Operational Excellence Specialist

From the plant jobs report · week of November 9, 2026

Continuous Improvement roles in North Carolina: typical posted base $112k–$154k.

Median of the low and high ends of 9 live postings that list pay, out of 26 continuous improvement openings in North Carolina, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

North Carolina plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 25 other live lean / ci postings in North Carolina.

Base pay

Not listed in this posting

Typical $86k–$119k, from 7 postings that list pay.

Experience asked

Not stated

Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

• Lean 69%
• Value stream mapping 62%
• Kaizen 50%
• Root cause 42%
• 5S 35%
• Six Sigma 31%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

How to get in at this plant

Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.

1. 1

   Pick 2–3 people on the Lean / CI team at Johnson & Johnson MedTech

   Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.

2. 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. 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. 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. 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: Johnson & Johnson MedTech in Wilson

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