Job Description:
At Royal Canin, we believe world-class manufacturing starts with empowered people, strong processes, and a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement.
As a Continuous Improvement Engineer Lead, you'll play a key role in driving operational excellence within our manufacturing operation. Partnering closely with Production Leaders and frontline teams, you'll identify losses, improve equipment reliability, strengthen operational standards, and build the capabilities needed to deliver sustainable business results.
This is a highly visible position with the opportunity to influence plant performance, develop associates, and create lasting impact across safety, quality, productivity, and reliability. The role supports a dedicated production area and serves as a leader in driving operational excellence initiatives throughout the value stream.
Minimum:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Food Engineering, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline preferred.
- Minimum three years of manufacturing, engineering, continuous improvement, project leadership, or operations leadership experience.
- Demonstrated success implementing and sustaining continuous improvement initiatives that deliver measurable business results.
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and root cause problem-solving skills.
- Ability to influence others, drive change, and build strong partnerships across functions.
Preferred:
- Experience within food, beverage, pet food, consumer packaged goods, or high-speed manufacturing environments.
- Experience leading projects, teams, or cross-functional initiatives.
- Knowledge of TPM, Lean Manufacturing, Autonomous Maintenance, Manufacturing Excellence, or Operational Excellence systems. Experience utilizing Power BI, SAP, and manufacturing performance analytics tools.
- Lead Daily Management Systems execution within the assigned production area while driving operational discipline and accountability.
- Analyze manufacturing performance data to identify opportunities, eliminate losses, and improve operational performance.
- Develop and execute action plans that improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, and increase production efficiency.
- Drive loss elimination initiatives through structured problem-solving and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Lead Autonomous Maintenance and process improvement teams focused on increasing equipment effectiveness and developing associate capability.
- Facilitate value stream discussions and align teams around priorities, actions, and performance objectives.
- Partner with Production Leaders to establish standards, coach associates, and develop frontline team capability.
- Support and champion safety, quality, and operational excellence initiatives throughout the production area.
- Provide leadership and direction to Area Coordinators, including coaching, development, and performance management support.
- Work with talented associates in a collaborative and purpose-driven environment guided by the Five Principles of Mars.
- Make a visible impact on a world-class manufacturing operation.
- Access industry-leading learning and development opportunities through Mars University.
- Build your career within one of the world's most recognized food and pet care companies.
- Competitive compensation, annual incentive opportunity, and comprehensive benefits package.
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Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Food Engineering, Manufacturing, or related technical discipline
- Minimum three years of manufacturing, engineering, continuous improvement, project leadership, or operations leadership experience
- Demonstrated success implementing and sustaining continuous improvement initiatives that deliver measurable business results
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and root cause problem-solving skills
- Ability to influence others, drive change, and build strong partnerships across functions
- Experience within food, beverage, pet food, consumer packaged goods, or high-speed manufacturing environments
- Experience leading projects, teams, or cross-functional initiatives
- Knowledge of TPM, Lean Manufacturing, Autonomous Maintenance, Manufacturing/Operational Excellence systems; experience with Power BI, SAP, and manufacturing performance analytics tools
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
