Director of Continuous Improvement

About the role

Lean Manufacturing | Operational Excellence | Multi-Plant CI Leadership | Brookfield, Wisconsin

Build your career in an essential industry with lasting demand. At Silgan, we manufacture the food packaging that consumers rely on every day, providing long-term opportunities for growth.

Are you a continuous improvement leader ready to shape operational excellence across a multi-plant manufacturing network? Silgan Containers is seeking a Director of Continuous Improvement to establish and lead our Continuous Improvement function from Brookfield, WI. This highly visible role will develop enterprise-wide CI strategy, strengthen Lean manufacturing capabilities, and partner with plant and senior leaders to improve safety, quality, cost, throughput, and operational performance.

You will lead Continuous Improvement Specialists, guide the Continuous Improvement Steering Committee, develop Lean training and management systems, and help manufacturing teams convert improvement opportunities into measurable, sustainable results.

This opportunity may be a strong fit for professionals with experience as a Director of Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence Director, Lean Manufacturing Director, CI Leader, Lean Six Sigma Leader, Manufacturing Excellence Director, or Multi-Plant Operations Improvement Leader.

What We Offer

• Salary based on experience, education, skills, market conditions, and location.
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, prescription coverage, life insurance, and disability benefits.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Paid vacation and holidays.
• Tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities.
• Enterprise-level leadership opportunity within one of North America's largest metal food packaging manufacturers.
• Collaborative, inclusive workplace focused on innovation, continuous improvement, employee development, and operational excellence.

What You'll Do

As Director of Continuous Improvement, you will build the systems, capabilities, and leadership routines that support a consistent culture of continuous improvement across Silgan Containers manufacturing locations.

• Establish and lead a Continuous Improvement organization focused on improving manufacturing operations across a multi-plant network.
• Develop, implement, and track the organization's multi-year Continuous Improvement strategy and roadmap.
• Lead the Continuous Improvement Steering Committee and partner with senior management and plant leadership on CI priorities, progress, and results.
• Lead, coach, and develop Continuous Improvement Specialists who provide direct support to manufacturing plants.
• Apply Lean manufacturing methods including 5S and Visual Factory, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Kaizen events, Quick Changeover and SMED, and Value Stream Mapping.
• Provide hands-on leadership for multiple concurrent improvement projects through structured problem solving, facilitation, and disciplined execution.
• Advance the Silgan Containers operational excellence system by strengthening process discipline, standard work, and adoption of CI tools.
• Partner with manufacturing teams to identify and deliver cost savings, production throughput improvements, waste reduction, and process optimization opportunities.
• Develop and maintain dashboards, tracking tools, reporting processes, and governance routines to measure plant and department progress against CI goals.
• Create and manage Lean training materials specific to Silgan Containers and support capability building across the manufacturing organization.
• Communicate CI performance, project status, risks, and results to plant leaders and senior management.
• Travel to manufacturing sites to lead and support CI activities, approximately 30%.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience, including responsibility for Lean manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, operational excellence, or Six Sigma initiatives.
• Experience leading Lean implementation teams or Continuous Improvement programs across a multi-plant manufacturing organization.
• Demonstrated success developing and implementing Lean principles, systems, and processes that produce sustainable operational improvements.
• Hands-on experience applying CI tools in a high-speed manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading people and multiple cross-functional teams while managing concurrent projects, milestones, and deliverables.
• Strong problem-solving, project leadership, coaching, facilitation, and change management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with employees and leaders from the manufacturing floor through the executive level.
• Ability to travel approximately 30% to Silgan Containers manufacturing locations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building a CI or operational excellence function, governance model, training program, and performance tracking system.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or comparable expertise in structured problem solving and process improvement.
• Experience improving production throughput, changeover performance, equipment reliability, cost, and plant operating results.