Manufacturing Excellence Specialist – Fort Smith

About the role

The Factory Manufacturing Excellence Specialist supports the Local Leadership Team’s improvement strategy and serves as the site expert for factory improvement and industrial performance. The role partners with leadership to define, align, and execute plans that deliver sustained performance gains across the Fort Smith facility.

Key responsibilities

• Drive factory performance and loss elimination by collaborating with process owners to implement solutions and standardize best practices.
• Co‑develop and execute the factory improvement strategy using OMP, loss analysis, and external benchmarks.
• Build a three‑year roadmap for KPI progression, people development, and workplace transformation.
• Partner with the LLT to define and deliver execution plans such as NCE rollouts, digital initiatives, CAPEX enablement, and key improvement projects.
• Support competency‑building activities, external support needs, and ensure governance, routines, and tracking to sustain results.
• Spend time on the shop floor to assess maturity, identify opportunities, and provide corrective‑action guidance.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• 2–4 years of manufacturing experience, preferably partnering with factory leadership teams.
• Experience with continuous improvement and performance systems (TPM, Lean, Goal Alignment).
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities with structured problem‑solving tools.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing processes, basic finance/value‑creation concepts, and compliance with safety, quality, GMP, and ISO/NQMS requirements.

Required skills

• SAP
• Power BI (or similar data visualization tools)
• TPM (Total Productive Maintenance)
• Lean manufacturing methodologies
• Loss analysis techniques
• Budget preparation and review
• Project management across multiple workstreams