
Continuous Improvement/OpEx Manager
Eaton · Waukesha, WI
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Lean / CI
- Base pay
- $146k–$215k
- Travel
- 50%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 10+ years
- Certification
- Black Belt preferred
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A management continuous improvement role at Eaton (industrial) in Waukesha, WI. Eaton’s PDRD (Power Delivery & Regulation Division) operations team is seeking a Continuous Improvement/Operational Excellence Manager to support multiple sites.
- They ask for
- 10+ years · degree required · Black Belt preferred
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Black Belt, Kaizen, Value stream mapping, Root cause
- Base pay
- $146k–$215k
- Day to day
- about 50% travel · relocation help
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Continuous Improvement roles in Wisconsin: typical posted base $108k–$137k. This one lists $146k–$215k.
Median of the low and high ends of 7 live postings that list pay, out of 17 continuous improvement openings in Wisconsin, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Wisconsin plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 16 other live lean / ci postings in Wisconsin.
- Base pay
- About 47% above similar roles
- Experience asked
- More than usual (10+ vs 7+)
Typical $108k–$137k, from 6 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 7+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Lean 88%
- ✓ Value stream mapping 53%
- ✓ Root cause 53%
- ✓ Six Sigma 53%
- ✓ Kaizen 47%
- ✓ Black Belt 41%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Minitab, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with 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 Eaton
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?
- The posting says about 50% travel. Between which sites?
- The posting mentions a Black Belt. Does the company sponsor certification?
- 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.
This plant: Eaton in Waukesha
3 other open roles at this site.
- Senior Controls Engineer · Controls · Senior
- Electrical Controls Engineer · Controls
- Quality Engineer Supervisor · Quality · Supervisor
Full description from EatonAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Qualifications
Basic
Requirements
- ✓Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
- ✓Minimum 10 years of professional experience in a manufacturing environment.
- ✓Minimum 5 years leading Continuous Improvement / Six Sigma programs and related disciplines
- ✓Business Travel required up to 50%
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Eaton’s PDRD (Power Delivery & Regulation Division) operations team is seeking a Continuous Improvement/Operational Excellence Manager to support multiple sites. Candidates must be based within 50 miles of one of the division’s sites in Waukesha/Milwaukee, WI, Nacogdoches, TX, or Jonesville, SC. Travel is expected to be around 50% of the time; less if based in Waukesha/Milwaukee (25%). Relocation assistance is available to within 50 miles of one of the listed sites; immigration sponsorship is not available for this role.
Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.
You will lead and own the divisional Continuous Improvement (CI) strategy for PDRD, accelerating operational excellence, productivity, and sustainable margin expansion across all sites. You will translate business strategy into value stream transformation roadmaps and governance routines, ensuring rigorous deployment and sustainment of the Eaton Business System, the Eaton Continuous Improvement System (ECIS), Lean Six Sigma (ELSS), and Operations Assessment (OpA) maturity progression. You will partner with the Ops Director, Plant Managers, plant leadership teams, and CI leaders to embed a culture of daily problem solving and deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer performance.
What you’ll do
- •Develop and deploy the divisional CI strategy aligned with EBS Pull and ECIS, converting business priorities into annual and multi-year CI plans for each plant and value stream.
- •Deploy a standardized operating system to drive execution, sustainment, and accountability for CI performance across all PDRD sites.
- •Lead and standardize Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and strategy deployment across plants, focusing on reducing non-value added work, enhancing safety, quality, and flow, shortening lead time, and improving delivery performance.
- •Build and execute Model Plant roadmaps with Plant Managers and site CI leaders to elevate Lean systems, daily management, and site maturity year over year.
- •Own divisional CI results by developing and managing a robust productivity and cost-out pipeline that achieves annual targets and advances the five-year plan through verified savings, increased productivity, and waste reduction.
- •Drive CI culture and capability by coaching Plant Managers, leadership teams, and CI professionals in problem solving and CI fundamentals such as A3 problem solving, daily accountability, leader standard work, and Gemba walks.
- •Mentor, coach, and challenge CI leaders and site leadership teams to integrate ELSS tools and behaviors, including Kaizen/Rapid Improvement Events (RIE), structured problem solving, and Lean Six Sigma project discipline.
- •Ensure completion and quality of annual self-assessments and formal assessments as required (for example, ELSS and OpA/ECIS maturity), translate gaps into actionable site plans, and track closure to maturity targets.
- •Build organizational capability and a talent pipeline by selecting, developing, and evaluating CI talent, contributing to succession planning, and supporting certification and instructor development where applicable.
- •Represent PDRD in corporate, sector, and group/division CI initiatives, councils, and special projects, ensuring alignment, adoption, and transfer of best practices across sites.
Scope / Span of Influence
- •Multi site PDRD division (manufacturing plants and associated value streams)
Functional Leadership
- •Indirect/functional leadership of site CI leaders/managers across PDRD sites
Key Metrics Impacted (direct influence / high impact)
- •High 5 metrics and operating KPI performance
- •Customer scorecards (delivery, quality, responsiveness) and lead time improvements
- •Employee engagement and CI culture adoption (daily accountability, leader standard work, Gemba/visual management)
- •ELSS / ECIS / OpA maturity progression and assessment closure
- •Annual productivity/cost out targets
Preferred
- +Lean certification and Six Sigma Black Belt preferred (or demonstrated equivalent capability)
- +Time spent within a manufacturing plant
Skills
- •Technical/CI Expertise: Deep knowledge of Lean manufacturing, value stream management, CI culture/sustainment systems (daily accountability, leader standard work, Gemba, visual management), and advanced problem solving including Six Sigma.
- •Leadership/Influence: Proven ability to lead change through influence in a matrix environment and effectively coach leaders from senior leadership to frontline teams.
- •Business/Analytical Skills: Strong qualitative and quantitative analysis capability; comfort with statistics and data-driven decision making; proficiency with common tools (e.g., Excel, PowerPoint, Minitab, Visio, SharePoint or similar).
- •EBS/ECIS Familiarity: Working knowledge of the Eaton Business System or similar and CI governance models preferred.
All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.
