Continuous Improvement Operational Excellence Specialist

Position Summary

TPC is seeking a results-oriented Continuous Improvement / Operational Excellence Specialist to lead high-impact improvement projects and develop problem-solving capability across the organization.

This role will lead selected Green Belt, Black Belt, Lean, Kaizen, and operational excellence initiatives while coaching engineers, supervisors, and cross-functional teams to successfully lead their own projects. The successful candidate will be an effective change agent who can build trust, influence without direct authority, and deliver measurable results through others.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead complex Lean, Six Sigma DMAIC, Kaizen, and operational excellence projects that improve safety, reliability, quality, cost, throughput, and productivity.
• Coach and mentor engineers, Green Belts, project leaders, sponsors, and cross-functional teams through project selection, execution, control, and sustainment.
• Facilitate structured problem-solving activities, including root cause analysis, process mapping, value-stream mapping, statistical analysis, and visual management.
• Help business leaders identify, scope, prioritize, and resource high-value improvement opportunities.
• Develop project charters, business cases, implementation plans, performance measures, and control plans.
• Partner with Finance and process owners to validate project benefits and ensure results are sustained.
• Build effective relationships across Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, Quality, EHSS, Supply Chain, and other business functions.
• Influence leaders and teams to remove barriers, make decisions, and maintain accountability for project results.
• Support CI/OE governance, project portfolio management, benefit tracking, and capability-development activities.
• Deliver training and practical coaching in Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, RCA, visual management, and other improvement methods.
• Promote a culture in which business teams own their processes and results, while CI/OE provides coaching, facilitation, and technical support.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Business, or a related discipline.
• Five or more years of experience in Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, Lean, Six Sigma, manufacturing, engineering, reliability, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional improvement projects that delivered measurable business results.
• Experience coaching engineers, project leaders, or Green Belt candidates.
• Strong facilitation, stakeholder-management, and change-leadership skills.
• Proven ability to influence decisions and drive results without direct authority.
• Strong analytical, project-management, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience working in a manufacturing or industrial environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Green Belt certification with significant project-leadership experience may also be considered.
• Experience in chemical manufacturing, petrochemical, refining, or another process-industry environment.
• Working knowledge of reliability improvement, maintenance work processes, TPM, RCA, statistical process control, and daily management systems.
• Experience mentoring Green Belts through completed and sustained projects.

Critical Competencies

• Coaching and talent development: Develops others to independently lead successful improvement projects.
• Influence and relationship building: Builds trust and gains commitment across functions and organizational levels.
• Execution and accountability: Converts analysis into action and follows through until results are sustained.
• Business acumen: Connects improvement opportunities to safety, reliability, quality, cost, capacity, and financial performance.
• Change leadership: Anticipates resistance, engages stakeholders, and creates ownership for new ways of working.
• Practical problem solving: Selects the simplest effective method based on the business problem.

Measures of Success

• Measurable and validated operational and financial benefits
• Successful completion and sustainment of improvement projects
• Green Belts and project leaders coached to project completion
• Increased internal problem-solving capability
• Strong stakeholder engagement and process-owner accountability
• Adoption of sustainable CI/OE practices across the business

Why This Role Matters

This role will help TPC build a sustainable improvement system by delivering near-term business results and developing employees who can lead future improvements. The ideal candidate will not simply execute projects personally. The ideal candidate will multiply impact by coaching others, building ownership, and enabling cross-functional teams to deliver sustained results.

All applicants must be eligible to work for any employer in the United States without needing any company sponsorship.