Continuous Improvement Engineer

About Misfits Market:

Misfits Market is a mission-driven, high-growth startup dedicated to reducing food waste and making shopping for sustainable, high-quality groceries easier and more affordable. We deliver organic produce, high-quality meats and seafood, plant-based proteins, dairy, bakery, wine, and other grocery items to nearly every zip code in 48 states at up to 30 percent off traditional grocery store prices. In 2022, Misfits Market acquired sustainable e-grocer Imperfect Foods and now leverages its in-house transportation network to deliver directly to consumers with one of the most carbon-efficient grocery delivery models on the market. By tackling inefficiencies in the food system, our passionate and motivated team of problem solvers helps save an average of 500,000 pounds of food per week from waste or lesser outcomes, with an all-time savings of 190+ million pounds of food.

As Misfits we support our customers and mission by embracing our core values of

Prioritizing our Customers                             

Doing more with less

Thinking Differently         

Respecting one another                             

Moving deliberately and quickly                   

Taking initiative and delivering 

About Role:

The Continuous Improvement Engineer is responsible for driving projects from beginning stages to completion while having a significant impact on business needs. As a CI Engineer, you will be responsible for process improvement initiatives around the business operations in logistics and distribution while maintaining high levels of quality, safety, employee morale, cost, and production at the forefront. You will work closely with the field operations teams to implement solutions, coach, and train the operations leadership team and associates. The CI Engineer will be the data resource of the team and will ensures data driven decisions are made.

As we launch new markets and experiment operationally, the CI Engineer ensures we continue to delight our customers and improve our unit economics by collecting, documenting, and instilling best practices across the company. This role will be focused on supporting the Operations team, serving as one of the key team members to launch, improve, and sustain our operational systems. You will be responsible for process design, project management, implementation, and data analysis to sustain your processes.

Additionally, this role will play an integral role in aiding in the expansion of our 3PL business vertical, allowing us to be a fulfillment partner to outside companies who look to leverage our operational and reporting capabilities to improve their supply chain operations and customer service. You will be responsible for helping build business processes to allow for future expansion of this critical business venture for the company.

Responsibilities: 

• Work with cross-functional teams to support the launch of new projects and initiatives across the country, with a specific focus on our West Coast fulfillment operations.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of our Production and Delivery Operations.
• Responsible for supporting the team that manages the start-up, validation, and sustainment of our existing and incoming software and systems.
• Recommend processes, procedures, and modifications to improve production efficiencies, manufacturing techniques and production yields for existing products.
• Determine appropriate skills necessary for equipment/process operability and establishing training requirements.
• Develop and coaches current CI Engineers, developing a deep bench of lean-focused teammates.
• Analyze data, use of basic statistical tools, and use value stream mapping to gain a deeper understanding of processes and identify strategic improvement opportunities.
• Employ a working knowledge of standard-work to ensure every work activity is properly defined, displayed (point-of-use) and accurately followed by every person to enable safety adherence, consistent quality and productivity being achieved.
• Use basic Lean Principles to develop process improvement initiatives.
• Manage a portfolio of lean projects directed at reducing waste and improving quality to provide greater valve; implements such tools as: 5S, KPI, SMED, VSM, and Kaizen.
• Implement such tools as: SPC, Process Capability, Pareto analysis, Fishbone, SMED.
• Create documentation for training materials such as checklists, standard work, and standard operating procedures.
• Communicate plans and other agreements to stakeholders for alignment while listening to feedback and making modifications if appropriate.
• Be a “leader of change”. Practice “Servant Leadership”. This person must be comfortable working with all levels within the organization. They must be able to question the status quo and be a strong communicator.
• Strong analytical, planning, organizational, and time management skills.
• Must maintain satisfactory attendance, to include timeliness and onsite presence at our Fulfillment Centers.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Five-to-seven years of hands-on experience in a manufacturing, warehouse and/or delivery operations environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, project management or equivalent experience.
• Working knowledge of lean manufacturing principles and practices.
• Minimum of a Yellow Belt Lean Six Sigma Certification is preferred, and capable of providing examples of the use of Lean tools.
• Ability to collaborate and work cross-functionally with a variety of teams including Operations, HR, Supply, Innovation, Customer Care, and Marketing.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, with little supervision and able to work in a changing environment with changing priorities.
• Demonstrated experience recognizing and identifying root causes for subtle differences in processes and data sets.
• Ability to Coach and to practice a very strong and disciplined Lean daily management approach at the point of value adding to enable a continual focus on process improvement to eliminate waste. This includes maintaining visual controls that track only the critical metrics, which tell you whether you are eliminating waste from your value-adding activities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• A self-starter attitude and an ability to attack problems with minimal direction.
• Strong Experience using Google Suite and Microsoft Office applications, and project management software such as Jira and Confluence.
• Skilled in the use of MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint at an Intermediate level.
• Skilled in learning new concepts quickly.

Details of Position & Benefits:

• Salary range: $85,000 - $90,000 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) 
• Annual Misfits grocery box credit of $1200 paid in weekly installments
• Life insurance
• Paid vacation time
• Paid holidays 
• Paid sick days
• Commuter benefits

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