Continuous Improvement Engineer

Position Title: Continuous Improvement Engineer
Work Location: Plymouth MN
Assignment Duration: 12 Months
Work Arrangement: Onsite
 
Entry-level role designed for recent graduates seeking hands-on experience in manufacturing operations and continuous improvement. This role supports operational excellence and manufacturing optimization within a medical device environment. Success requires collaboration, analytical thinking, and Lean problem-solving, with regular engagement on the production floor. The candidate will partner with operations leadership and employees to support business excellence initiatives.
Key Responsibilities

• Support continuous improvement initiatives KPI's focused on safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
• Analyze manufacturing processes, material flow, labor utilization, capacity, and performance metrics to identify improvement opportunities and support data-driven decisions.
• Conduct root cause analysis, develop recommendations, and support implementation of corrective actions.
• Facilitate Lean activities including 5S, visual management, standard work, and Kaizen events.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to improve site-to-site consistency, performance dashboards, process documentation, and change management initiatives.
• Support facility design, layout optimization, and material flow improvements to enhance safety, quality, and operational efficiency.

 
Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline preferred.
• 0-2 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, industrial engineering, or continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, process improvement, structured problem-solving methodologies, and data analysis.
• Self-motivated, quick learner with strong communication, collaboration, and analytical skills capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Local candidates are strongly preferred.
• Why is this role open? Increasing team to handle productivity improvement projects.
•  What projects will this person support? Continuous Improvement, Efficiency, Layout Optimization, etc.
•  What does a typical day look like? Time study, analysis, reports, presentations, meetings, etc.
•  How would you roughly break down the work in percentages (e.g., project work, meetings, documentation, other)? Project Work 80% Other 20%
•  Who will they interact with regularly – All departments and production
•  What does success look like in the first 90 days? Own their own improvement project and be able to present findings, results, next steps, etc.

 
Education: Bachelor’s degree

•  Does the candidate need experience in the medical or pharmaceutical industry? No
•  What systems will this person be working with daily?
•  What personality traits work best with your team? Collaborative, driven, self-starter

 

At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws. This position's pay range is $31.00/hr – $34.00/hr.