Manager, Continuous Improvement

We are seeking a highly skilled Continuous Improvement Manager to join our Continuous Improvement Operations team at our Assumption, IL facility. The Continuous Improvement Manager will lead the development, implementation, and sustainability of a Continuous Improvement culture across the Assumption facility .

This individual will be a highly visible, hands-on leader who works directly with operators, Cell Leads, Supervisors, Managers, Engineering, Quality, Materials, Maintenance, and other functions to identify and eliminate waste, improve flow, solve problems at the root cause, and build sustainable standard work.

This is not intended to be a conference-room Lean position. The successful candidate must be comfortable spending significant time on the production floor, teaching, coaching, challenging existing processes, and helping teams turn improvement ideas into measurable results.

Your Impact

• Build and Reinforce a Continuous Improvement Culture - Establish CI as part of the daily operating culture; coach leaders and frontline teams in practical application of Lean principles; reinforce a culture where employees actively identify problems, expose waste, determine root causes, and implement countermeasures; and help leaders transition from reacting to problems toward preventing recurrence through root-cause problem solving and standardization
• Lead Factory Flow and Layout Transformation - Serve as a key leader in the Assumption factory transformation and re-layout; develop current-state and future-state Value Stream Maps and manufacturing-flow concepts; evaluate equipment, people, material, warehouse, WIP, and finished-goods movement; identify opportunities to condense manufacturing operations; reduce unnecessary transportation, staging, handling, and storage; and validate improvements to determine results
• Aggressively Identify and Eliminate Waste - Lead teams in identifying and reducing the Eight Wastes, with particular emphasis at Assumption on activity waiting, excessive motion, unnecessary transportation between production areas, overprocessing, inventory, defects, overproduction, and unused talent
• Establish and Sustain Lean Operating Systems - Lead and coach utilization of tools including 5S and workplace organization, Eight Wastes, Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Visual Management, Daily Management / Tier accountability, Gemba, 5 Whys / Root Cause Analysis, Kaizen, SMED / setup reduction, Flow and cellular manufacturing, Pull systems / Kanban, Bottleneck and constraint management, Problem-solving and countermeasure tracking
• Drive Measurable Operational Improvement - Partner with Operations leadership to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities based on operational performance around safety, quality/scrap, schedule adherence, earned hours vs. paid hours, machine and labor capacity, setup/changeover, material travel and handling, and floor-space utilization

Your Experience and Qualifications

• Significant manufacturing experience, preferably within fabrication, welding, powder coating, assembly, material handling, or other discrete manufacturing environments .
• Demonstrated experience leading Continuous Improvement or Operational Excellence initiatives.
• Proven experience changing manufacturing processes directly on the shop floor.
• Experience with factory layout, material flow, cellular manufacturing, or plant transformation projects.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional improvement efforts from problem identification through sustained implementation.
• Strong understanding of Lean manufacturing principles and structured problem solving.
• Preferred Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, or related field, or equivalent practical manufacturing experience
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt
• Experience facilitating Kaizen events and Value Stream Mapping
• Experience in high-mix fabrication environments

Your Compensation and Benefits

Expected annual salary for this role will be $100,000 - $130,000,plus eligible for an annual bonus. This is dependent upon job related knowledge, experience, and skills.

Benefits will include the ability to elect health care and wellness plans, dental and vision plans, flexible and virtual work options (where available), 401(k) Savings Plan with company match, paid holidays, paid time off, health savings and flexible spending accounts, reimbursement for continuing education, life insurance, and other supplemental insurance plans.

Your Workplace and Travel

You will be working an onsite role based out of Assumption, IL.

We value inclusion and recognize the innovation a diverse workforce delivers to our farmers. Through our recruitment efforts, we are committed to building a team that includes a variety of experiences, backgrounds, cultures and perspectives.

Grain & Protein Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.

1. GPT Purpose: Feeding the World Better, through high quality grain and responsibly raised protein

2. GPT Mission: Make Farmers and Agribusiness Managers more productive and more profitable

3. GPT Culture: Winning Values and Winning Behaviors that nurtures a "Winners Win" culture of excellence

4. GPT Approach: Achieve balanced and sustainable success for Employees, Customers, and Owners