Continuous Improvement Manager
A. O. Smith · Texas
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Lean / CI
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 2+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- Recently
The role in 30 seconds
A management continuous improvement role at A. O. Smith (industrial) in Texas.
- They ask for
- 2+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Lean, Root cause
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026
Continuous Improvement roles in Texas: typical posted base $92k–$135k.
Median of the low and high ends of 6 live postings that list pay, out of 25 continuous improvement openings in Texas, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Texas plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 24 other live lean / ci postings in Texas.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (2+ vs 5+)
Typical $92k–$135k, from 6 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Lean 96%
- Six Sigma 72%
- ✓ Root cause 56%
- Value stream mapping 40%
- Kaizen 36%
- Green Belt 28%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Lean / CI team at A. O. Smith
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is CI run from the plant floor or from a corporate OpEx group?
- Which metrics does leadership actually watch: OEE, scrap, cost per unit?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
Full description from A. O. SmithAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Scope of responsibility
- ◆Network-Wide Leadership. Own the Small Sites CI roadmap across traditional OEM assembly and dealer service operations prioritizing opportunities and projects based on business impact.
- ◆Project Execution. Partner with cross-functional stakeholders across the small sites to improve productivity, build best practices and standard work, among other strategic operational gains to replicate across the network.
- ◆CI Mentorship. Work directly with local CI site leads to build a continuous learning environment and coach CI best practices and behaviors.
Qualifications
- ✓1-2 Years of supervisory experience or project management, preferred
- ✓Experience in process mapping software (e.g. Visio, Miro).
- ✓Lean or Six-Sigma Training (e.g. Through Shingo/AME/SME/ASQ)
We Offer
#Appcast
ADA Statement & EEO Statement
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Company / Location Information
A.O. Smith is a global leader applying innovative technologies and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide. The company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as a manufacturer of water treatment products for residential and light commercial applications. A. O. Smith is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with approximately 12,000 employees at operations in the United States, Canada, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Primary Function
The CI Manager leads the implementation and execution of Lean and Continuous Improvement initiatives across the North America Water Treatment (NAWT) Small Sites network. This role delivers measurable improvements to safety, quality, productivity, and customer experience by partnering with site leaders and frontline teams to simplify work, reduce waste, standardize critical processes and build sustainable continuous improvement capability.
The position has two primary areas of focus
- •Improving day-to-day operations of water treatment equipment assembly plants.
- •Optimizing professional water treatment dealership service operations.
Sites supported by this role include
- •Atlantic Filter – West Palm Beach, FL
- •Clean Water Center & Clean Water Testing – Appleton, WI
- •Clean Water Center – Oconomowoc, WI
- •Impact Water Products – Ontario, CA
- •Water Tec – Tucson, AZ
- •Water Tec – Las Vegas, NV
This role requires up to 25% travel.
/ accountabilities
- •Guide structured problem solving, including 8-Step Problem Solving methodology, RCA, A3 development and/or other CI methodologies.
- •Serve as the central communication point between the small site network’s operations, dealer services, and leadership team.
- •Lead the implementation of CI tools across the small site network, in direct partnership with local CI leads.
- •Collect and analyze operational data to identify improvement opportunities.
- •Support daily management systems and monitor KPIs for continuous performance tracking.
- •Provide coaching and mentoring to teams on basic CI techniques.
- •Assist in developing process improvements and standardization initiatives.
- •Collaborate with the larger NAWT and Corporate CI community of practice.
- •Report progress and key findings to small site leadership.
Basic qualificiations
- •Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Operations, Engineering, or related field.
- •3 + years of CI related work experience.
- •Intermediate knowledge of Lean tools and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
- •Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- •Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
- •Demonstrated problem-solving and analytical skills.
- •Willingness to learn and apply new CI tools and methodologies.