Plant Continuous Improvement Manager

Graham Packaging is a leading manufacturer of sustainable packaging. From the kitchen to the laundry room, Graham Packaging is part of your everyday life. They’re the kind of people you want as your friends and neighbors as well as your partners and suppliers. By building strong relationships and creating value for our customers, our employees embody the innovative spirit that’s inherent to Graham. We truly are people building a better tomorrow.Graham Packaging is seeking a dynamic and multidisciplinary Plant Continuous Improvement Manager to optimize plant systems, production line, equipment performance, and product quality. The Plant Continuous Improvement Manager will be skilled in assessing and diagnosing the root causes of problems that lead to defective products, production yield loss and reduced productive uptime. The Plant Continuous Improvement Manager will develop and manage A3 projects to systematically address the Pareto of improvement opportunities using Lean tools and the Graham Operational Excellence (OPEX) continuous improvement process. The Plant Continuous Improvement Manager will be knowledgeable in the fundamentals of lean manufacturing including reduction of variability, waste elimination, and theory of constraints to drive continuous improvement. The position will be plant based but the role can possibly expand to support multiple plants.The Plant Continuous Improvement Manager’s responsibilities are to: Use observation, questioning and data measurement to fully understand and categorize yield and uptime issues. Identify and eliminate sources of variation that lead to changes to the Standard Operating Condition (SOC). Facilitate problem solving to root cause elimination and permanent reduction of variance. Analyze lines for constraints and bottlenecks to achieve continuous flow. Advocate for the Voice of the Customer (VOC) via process capability and defect elimination. Assess standard work artifacts and training to better understand the origin of production flow issues. Contract or otherwise coordinate third parties to perform equipment or system assessments. Conduct timing and point of loss yield studies to identify the loss Pareto. Perform data analysis and prepare written reports in order make visible the true nature of problems and opportunities. Develop a detailed root cause analysis for each problem, where each root cause is validated through testing, i.e. the condition or defect can be turned on or off. Develop countermeasures that could range from basic problem containment to system repair to equipment replacement. Generate and communicate implementation plans using Gantt charts and work breakdown structures. Coordinate central Operations & Engineering resources or third parties to staff implementation plans as necessary. Formulate strategic improvement hypotheses within the A3 Thinking process. Facilitate Problem Solving and Kaizen events by leveraging/modeling the DMAIC process. Lead Daily Management processes to validate that actions lead to desired performance improvements. Support deployment of Lean tools such as 5S, Visual Factory Aids, SMED concepts, VSM, VOC and Poke Yoke to improve plant safety, quality and throughput performance. Proactively seek problems that need to be solved and quantify the anticipated benefit of solving each particular problem. Follow through to assess and report on achieving desired improvements. Develop and ensure appropriate standard work is developed and in place to minimize problem reoccurrence. Fill in for Plant Lead team roles in their absence Collaborate with the Corporate CI team to achieve plant and company goalsCore Proficiencies and SkillsThe following skills and proficiencies are essential requirements of the position: Strong understanding of Operational Excellence, Lean principals, statistics and data analysis. Proficient applying DMAIC or PDCA continuous improvement methodologies. Deep knowledge in production line flow, yield and uptime analysis for improvement. Knowledge of line design that optimizes line uptime i.e. throughput, queueing, accumulation and bottleneck analysis. Skilled applying manual line measurements (e.g. Tic Charts) and other data collection methods and measurement methods to understand unit flow and loss characteristics Experienced in optimizing the performance of:o Factory systems and line process inputso Information flowo Raw materials flow, conveyance, blending, and drying systemso Blow Molder lines for throughputo Injection Molding lines for capabilityo Quality systems for defect eliminationo EHS systems for a safe working environmento Operational systems for waste eliminationo People development for engagement and ownership Skilled in facilitation of Problem solving, FMEA, Kaizen, Lean tools Strong written and verbal communication skills Strong coaching and mentoring skills Ability to get work accomplished through influence versus authority#LI-JM2 BS degree in Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing related Experience in an structured problem solving and continuous improvement mindset workplace At least 5 years of experience working in plant operations in multi-line manufacturing plant Experienced working in the plastics industryThe expected salary range for the position described in this posting is made in accordance with the legal mandates of certain jurisdictions within the United States. The final agreed-upon compensation is based on individual qualifications and experience.Benefits include medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in the company’s 401K Employee Saving Plan and may participate in its Employee Wellness Program. Employees will also receive paid time off in accordance with company policy and state law requirements.Graham Packaging is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, religion, creed, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Created: 2026-01-23