Sr. Continuous Improvement Engineer I na Shutterfly

A Sr. Continuous Improvement Engineer at Shutterfly is highly competent as a process manager and uses a variety of skills such as project design, leadership, and project management in order to ensure improved KPI performance. The person in this position is responsible for using Lean Six Sigma principles to drive continuous improvement initiatives and operational excellence. This role is involved in planning, scheduling, and implementing activities (such as Kaizen) on the production floor of our manufacturing facilities.  

 

Primary responsibilities: 
• Identifying opportunities for process improvement, and reductions in cost and waste.
• Planning, facilitating, and executing continuous improvement events using Lean Six Sigma tools 
• Teaching, leading, and coaching cross-functional teams on Lean Six Sigma tools and methodology 
• Working to continuously improve processes both on the production floor as well as transactional by collaborating with multiple functions such as logistics and merchandizing

 

Core responsibilities: 
• Clearly defining program objectives and scope 
• Evaluating and prioritizing potential improvements based on gains and required effort 
• Securing employee commitment (ex: process managers) for proactive change management 
• Establishing a clear and well-articulated implementation plan 
• Establishing criteria for the project’s success and preparing a sound statement of constraints/limiting factors and financial business cases
• Appropriately implementing principles of governance 
• Resolving technical problems such as formulation, equipment, product, interpretation of regulations, and resource availability 
• Identifying intervention priorities and indicators 
• Conducting detailed analysis of the current situation that accurately describes the issues 
• Specifying deliverables, outcome indicators, and performance-measured indicators 
• Identifying available resources (for example, people, material, and finances) 
• Mapping out in detail the desired situation 
• Clearly defining methodology 
• Accurately analyzing options including impact and feasibility 
• Specifying obstacles and ways to overcome them through continuous improvement 
• Regularly monitoring the implementation of solutions to achieve objectives and expected benefits 

 

Required and Desired Skills: 
A Continuous Improvement Engineers at Shutterfly needs passion for not being satisfied with the status quo.  You must be motivated to pursue positive change and work with employees in facilitating recommended changes. To be successful, you must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and an ability to communicate with all levels of employees from upper management to production floor workers. You will work with all positions to explain the reasons for changing processes and how to make those changes. Using Lean Six Sigma methodologies, you will lead the improvement efforts and train others to implement them. Being organized and adept at weighing and managing priorities is key  to manage and prioritize resource availability. Using keen analytical skills and synthesizing information comes into play when determining how current processes can be improved. 

 

Demonstrated Soft Skills: 
• Passion for Continuous Improvement 
• Ability to communicate with all levels within the organization 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills 
• Predisposition to teach leaders a zero defect mentality 
• Ability to weigh and manage priorities 
• Skilled at synthesis and analysis 
• Detail oriented 
• Flexibility and diplomacy when dealing with staff and coworkers 
• Ability to make decisions as well as influence decision-making 
• Strong work habits focusing on safety, quality, and productivity 
• Organizational skills and ability to multitask 
• Project management 

 

Demonstrated Hard Skills: 
• 5S • Lean Manufacturing • Kaizen • Lean Six Sigma • Root Cause Analysis • Value Stream Mapping 
• Proficiency in commonly used and specialized software 
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Suite, including advanced skills with Excel 
• Demonstrated ability to work in high paced and changing environments 

 

Education and Qualifications: 
• Bachelor’s Degree in business administration, finance, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field, Master’s Degree in management or operations is preferred. 
• Green Belt Certification Required,  Black Belt or Shainin Journeyman preferred