Lean Specialist (PENA) at Panasonic Corporation of North America in Sparks, Nevada

Job Description:

Job Summary:
The Lean Specialist's are responsible for developing, implementing, and sustaining process improvement initiatives utilizing Six Sigma methodologies. The Specialist will promote and support Lean Manufacturing tools, and Quality Champions methodologies to all teams at PENA. Additionally, the Specialist will work closely with industrial engineers, production, and functional teams to identify bottlenecks, conduct root-cause analyses, and implement a value stream mapped process towards improvements and digital solutions across the organization.

Essential Duties:
- Reports to the director of production training and industrial engineering while leading project savings of approximately $250,000 per project while working simultaneously on 2-4 projects
- Collaborate with leaders across various functional areas within a business unit or across multiple business units as projects are complexed in nature and ranges between one to four months at a time
- Facilitate cross-functional teams to drive breakthrough performance in people, quality, material flow, and cost
- Apply Lean tools and methodologies and DMAIC processes to improve or solve manufacturing challenges by reducing 8 wastes impacting Quality, Cost, and Delivery objectives
- Work effectively with production and support functions to translate process improvement findings into sustainable improvements and standard work
- Define process quality issues, measure current process performance, analyze root cause defects, and develop targeted process improvement opportunities with process owners and business leaders
- Works directly with Senior leaders to identify projects & set priority with own director
- Leads cross functional teams to deploy solutions required to achieve Lean Six Sigma program level objectives
- Contributes to develop Lean strategy at PENA
- Conducts data analysis on program results to establish and mitigate risks
- Working closely with operations and functional teams to identify process bottlenecks, conduct root cause analysis and implement Value Stream Map process improvements and digital solutions across the organization
- Setting, validating, and auditing measurement systems to deliver business impact
- Driving standardization and best practices within the organization by leveraging experts across practice, transitions, IT and other relevant functions
- Executing and tracking the annual financial goals assigned by the CCI function management
- Challenging the team to develop them as leaders

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requirements:
- To ensure the health and safety in the workplace and for the protection of our employees, wearing PPE is a possibility and may include equipment such as a full Tyvek suit, safety shoes, gloves, safety glasses, face mask, bump cap, and a full hazmat suit that includes a respirator.
The foregoing description is not intended and should not be construed to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills and efforts or work conditions associated with the job. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the general nature and level of the job.
Qualifications: Requirements - Required and/or Preferred

Education:
Basic: Bachelor's Degree in Business, Engineering, Manufacturing or equivalent required
Preferred: Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science (MS)

Essential Qualifications:
- Minimum of 5+ years of continuous improvement experience
- Minimum of 2+ years as a Lean Specialist
- Demonstrated project portfolio of successful DMAICs and Kaizen events
- Must have strong technical background, including high volume manufacturing environment
- Significant company Lean Six Sigma deployment experience
- Able to influence change without direct authority
- Dynamic and engaging facilitation and training skills
- Ability to clearly convey and communicate complex concepts in simple terms
- Lean and Six Sigma tool high level skill
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and/or Black Belt training teaching and experience
- Strong interpersonal, presentation, and project management skills
- Must have working-level knowledge of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking English

Preferred Qualifications:
- Proven track record in operational roles in a production and manufacturing environment
- Ability to work effectively at all levels of the organization
- Excellent communicator: Interpersonal and presentation skills
- Competent at Excel, PowerPoint, and Minitab (or other similar software)
- Solid background in Process Development & Process Improvement
- Resilient, self-motived and able to work well under pressure
- Alignment to Panasonic's seven (7) core principles (contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability, gratitude)

About Us:
Panasonic Energy of North America (PENA) is collaborating with Tesla at a massive battery factory near Reno, Nevada which is known for its quality of life and expansive outdoor adventures. Panasonic's role at the Gigafactory is to manufacture and supply cylindrical lithium-ion cells to Tesla for their electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

Over the past few years, the Gigafactory has grown to the largest lithium-ion battery factory in the world. Together with our partner Tesla, we continue to revolutionize the lithium-ion battery space and accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy and transportation.

Our mission at PENA is to make the vision of affordable Electric Vehicles a reality by producing the world's safest, high quality, and lowest cost batteries. Through this effort we will create a clean energy society and our products will change society's use of and perceptions of electric power.
In addition to an environment that is as innovative as our products, we offer competitive salaries and benefits.

Supplemental Information:
Pre-employment drug testing is required. Due to the high volume of responses, we will only be able to respond to candidates of interest. All candidates must have valid authorization to work in the U.S. without restriction.
Panasonic is an Equal Opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by law. All qualified individuals are required to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.
Thank you for your interest in Panasonic Energy of North America..