Senior Manager, Continuous Improvement

Job description

The Impact You'll Make Danfoss is seeking a Continuous Improvement Manager to lead the deployment of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives at our liquid-cooling manufacturing and distribution facility. This role is responsible for building a culture of operational excellence by driving productivity improvements, eliminating waste, standardizing processes, and helping teams solve problems using data-driven methods. The right person will create sustainable improvements across manufacturing, supply chain, quality, engineering, and business operations while developing employees' continuous improvement capabilities and delivering measurable business results. What You’ll Be Doing Lead the site's continuous improvement strategy, lean roadmap, productivity initiatives, and improvement project portfolio. Drive implementation of lean tools and methodologies including daily management, standard work, visual management, 5S, value stream mapping, and problem-solving processes. Identify, prioritize, and execute improvement opportunities that enhance safety, quality, delivery performance, productivity, cost, and customer satisfaction. Facilitate kaizen events and improvement workshops focused on process efficiency, material flow, quality improvements, changeover reduction, and waste elimination. Coach leaders and teams on continuous improvement principles, root cause analysis, process observation, and sustainable problem-solving practices. Track project results, validate improvement benefits, and ensure successful implementation and long-term sustainment of improvements. Partner with Finance to measure and validate productivity gains, cost savings, inventory improvements, labor efficiencies, and other business benefits. Support manufacturing growth and operational readiness by identifying bottlenecks, process constraints, training needs, and workflow improvements. Develop continuous improvement capabilities across all levels of the organization through coaching, training, and mentorship. Establish sustainment processes, audits, and leader standard work to ensure improvements remain effective over time. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve manufacturing, supply chain, quality, engineering, administrative, and support processes. Promote a culture where continuous improvement is part of daily operations and ownership is driven by the teams closest to the work. What We're Looking For Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field. Experience leading continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, operational excellence, industrial engineering, or manufacturing operations initiatives. Demonstrated experience driving cross-functional improvement projects and achieving measurable business results. Strong leadership, facilitation, and change management skills. Preferred Qualifications Master's degree in a related field. Lean, Six Sigma, DBS, or other continuous improvement certifications. Experience facilitating kaizen events, value stream mapping workshops, and productivity improvement programs. Experience in manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, or industrial operations environments. Job Criteria Strong knowledge of lean manufacturing principles, continuous improvement methodologies, and operational excellence tools. Experience implementing daily management systems, standard work, visual management, 5S, value stream mapping, and problem-solving processes. Ability to analyze operational metrics including productivity, inventory, lead time, quality performance, downtime, and cost improvement opportunities. Experience developing improvement roadmaps, managing project pipelines, and tracking financial and operational benefits. Strong coaching and facilitation skills with the ability to influence leaders and employees at all organizational levels. Ability to partner effectively with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, and EHS teams. Excellent communication, organizational, and project management skills with a passion for building a culture of continuous improvement. What You'll Get from Us At Danfoss, we believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace fosters creativity, innovation, and a broader perspective in decision-making. When you consider this job posting, do you feel like your profile is not a perfect match? Numerous studies have found that women and people of color are more likely to apply only when they meet all requirements listed in the job posting. Even if you do not check all the boxes, we encourage you to apply anyway. We are curious to find out how you can bring new insights to the role or to Danfoss as an organization. The targeted salary range is $120,000 - $150,000 depending on experience. We are excited to offer you the following benefits with your employment: Bonus system Paid vacation Retirement plan Flexible working hours Personal insurance Opportunity to join Employee Resource Groups State of the art virtual work environment Employee Referral Program Ready to Make a Difference? If this role excites you, we’d love to hear from you! Apply now to start the conversation and learn more about where your career can go with us. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected category.