POSITION PURPOSE
The Continuous Improvement (CI) Manager is the plant leader responsible for building and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement and converting business needs into measurable operational results. The role partners with Operations and support functions while maintaining clear ownership for CI methodology, structured problem solving, the improvement pipeline, implementation discipline, and validation of results. The CI Manager is expected to be highly visible on the manufacturing floor, personally lead critical improvement efforts, develop problem-solving capability throughout the organization, and ensure improvements are standardized and sustained.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Own and deploy the plant continuous improvement strategy in alignment with site objectives, business priorities, and financial targets for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, labor efficiency, material utilization, inventory, and overhead.
- Partner with the Plant Manager and Operations leadership to identify the vital few constraints and losses limiting plant performance and translate those gaps into a prioritized CI roadmap with clear owners, timing, expected impact, and measurable results.
- Lead critical improvement initiatives from problem definition through sustainment, including fact gathering, capacity and constraint analysis, root-cause analysis, countermeasure development, testing, validation, standardization, and sustainment.
- Maintain a strong shop-floor presence by observing work at the point of execution, engaging operators and frontline leaders, validating actual versus standard conditions, identifying waste and flow interruptions, and coaching teams through structured problem solving.
- Use data and Lean operating principles to improve flow, throughput, labor productivity, quality, OEE, material movement, WIP, standard work, and overall value-stream performance.
- Establish and maintain visible daily management systems that connect takt, actual performance, constraints, abnormalities, countermeasures, owners, due dates, and results.
- Personally lead structured problem solving using appropriate methods such as A3/PDCA, DMAIC, 5 Why, Fishbone, Pareto analysis, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 5S, Standard Work, SMED, error proofing, and other Lean/Six Sigma tools as appropriate.
- Build organizational problem-solving capability by coaching managers, engineers, frontline leaders, and employees. CI is expected to develop capability, not simply identify issues and assign actions to other functions.
- Lead and develop CI Engineers and Technicians through clear expectations, coaching, technical development, performance management, and meaningful project ownership.
- Ensure CI projects include clear baselines, measurable targets, owners, milestones, countermeasures, verification methods, and sustainment plans. Proactively escalate barriers or at-risk commitments.
- Provide timely, accurate communication on CI priorities, project status, barriers, risks, and results, with disciplined follow-through on commitments.
- Collaborate effectively with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance, EHS, HR, and Finance while maintaining accountability for CI leadership and methodology.
- Identify, quantify, and validate savings and operational benefits from CI activity in partnership with Finance and functional owners.
- Participate in BAC-wide CI workshops, benchmarking, and learning activities and convert relevant learning into implemented improvements at the plant.
- As a member of the Dayton Leadership Team, model a high standard of ownership, responsiveness, judgment, communication, and follow-through consistent with BAC core values: Show Courage, Drive Innovation, Embrace Responsibility, and Earn Trust.
KEY PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
- CI priorities are visibly connected to the plant's most important performance gaps and business objectives.
- Critical CI projects demonstrate measurable movement in operating results, not only completion of meetings, studies, presentations, or action lists.
- Improvement work includes baseline data, root-cause evidence, quantified expected impact, committed timing, verification of actual results, and sustainment controls.
- The CI Manager personally leads high-priority problem solving and develops others to use the same disciplined approach.
- CI maintains consistent presence and engagement on the production floor and is an active partner in improving process capability and flow.
- Projects and commitments are communicated proactively, reviewed on a defined cadence, and escalated before deadlines when support or recovery action is required.
NATURE AND SCOPE
The Continuous Improvement Manager reports to the Plant Manager and serves as a key member of the plant leadership team. The position has significant interaction with employees at all levels of the facility and with CI leaders across BAC locations. The CI Manager may lead CI Engineers, Technicians, or other improvement resources and is expected to influence cross-functional teams without relying solely on direct authority. The role requires balancing strategic improvement planning with hands-on execution at the point of work.
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
- Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations, or a related technical discipline.
- 7+ years of progressive manufacturing, engineering, operations, or continuous improvement experience.
- 3+ years of leadership experience in plant operations or continuous improvement, including responsibility for cross-functional improvement initiatives.
- Demonstrated record of leading improvement projects that produced measurable results in throughput, labor productivity, quality, cost, delivery, OEE, inventory, flow, or other manufacturing performance metrics.
- Strong working knowledge of manufacturing systems, production processes, capacity analysis, bottleneck and constraint management, and operational data.
- Demonstrated ability to use analytics to establish baselines, identify losses, quantify improvement opportunities, prioritize work, and validate results.
- Advanced practical application of Lean and structured problem-solving methods, including Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, 5S, Standard Work, takt and flow, visual management, A3/PDCA, root-cause analysis, and SMED; Lean Six Sigma experience preferred.
- Strong facilitation, coaching, influencing, and change-leadership skills, including the ability to challenge assumptions constructively and drive accountability across functions.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated responsiveness, status reporting, and disciplined follow-through.
- Ability to coach and develop CI staff, frontline leaders, and cross-functional teams in practical problem solving and continuous improvement methods.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions. The role regularly requires standing and walking in a manufacturing environment for up to 50% of the workday, occasional lifting up to 25 pounds, and domestic or international travel of approximately 10-20%.
