Continuous Improvement Manager

Who We Are - Thermon

Thermon is a diversified technology company and a global leader in industrial process heating, temperature maintenance, environmental monitoring, and temporary power distribution solutions. We deliver engineered solutions that enhance operational awareness, safety, reliability, and efficiency while achieving the lowest total cost of ownership.

Thermon offers over 250 products, software, and services across multiple brands, providing a range of offerings from boilers, transportation heaters, and liquid load banks to tubing bundles and heat trace systems. We are the silent guardians of critical infrastructure. From the relentless demands of chemical plants and the intricate networks of rail and transit to the vital pulse of power generation, we innovate solutions that ensure optimal operation, protect critical assets, and maximize efficiency.

We care deeply about the success of our customers, the well-being of our people, and the reliability of every product we design. This drives our unwavering commitment to safety and integrity in everything we do. Through collaboration, we unite a rich legacy of expertise with a trusted global team, partnering side by side with our customers. We transfer the warmth needed to make life work.

Overview

Responsible for improving business performance using continuous improvement principles in support of financial, business, and leadership development goals. This position leads and mentors teams through an effective change process in support of transitioning from a traditional push system to a demand-pull system. This position is responsible for the Lean strategy across all Thermon facilities in the U.S.

This role reports to the Vice President & General Manager, Global Operations at CECO and partners closely with the Leadership Management Team to promote a positive culture, collaboration, change leadership, and a high-performance work environment through progressive operational practices.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Lead the deployment of Lean initiatives across all U.S. operations value streams. Improve material flow through the application of Lean concepts such as 5S, visual factory, SMED, Kanban, problem-solving, and other Lean tools and principles.
• Lead strategy deployment outcomes by developing operations and business strategies and tracking goal deployment progress.
• Develop long-term strategy and a continuous improvement pipeline. Assist in project identification and selection while ensuring alignment between projects and business and customer priorities. Create dashboard reporting metrics to track progress.
• Implement pull processes between manufacturing, distribution, and the supply chain. Ensure sustainability of processes and improvements in inventory levels.
• Identify gaps in performance against best-in-class benchmarks and lead improvement initiatives to close gaps related to quality and service performance, inventory turns, and labor productivity.
• Train and coach process owners, champions, process improvement leaders, and project teams in the use of continuous improvement tools and methodologies to ensure effective application. Ensure foundational Lean knowledge is provided to all employees.
• Act as a change agent to instill a Lean culture throughout the organization.
• Establish project prioritization to deliver the best possible financial impact for Thermon and provide timely and accurate input for annual budgets and forecasts.
• Create processes and metrics to track the performance of Lean activities and ensure sustainability.
• Support projects such as operations cost reduction, process control improvement, machine reliability, and machine setup time reduction, as well as new product and process introductions.
• Support new product introduction projects and new process implementation using CI techniques such as 3P.
• Perform other duties as assigned by management.

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (B.S.) in Engineering, Business, or a similar technical discipline, with a minimum of 7-10 years of related experience and/or training, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading a Lean transformation process (e.g., Shingo, Model Site).
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals, and effectively present information to groups of managers, clients, customers, and the public.
• Ability to apply mathematical concepts and tools such as trend charts, Pareto analysis, and standard deviation. Strong financial acumen with the ability to analyze and communicate results in terms of financial impact. Ability to think strategically, develop business strategies, and execute tactical plans.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret complex technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and manage multiple abstract and concrete variables.
• Proficiency in presentation, manufacturing, project management, spreadsheet, and word processing software.
• Formal certification as a Lean Expert and/or Lean Black Belt is preferred.

Physical Requirements

While performing the duties of this job, the employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. The employee must be able to stand for extended periods on hard surfaces and walk long distances within and between work areas. This role requires the ability and willingness to travel 20-40%.