Plant Continuous Improvement Leader

Factory Performance & Reliability Leader

Are you ready to drive manufacturing excellence and shape the future of site operations at our Hodges, SC facility? As the Factory Performance & Reliability (FP&R) Leader, you will lead site-wide continuous improvement initiatives, aligning plant capabilities with long-term strategy, capacity growth, and operational reliability. Reporting to our Director of Manufacturing, you will partner across all levels of the organization to cultivate a culture of innovation, lean execution, and sustainable performance.

Responsibilities

• Drive Site Strategy & Operational Alignment: Partner with plant leadership to align continuous improvement, capacity growth, operational equipment master plans, and workforce development with overall site strategic goals.

• Lead Continuous Improvement & Governance: Oversee data-driven optimization systems, evaluating project value through return-on-investment (ROI) analysis and risk assessments to achieve target plant productivity and quality metrics.

• Implement Visual Workplace & 5S Standards: Direct site-wide 5S, visual management, and workplace organization initiatives in alignment with environmental, occupational health, safety, and quality expectations.

• Advance Autonomous & Planned Maintenance: Establish step-wise progression plans for autonomous maintenance and preventive/predictive maintenance systems to maximize equipment reliability and operational safety.

• Optimize Production & Supply Chain Integration: Collaborate with supply chain and production planning teams to streamline scheduling, and optimize inventory levels.

• Build Capability & Knowledge Sharing: Partner with Human Resources and line management to implement competency frameworks, conduct skill-gap analyses, and foster cross-functional training across operational teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in a manufacturing production environment.

• Proven track record leading cross-functional continuous improvement or operational reliability programs.

• Experience establishing and tracking manufacturing metrics, standard operating procedures and compliance standards.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial), Food Science, or a related technical field.
• 2+ years of direct supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Practical expertise in Lean Six Sigma methodologies, Root Cause Analysis, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), or Statistical Process Control (SPC).
• Experience with enterprise resource planning systems (such as SAP) and manufacturing planning tools.
• Strong collaborative leadership, conflict resolution, and data-driven decision-making abilities.
• Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) or regulatory environment (FDA/USDA) experience.