Continuous Improvement Manager (Manufacturing)

Location: Rolling Meadows, Illinois, United States. Onsite manufacturing role. Applicants must qualify as a U.S. Person under ITAR; visa sponsorship is not available.

Base pay hiring rate: $108,000–$162,000 annually.

Company

hirify.global manufactures products and operates a site focused on busbar and power-distribution manufacturing.

What you will do

• Own the site continuous-improvement roadmap and align the improvement pipeline with business priorities through strategy deployment and annual and quarterly planning.
• Design, deploy, and sustain the lean operating system, including tiered daily management, visual management, standard work, leader standard work, and gemba routines.
• Define and maintain plant KPIs covering safety, quality, delivery, cost, throughput, on-time delivery, first-pass yield, and cost of poor quality.
• Plan and lead kaizen events, value-stream mapping, rapid-improvement workshops, and structured problem-solving using DMAIC, A3, and 8D.
• Improve high-mix, low-volume flow through setup and changeover reduction, WIP and queue-time reduction, cell design, pull and replenishment, and scheduling discipline; use Epicor labor, move, and job data to validate results.
• Build improvement business cases, track savings with Finance, partner with Engineering on capital, automation, MES, and analytics projects, and coach supervisors and managers to lead improvement.

Requirements

• Must qualify as a U.S. Person under ITAR (22 CFR § 120.62), including a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other qualifying protected individual.
• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations Management, or a closely related discipline.
• 8+ years of manufacturing experience, including 3+ years leading continuous-improvement or operational-excellence programs, ideally in metal fabrication, machining, or electromechanical assembly.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent demonstrated expertise, with measurable and sustained throughput, quality, and cost results.
• Deep working knowledge of value-stream mapping, standard work, SMED, 5S, visual and tiered management, kaizen, and structured problem-solving.
• Strong analytical skills, fluency with ERP-based manufacturing data, and the ability to build analyses that drive decisions.
• Ability to integrate continuous improvement with AS9100 and NADCAP requirements, control and document process changes, support audits and corrective actions, and embed safety and ergonomics into improvement work.
• Ability to build capability through lean and problem-solving training, coach leaders, and collaborate across operations, engineering, quality, supply chain, and finance.
• Ability to occasionally lift or move up to 25 pounds and frequently perform computer work, standing, walking, reaching, bending, squatting, and other physical activities; occasional stair climbing is required.

Nice to have

• Experience in a high-mix, low-volume or job-shop operation.
• Busbar, power-distribution, copper or aluminum fabrication experience, including familiarity with plating and other special processes.
• AS9100 and/or NADCAP experience.
• Epicor or comparable ERP and MES implementation experience.
• Experience with strategy deployment, hoshin kanri, and building a continuous-improvement function or lean operating system from the ground up.

Culture & Benefits

• Benefits include medical, dental, vision, hearing, life, and disability insurance.
• Educational assistance, paid time off, an Employee Assistance Program, and voluntary accident, hospital indemnity, and pet insurance are available.
• Access to discount programs for technology, automotive, and home appliance products.
• Participation in a 401(k) plan with a company contribution.
• Work emphasizes floor presence, practical problem-solving, systems thinking, coaching, collaboration, and ownership of sustained outcomes.