If you complement your continuous improvement (CI) expertise with data savvy and strong people skills, this position offers you some very compelling opportunities. You will:

• Help shape a new role and support a high-profile initiative to take CI to new levels and implement a Shyft Production System in our Bristol facility
• Lead and contribute to all aspects of CI projects; while we have CI processes in place, we're taking a blank slate approach, and your ideas will be welcomed Quick question for you - click here
• Gain broad exposure to our organization as you drive CI in production operations, accounting, software development and other functional areas
• Demonstrate your potential to advance along a variety of career paths at a company that is proactive about supporting career growth
• Join at an exciting time -- across The Shyft Group we are pursuing aggressive growth strategies, creating opportunities for strong performers

Utilimaster moves ahead of the competition when commercial trucks and upfit services require precision, planning, peerless people, and the perfect vehicle. Our vehicles deliver for well-respected global brands in the package delivery, ecommerce, food and beverage, linen and laundry, grocery and pharmaceutical markets. Utilimaster is a top-tier go-to-market brand of The Shyft Group (NASDAQ: SHYF), North America's leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets. The Shyft Group rebranded in 2020 to reflect a new focus on high-growth end markets to help ensure long-term profitable growth.

Pictured: Utilimaster's Velocity F-Series offers big-truck interior space without requiring a commercial driver's license -- thus expanding the pool of potential drivers for fleet operators. You will see these vehicles on the road and be able to tell friends and family, "I'm part of the team that builds those."

To meet the basic qualification for this role, you will have a bachelor's degree in Engineering or Lean/Continuous Improvement. Quick question for you - click here In addition, to be a good fit for the Continuous Improvement Engineer opportunity, you will have:

• 5 to 7 years of experience leading Lean/Six Sigma transformations, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Automotive industry experience is a plus
• Technical savvy and the ability to transform data into useful information that suggests action
• A proven ability to identify improvement opportunities and implement creative solutions
• Strong problem-solving and analytical abilities
• Project management skills
• Intermediate computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Advanced training in Lean Manufacturing, 6S, SMED, Standardized work, job instruction, and other continuous improvement methodologies is preferred
• Lean and/or and Toyota Production System (TPS) certification is a plus

Just as important will be the following competencies and characteristics:

• Leadership skills and the motivation to champion change; experience leading teams is preferred
• A process orientation and a demonstrated ability to employ rigorous and disciplined thinking
• The ability to work well both with and through others, including skill in:
  • Driving consensus and building buy-in with multiple stakeholders
  • Leading and energizing others
  Solid organizational skills, with the ability to handle multiple tasks and priorities in a high-pressure environment

As an essential business, we have strong protocols in place protecting our employees and safeguarding their health. Once it is safe to do so, you may travel to other Utilimaster and Shyft locations for kaizen events, workshops, or for other reasons. We don't expect you will travel more than about 10% of the time.

Reporting to the Director of Continuous Improvement, you will be responsible for leading initiatives to improve safety, quality, delivery, and cost. You'll act as a project / Kaizen leader, providing technical expertise in the area of continuous improvement (CI) and drive results by assisting in the development and execution of a "Shyft Production System."

You'll join a team that includes other CI Engineers, each working with CI Associates to support an assigned area. The plant has five zones, including two production lines and subassemblies that feed them. You'll invest the majority of your time in project work, using a 20-step process to deliver outcomes related to output, safety, quality, cost, and other parameters. Quick question for you - click here

Pivotal to your success will be developing and training people in multiple areas. At any given time you can expect to have multiple projects underway, which may last one week to a month or longer. Projects may include increasing production capacity, supporting initiatives to reduce defects, rebalancing a line to optimize throughput, helping develop standards for new software packages, working with accounting to improve time to close the books, and more.

To give you a sampling of specific responsibilities, you will:

• Lead, support, and follow-up the transformation to a lean culture at Utilimaster
• Assist, lead, drive, and sustain the cultural and technical changes necessary to make Utilimaster a world-class Lean organization
• Promote the development and implementation of a Shyft Production System
• Provide leadership and be a catalyst for implementing Lean Enterprise principles, tools, and techniques
• Coach and lead Lean and continuous improvement projects across the organization
• Constantly strive to optimize work, material, and information flows and processes, eliminate non-value-added activities, weak process design, and improve internal and external customer satisfaction through sustainable processes
• And more

Note: this description is intended to give you a general overview of the position and is not an exhaustive listing of duties and responsibilities.

Professional development
The broad exposure provided by this role can set you up to pursue opportunities in a variety of areas -- we don't put people in silos. You could set your sights on moving up within the Continuous Improvement organization, or move into Quality, Materials, Manufacturing, or other functions.

Stability and growth
The Shyft Group is financially sound and will continue to be an aggressive market disrupter through strategic acquisitions, relevant product innovations, and aggressive growth models that serve strong and growing end markets. Be assured, our accelerated growth trajectory will create opportunities for strong performers.

Focused transformation
Utilimaster, alongside The Shyft Group's family of well-respected brands, continues to lead in every segment in which they compete. The Shyft name represents speed, efficiency, agility, and a high-intensity approach, which corresponds with the company's pivot in market focus and the forward momentum garnered in the work truck, specialty service, and delivery vehicle markets.

Driven to deliver
Ever evolving and advancing, The Shyft Group is driven to make an impactful difference in how effectively goods, people, and services are delivered in today's and tomorrow's marketplace. Through our unmatched industry knowledge, engineering expertise, and manufacturing reach, we continue to deliver job-enhancing, efficiency-driving, ever-reliable products and services made for the road ahead.

Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary and bonus, we offer medical, dental, vision, and prescription insurance plans; a health savings account; a flexible savings account; wellness credits; a wellness program; a 401(k) plan with a corporate match; an employee stock purchase program and more.

We understand that there will be a learning curve, and we'll provide training and support. At the same time, we'll look to you to leverage your knowledge and experience to start making an impact from Day One. In our fast-paced environment, you will need to be versatile and flexible, and able to pivot quickly to manage constantly changing priorities effectively. Against this backdrop, you will need to maintain a commitment to excellence and uphold high standards.

As a change leader, you will need to influence people and help them get on board with improvements. On the whole, you should use a collaborative and motivating approach. Humility is important -- those who think "I'm always right" don't fit in well in our environment. Just the same, there may be times when you need to be assertive.

In addition, in order to be an outstanding CI Engineer, you will:

• Communicate the CI big picture while also paying close attention to detail
• Remain open to learning on an ongoing basis
• Use sound judgment and make timely, and sometimes difficult, decisions
• Combine analytical savvy and creativity in solving problems
• Achieve individual goals autonomously and also contribute as a team player
• Bring a strong sense of urgency, but also take the time necessary to ensure high-quality results