improve processes.
• Analyze data to assess performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with teams to streamline workflows and eliminate inefficiencies.
• Facilitate CI training sessions and workshops.
• Track, report, and sustain progress on improvement initiatives.
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, and related methodologies to drive results.
• Prioritize projects aligned with business objectives.
• Provide CI guidance, develop culture, and build team capability.
• Map processes, assess gaps, and identify improvement opportunities.
• Able to develop, implement and sustain CI culture in facilities.
• Develop/train team members to perform root cause analysis.
• Process map process and identify gaps.

What we require:

• A minimum of 5+ years of proven experience leading Continuous Improvement initiatives in an operational or manufacturing environment.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or a related field.
• Strong knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, and other CI methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with executive leadership to deliver measurable business results.
• Experience leading cross functional teams through process improvement projects
• Ability to analyze data, interpret performance metrics, and identify improvement opportunities.
• Skilled in process mapping, gap analysis, and workflow optimization.
• Ability to develop, implement, and sustain a CI culture across facilities.
• Strong facilitation skills for CI training, workshops, and coaching.
• Ability to train teams in root cause analysis and structured problem solving.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize initiatives aligned to business objectives.

What We Prefer:

• Lean, Six Sigma, or related certification (e.g., Green Belt, Black Belt).
• Experience building a multi year CI value pipeline.
• Background in manufacturing, operations, or supply chain environments.
• Experience implementing enterprise level CI strategies.
• Familiarity with change management methodologies.

What we offer:

• Eligible for annual bonus
• Vacation and sick time
• Medical, Dental & Vision
• 401K with company match
• 25%-35% discount when dining as a guest
• Discounted cheesecake purchase program
• Annual stipend for dining in our restaurants

The Cheesecake Factory Bakery creates over 35,000 delicious cheesecakes per day across our two facilities in Calabasas, CA and Rocky Mount, NC plus other baked products for our restaurants, international licensees, and third-party bakery customers.

The Cheesecake Factory Bakery is a subsidiary of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated. Recognized as a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® since 2014, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is a global $3.8 billion public company with more than 370 casual dining restaurants and over 48,000 staff members.

We are an E-Verify and equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace for all. We welcome applicants from a wide variety of identities, ideas, perspectives, backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Cheesecake Factory offers reasonable accommodation to job applicants with disabilities.