Sr. Director, Continuous Improvement at Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc.

Overview

The Senior Director of Continuous Improvement is responsible for developing and leading the enterprise-wide operational excellence strategy across multiple frozen food manufacturing facilities. This role drives performance improvement through Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Lean, Six Sigma, and digital manufacturing initiatives. The Senior Director will partner with plant leadership, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, and Corporate functions to deliver sustainable gains in safety, quality, productivity, cost, and service.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a multi-year continuous improvement roadmap anchored in TPM pillars, Lean principles, and waste-reduction methodologies.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for TPM deployment across all manufacturing sites, ensuring standardized processes, capability building, and governance.
• Champion a culture of operational excellence, employee engagement, and proactive problem-solving.
• Influence executive leadership using data-driven recommendations to optimize plant performance and long-term capital planning.
  
  

Operational Excellence & TPM Implementation

• Lead the rollout of TPM pillars (Autonomous Maintenance, Planned Maintenance, Focused Improvement, Early Equipment Management, Training & Development, Safety & Environment, Quality Maintenance) and focused methodologies and tools that will deliver results.
• Drive kaizen events, value stream mapping, SMED, 5S, and root-cause analysis (RCA) activities.
• Work closely with Engineering and Maintenance to improve equipment reliability, maximize OEE, and reduce downtime in high-speed, cold-environment production lines.
• Improve process standardization, changeover optimization, and end-to-end process flow for frozen food production, packaging, and cold-chain operations.
  
  

Change Management & Capability Building

• Develop and lead training programs for TPM, Lean, and problem-solving methodologies across all levels of the organization.
• Mentor corporate CI teams, factory CI leaders, and plant leadership, strengthening internal capabilities and succession pipelines Promote cross-functional collaboration to align priorities, share best practices, and ensure consistent implementation of CI initiatives.
  
  

Performance Measurement

• Establish and track KPIs related to safety, quality, OEE, yield, waste, maintenance effectiveness, and labor productivity.
• Use analytics, dashboards, and digital tools to monitor performance and drive decision-making.
• Conduct regular site assessments and audits to ensure adherence to CI standards and TPM maturity models.
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Food Science, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience
  
  

, ideally in frozen food, packaged food, or high-volume consumer goods.

• 5+ years of leadership experience in Continuous Improvement
  
  

, Operations Excellence, or similar roles.

• Demonstrated expertise in TPM implementation
  
  

, including leading multiple TPM pillars and deploying TPM at the site or multi-site level.

• Strong Lean and Six Sigma knowledge; Green Belt required, Black Belt preferred.
• Proven track record of improving throughput, reducing waste, and elevating equipment reliability in complex manufacturing environments.
• Expertise in change management and capability building across diverse teams.
• Proficiency with CI performance metrics, OEE, reliability systems, and digital manufacturing tools.
  
  

Preferred

• Master's degree (MBA or Engineering discipline).
• Experience with cold-chain production, USDA/food safety requirements, and GFSI standards.
• Understanding of automation, predictive maintenance technologies, and advanced analytics.
• Multi-site leadership experience across a distributed plant network.
  
  

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and ability to influence senior leaders.
• Strong communication, coaching, and facilitation skills.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret complex data.
• Hands-on, results-oriented leadership style.
• Ability to work effectively in fast-paced, high-growth environments
  
  

Additional Details

• Pay Range - $225,000 to $240,000
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