Continuous Improvement Manager

Continuous Improvement Manager

Permanent 

About Heraeus

Making displays foldable? Help hearts beat with micro-particles? Work on solutions involving precious metals? As a family-owned global technology group we help our customers to always being one step ahead.

About Heraeus Medevio

Heraeus Medevio combines medical technology expertise with collaborative partnerships. Together with medical device manufacturers, we develop and implement solutions for defined applications. As part of the Heraeus Group, we support the professional development of our employees and offer opportunities for career development, depending on the role, location and operational conditions.

To reach our vision of improving 100 million lives every year, we foster a culture of curiosity that thrives on challenge, continuous learning, growth, and the opportunity to try new things. With sites in the United States, European Union, and Asia, and over 2,200 employees worldwide, together, we will meet tomorrow's challenges today.

Job purpose: This position is responsible for leading deployment and sustainment of the Medevio Operating System (MOS) at Heraeus Medevio Costa Rica (HMCR), and for building the site’s continuous improvement (CI) operating system as the facility scales as a primary growth platform for the Americas manufacturing network. This role translates site priorities into a strategic, measurable CI roadmap and embeds MOS management routines; Strategy Deployment, Daily Management, Continuous Improvement, and People & Leadership standard work, while developing CI capability and engagement across functions that support the production of medical devices.  

Main Responsibilities:

•    Lead deployment and sustainment of the Medevio Operating System (MOS) at HMCR, standing up and maturing Strategy Deployment, Daily Management, Continuous Improvement, and People & Leadership routines in line with the site’s phased MOS roadmap.
•    Build and own a strategic, measurable CI roadmap that translates site growth priorities into prioritized improvement initiatives, each with clear baselines, targets, and accountable owners.
•    Manage the site’s CI operating system end to end; governance cadence, improvement project pipeline, scorecard, and escalation path; so, improvement work is visible, prioritized, and tied to business results.
•    Drive process standardization across growing production lines and support functions, establishing and maintaining standard work, visual management, and daily management practices that keep pace with site expansion.
•    Lead and facilitate structured improvement events and projects (e.g., Kaizen, value-stream mapping, structured problem-solving) in partnership with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain, who retain ownership of their process areas.
•    Develop CI capability and engagement across the site; training and coaching leaders, supervisors, and shop-floor teams on MOS tools, daily management, and structured problem-solving and build a bench of internal CI practitioners.
•    Monitor and report CI and MOS deployment progress through dashboards and KPIs; present status, risks, and recommendations to site leadership and the Americas operations team.
•    Partner with Quality, Regulatory, and EHS to route improvement changes through required risk assessment, change control, and validation processes; this role supports but does not own quality or regulatory decisions.
•    Aligning CI methods and MOS practices with the broader Americas manufacturing network and the global MOS framework, sharing proven practices and lessons learned across sites.
•    Support change adoption of MOS and CI initiatives through clear communication, stakeholder engagement, and hands-on shop-floor coaching.
•    Perform other duties as assigned by manager or the company.
•    Works with a positive attitude and acts within the principles of the company Core Values.  Adheres to the Heraeus Code of Conduct Policy as applicable for position.  

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Operations Management, or a related field;
• Professional proficiency in Spanish and English, with the ability to explain CI and Lean concepts clearly to varied audiences.
• Demonstrated experience in Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing, or Operational Excellence, ideally within a scaling or multi-line manufacturing environment.
• Working command of core Lean/CI tools: Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 5S, SMED, standard work, visual and daily management, and structured root-cause problem-solving (e.g., A3).
• Working familiarity with medical-device quality-system fundamentals (e.g., ISO 13485 expectations common to Costa Rica’s medical-device manufacturing base) sufficient to coordinate improvement work with Quality and Regulatory
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional and shop-floor teams and to influence without direct authority.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, and training skills across all organizational levels, from shop floor to site leadership.
• Analytical and data skills: KPI development and dashboarding (e.g., Excel, Power BI, or equivalent) and basic statistical/process-capability methods.
• Ability and willingness to travel across the Americas manufacturing network (White Bear Lake, MN; Costa Rica; Puerto Rico) as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Relevant master’s degree or MBA.
• Experience in medical devices, pharmaceutical, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification, or equivalent recognized CI/Lean certification.