Continuous Improvement / Operational Excellence Specialist III (PPI Business System)

Location: Grand Island, New York, USA · Fully Onsite

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Adherence to all Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Safety Standards, Office, Some degree of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) required (safety glasses, gowning, gloves, lab coat, ear plugs etc.)

Job Description

Continuous Improvement / Operational Excellence Specialist III (PPI Business System)

Grand Island, New York

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, you'll do meaningful work with real-world impact. Our teams help our customers make the world healthier, cleaner and safer—and continuous improvement plays an important role in making that possible.

We're looking for a Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence professional to join our Grand Island team as a PPI Business System Specialist III.

This is a hands-on improvement role for someone who enjoys turning complex operational challenges into measurable results. You'll partner with leaders and cross-functional teams to improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost and customer experience using Lean, structured problem solving and Thermo Fisher Scientific's Practical Process Improvement (PPI) Business System.

You'll have the opportunity to lead meaningful improvement initiatives, influence how work gets done, coach others in continuous improvement, and see the measurable impact of your work across the operation.

What You'll Do

• Lead high-impact improvement initiatives from opportunity identification through implementation, measurement and sustainment.

• Partner with Value Stream and functional leaders to identify and prioritize opportunities that improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost and customer experience.

• Use data to uncover waste, bottlenecks and constraints and improve capacity, process flow, productivity and labor utilization.

• Facilitate Kaizen events, value stream mapping, structured problem solving, root cause analysis, standard work and visual management activities.

• Collaborate across Operations, Industrial Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance and other functions to turn improvement opportunities into sustainable results.

• Establish project goals and performance measures, track results, remove barriers and partner with Finance to validate measurable business benefits.

• Coach and develop leaders and teams in Lean/PPI methodologies, helping build problem-solving capability and ownership throughout the organization.

• Help strengthen a culture where continuous improvement becomes part of how teams work every day—not simply a series of individual projects.

What You'll Bring

We're looking for someone who combines strong problem-solving skills with the ability to engage people and turn ideas into measurable improvements.

Minimum qualifications:

• Associate degree with 6+ years of relevant experience leading continuous improvement, Lean, Operational Excellence or process-improvement initiatives within manufacturing, laboratory, operations or another regulated environment.

• Practical experience using Lean/continuous improvement tools such as Kaizen, structured problem solving, root cause analysis, standard work or value stream mapping.

• Demonstrated ability to independently lead cross-functional projects and deliver measurable, sustained results.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate operational data into action.

• Strong facilitation, communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to influence without direct authority.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities while collaborating effectively across a matrixed organization.

We'd Be Especially Interested If You Have

• A degree in Engineering, Science, Business, Operations or a related discipline.

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt or another recognized continuous improvement certification.

• Experience improving productivity, capacity, process flow or labor utilization.

• Experience quantifying and validating the financial impact of improvement initiatives.

• Experience coaching leaders and teams in Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence or other continuous improvement methodologies.

• Experience working in life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device or another regulated manufacturing environment.

Additional Position Information

• This position is based in Grand Island, New York - Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

• Thermo Fisher Scientific is unable to provide immigration sponsorship for this position. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

Why This Role

This is an opportunity to do more than recommend improvements—you'll help lead them from problem identification through measurable results.

You'll work across functions, partner with leaders, develop continuous-improvement capability in others and help shape how our Grand Island operation performs. And because PPI is Thermo Fisher Scientific's global continuous improvement business system, the experience you build here can support continued growth across a large, global organization.

If you enjoy being close to the operation, solving complex problems, bringing people together and seeing tangible results from your work, we'd like to hear from you.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range estimated for this position based in New York is $90,000.00–$110,000.00.

This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:

• A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs

• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement

• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy

• Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan

• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount

For more information on our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/total-rewards