Lean Industrial Engineer: Scale Defense Manufacturing

Beehive Industries is dedicated to Powering American Defense by revolutionizing the design, development, and delivery of jet propulsion systems to support the warfighter. Through the integration of additive manufacturing, the company aims to meet the growing and urgent needs for unmanned aerial defense by dramatically improving a jet engine’s speed to market, fuel efficiency, and cost. Founded in 2020, the company is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, with additional facilities in Knoxville, Tennessee, Loveland Ohio, and Mount Vernon, Ohio. Beehive is committed to grow and advance the defense industrial base while manufacturing exclusively in the USA. This role will be located at our Centennial, Ohio facility. Role Overview Beehive Industries is seeking a Lean Industrial Engineer to help build and deploy scalable manufacturing systems across our rapidly growing operations. This role will combine industrial engineering, lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and flow across our production sites. The Lean Industrial Engineer will partner closely with operations, manufacturing engineering, quality, planning, supply chain, and digital teams to design better production systems, eliminate waste, improve process stability, and support the deployment of the Beehive Production System. This is a hands‑on role for someone who can analyze data, spend time on the shop floor, lead kaizen events, and help teams build practical processes that scale. What You’ll Do... Support deployment of the Beehive Production System and site‑level lean roadmap across manufacturing operations Lead and support kaizen events focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, flow, WIP reduction, and process stability Apply lean tools such as 5S, visual management, standard work, value stream mapping, waste identification, takt planning, flow, pull systems, and structured problem solving Develop and maintain labor, capacity, and throughput models to support production planning, staffing, and rate readiness Analyze manufacturing processes to identify constraints, bottlenecks, waste, rework, variation, and opportunities for improvement Support production cell design, facility layouts, material flow, point‑of‑use storage, line balancing, and WIP strategy Partner with operations and manufacturing engineering to define routing logic, touch times, cycle times, standard work, and production assumptions Facilitate root cause analysis and corrective action using tools such as A3, 5 Why, fishbone diagrams, Pareto analysis, and process mapping Build and maintain visual controls, daily management systems, SQDC boards, action trackers, and performance metrics Document before‑and‑after improvements, including baseline condition, countermeasures, measurable impact, and sustainment plans Support Greenbelt‑level improvement projects and help coach employees in practical problem‑solving methods Partner cross‑functionally with operations, quality, engineering, planning, supply chain, finance, and digital teams to improve end‑to‑end manufacturing performance Use data and shop‑floor observation to make problems visible and help teams prioritize the highest‑impact improvement opportunities Support manufacturing readiness activities for new products, new processes, and production scale‑up Help build a culture where problems are visible, teams are engaged, and improvements are sustained through standard work and leadership discipline You have... Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Operations, or a related technical field 5+ years of experience in industrial engineering, lean manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, operations, or continuous improvement Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles, including standard work, visual management, 5S, value stream mapping, kaizen, waste reduction, and structured problem solving Experience analysing manufacturing processes, identifying constraints, and implementing practical improvements Experience with capacity modelling, process analysis, production layouts, time studies, labour planning, or production system design Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with the ability to use data to drive decisions Strong communication and facilitation skills with the ability to work effectively with operators, technicians, engineers, supervisors, and leaders Ability to work in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment and spend meaningful time on the shop floor The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government‑issued security clearance is required. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance. Nice to have... Experience in aerospace, defence, additive manufacturing, machining, assembly, or complex hardware manufacturing Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent practical improvement experience Experience with AS9100 or other regulated manufacturing environments Experience supporting manufacturing readiness, rate readiness, run‑at‑rate events, or production scale‑up Experience with ERP, MES, PLM, scheduling systems, or manufacturing data systems Experience with Power BI, Smartsheet, SQL, Python, simulation tools, CAD layout tools, or other analytical tools Experience building daily management systems, tier boards, kaizen funnels, action trackers, or improvement dashboards Experience with Theory of Constraints, line balancing, takt planning, pull systems, or production flow design Experience developing training material, lean playbooks, standard work, or process documentation for manufacturing teams If this sounds like you, please submit an application with your resume. This could be the opportunity you are looking for to expand your skills, contribute to a winning team, and work with talented people who love what they do and take pride in our mission. In compliance with Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the salary range for this position is $140,000–$175,000 base salary. Please note that wage information is a general guideline only, and we will consider factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, and market conditions when extending an offer. Beehive Industries offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes group medical, dental, life, and short and long‑term disability coverage from day one. We also offer a generous 401(k) retirement savings plan with a company match. Every role at Beehive Industries is bonus‑eligible and will also receive equity in the company. Beehive Industries is committed to full compliance with applicable anti‑discrimination laws. We are an equal‑opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We strive to create an inclusive work environment and will not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. #J-18808-Ljbffr Beehive Industries, LLC