Continuous Improvement Manager

Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Employment Type: Full-Time | Direct Hire
Salary: $85,000-$115,000 (not within the range, please let me know what you are looking for)
Environment: Manufacturing / Industrial Operations

We are seeking an experienced Continuous Improvement Manager to lead continuous improvement initiatives within a growing manufacturing operation in Virginia Beach.

This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership role for someone who knows how to turn Lean principles, operational data, and employee engagement into measurable results on the manufacturing floor. You will partner closely with operations and manufacturing leadership to improve productivity, labor efficiency, quality, safety, cycle times, and on-time delivery.

The ideal candidate is not someone who wants to manage CI from behind a desk. We are looking for a leader who enjoys being on the floor, working directly with production teams, identifying opportunities, solving problems, and making improvements that stick.

What You'll Do

• Develop and lead the site's Continuous Improvement strategy and program

• Partner with manufacturing and operations leaders to identify opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, quality, and cost

• Lead Kaizen events, process improvement workshops, and structured problem-solving initiatives

• Apply Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Root Cause Analysis, Value Stream Mapping, and other CI methodologies

• Analyze production processes to identify bottlenecks, waste, workflow issues, and opportunities for improvement

• Drive improvements in labor efficiency, cycle time, throughput, quality, safety, and on-time delivery

• Work directly with production teams to implement and sustain process improvements

• Identify opportunities for workflow optimization and strategic capital investments

• Establish and track KPIs and performance metrics to measure improvement initiatives

• Use operational data to develop recommendations and action plans

• Train, coach, and mentor employees and leaders on continuous improvement tools and methodologies

• Build employee engagement and encourage teams to identify and solve operational problems

• Present project progress, results, and recommendations to plant and senior leadership

• Support multiple shifts as needed to successfully implement and sustain improvement initiatives

• Promote a culture centered around safety, quality, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations Management, Business Management, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent experience may be considered

• 5+ years of experience leading or implementing continuous improvement initiatives within a manufacturing environment

• Demonstrated success leading improvement projects that produced measurable operational results

• Strong knowledge of:

  • Lean Manufacturing

  • Six Sigma

  • Kaizen

  • Value Stream Mapping

  • Root Cause Analysis

  • Structured Problem Solving

  • Change Management

• Experience within fabrication, engineer-to-order, industrial, or complex manufacturing environments is highly desirable

• Lean, Six Sigma, or related Continuous Improvement certification strongly preferred

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret manufacturing and operational data

• Proven ability to influence and engage employees across multiple departments and organizational levels

• Strong leadership, communication, presentation, facilitation, and training skills

• Strong project management and organizational abilities

• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office

• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing operation

What Success Looks Like

Success in this position will be demonstrated through measurable improvements in:

• Productivity and throughput

• Labor efficiency

• Cycle times

• Process consistency

• Quality

• Safety

• Cost reduction

• On-time delivery

• Employee participation in continuous improvement

Work Environment

This position requires regular interaction with manufacturing and production teams. Candidates should be comfortable spending significant time on the production floor as well as working in an office environment.

The role may require flexibility to support multiple shifts during improvement projects, Kaizen events, training, or implementation activities.

If you are a hands-on Continuous Improvement leader who enjoys solving complex manufacturing problems, developing people, and seeing measurable results from the improvements you implement, we want to hear from you.

For immediate consideration please email resume to

amanix@blackrockres.com