Senior Process Improvement Specialist

Description

The Global Standards & Customer Excellence (GSCE) organization is seeking a Senior Process Improvement Specialist to drive network-wide projects and innovate new processes at scale to join our Cross Mile Continuous Improvement (XMCI) team.

The XMCI team is looking for a Senior Process Improvement Specialist who will serve as the execution engine of our network's continuous improvement pipeline — leading and facilitating kaizen events that deliver measurable, sustained results across NA Operations. Working from kaizen-ready charters developed by the XMCI scoping team, this role is responsible for planning, facilitating, and driving cross-functional kaizen events to successful completion — guiding diverse teams of stakeholders through structured problem-solving to implement solutions that improve safety, quality, people, and cost outcomes.

This role operates across multiple miles and business units within Amazon Stores, providing broad exposure to senior leadership up to the VP level and a unique vantage point into how Amazon's end-to-end logistics network operates.

This is a high-visibility, high-influence role that requires exceptional stakeholder management. You will lead kaizen events where the participants don't report to you — site General Managers, Operations Managers, Area Managers, process engineers, frontline associates, and support function leaders will all be in the room, and you will be the person responsible for aligning them around the problem, guiding them through root cause analysis and solution development, navigating competing priorities and perspectives, and driving the team to actionable outcomes within the event timeframe.

Your ability to build trust quickly, manage group dynamics, facilitate productive conflict, and hold teams accountable to the process will be the difference between a kaizen that delivers lasting change and one that produces a report that sits on a shelf. You will need to earn credibility with site leadership before, during, and after every event — demonstrating deep operational acumen, methodological rigor, and genuine respect for the expertise that local teams bring to the table.

Beyond facilitation, you will own the end-to-end event lifecycle — from pre-event planning through post-event follow-up and sustainment handoff. You will partner upstream with the XMCI scoping team to review charters, validate readiness, and ensure you have the right team composition and stakeholder alignment before an event begins. You will lead the event itself — structuring the agenda, teaching and applying Lean tools and methodologies, guiding the team of multi-business unit leaders up to the VP level through current state validation, root cause analysis, solution development, and implementation planning. And you will own the post-event close-out — documenting results, developing sustainment plans with site leadership, and handing off validated outcomes to the XMCI analytics team for financial validation and entitlement tracking.

In this role, you will also provide regular reporting on event execution, results, and sustainment status to XMCI leadership and network stakeholders.
Throughout all of this, you will serve as a brand ambassador for XMCI and a champion of Amazon's culture of Lean Excellence — modeling what world-class facilitation looks like, building local CI capability through every event you lead, and empowering site leadership to own and sustain the improvements long after the event is complete.

The right candidate is an experienced kaizen facilitator who thrives in front of a room, builds trust quickly across all levels of an organization, and is energized by the challenge of guiding diverse teams to breakthrough results in compressed timeframes.

This role will require travel up to 50% of the time.

Key job responsibilities
Event Planning & Stakeholder Alignment
• Partner with the XMCI scoping team to review kaizen-ready charters, validate event readiness, and ensure the problem statement, scope, baseline metrics, and business case are sound before committing to execution
• Lead pre-event stakeholder engagement — aligning site leadership, process owners, and functional partners on event objectives, expectations, roles, and commitments well in advance of the event
• Develop detailed event plans including agenda design, Lean tool selection, data requirements, logistics, and pre-work assignments tailored to the specific problem and site context
• Assemble and confirm the right cross-functional team composition for each event — ensuring the right mix of decision-makers, subject matter experts, process owners, and frontline associates are in the room
• Build trust and credibility with site leadership ahead of each event — demonstrating respect for local expertise, understanding of site-specific context, and clarity on what the event will and will not accomplish
• Manage stakeholder expectations across multiple levels — from frontline participants to site GMs to senior leaders up to the VP level — ensuring alignment on objectives, timeline, and anticipated outcomes
Kaizen Event Facilitation & Execution
• Lead and facilitate kaizen events across multiple miles and business units within Amazon Stores — guiding cross-functional teams through structured problem-solving methodologies to deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, people, and cost
• Structure and manage the event agenda — teaching and applying the appropriate Lean tools and methodologies (value stream mapping, root cause analysis, 5 Why, fishbone diagrams, standard work, process flow analysis, waste walks, spaghetti diagrams, PDCA, and others) based on the nature of the problem
• Guide teams through current state validation — leveraging the baseline data and root cause hypotheses from the charter while encouraging the team to verify and build on those findings through direct observation and analysis during the event
• Facilitate productive dialogue, healthy conflict, and consensus-building among diverse stakeholders with competing priorities and perspectives — navigating group dynamics with confidence, empathy, and methodological discipline
• Drive the team from problem understanding through solution development and implementation planning within the event timeframe — maintaining pace, focus, and energy while ensuring rigor is not sacrificed for speed
• Lead the development of actionable implementation plans with clear owners, timelines, and success metrics — ensuring solutions are practical, sustainable, and owned by the people who will live with them after the event
• Manage real-time event risks — adjusting scope, approach, or team dynamics as needed to keep the event on track and productive
• Ensure all events are executed in alignment with XMCI methodology standards and reflect Amazon's commitment to Lean Excellence
Post-Event Close-Out & Sustainment
• Own the post-event close-out process — documenting event results, solutions implemented, projected financial and operational impact, and open action items in a clear, standardized format
• Develop comprehensive sustainment plans in partnership with site leadership — defining who owns each improvement, how it will be monitored, what metrics will be tracked, and what triggers should prompt escalation if results begin to erode
• Facilitate event report-outs to site leadership, XMCI leadership, and senior stakeholders — clearly communicating what was accomplished, what the projected impact is, and what is needed to sustain the results
• Hand off validated event results and documentation to the XMCI analytics team for financial validation and entitlement tracking — ensuring clean, complete, and Finance-ready data
• Conduct post-event follow-ups at defined intervals (30/60/90 days) to verify sustainment, support site leadership in maintaining momentum, and identify any corrective actions needed
• Provide regular reporting to XMCI leadership and network stakeholders on event execution status, results delivered, sustainment health, and lessons learned
Stakeholder Management & Relationship Building
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with site General Managers, Operations Managers, Area Managers, and functional leaders across multiple miles and business units within NA Operations — earning the credibility needed to lead effective events in environments where you have no direct authority
• Influence without authority at every level — from frontline associates to VPs — navigating the matrixed, cross-business unit environment with sound judgment, empathy, and a bias for action
• Serve as a communications consultant and brand ambassador for XMCI — ensuring every event and stakeholder interaction reinforces the team's reputation for world-class facilitation, operational rigor, and genuine partnership
• Manage the delicate balance between driving results during the event and respecting the operational realities and constraints of the host site — earning repeat invitations by being the kind of facilitator that site leadership wants to work with again
• Build local CI capability through every event — teaching participants the tools and thinking, not just leading them through the motions, so that site teams are more capable of driving improvement on their own after the event
• Gather and incorporate stakeholder feedback after every event to continuously improve the facilitation experience and strengthen the XMCI brand
Methodology, Standards & Continuous Improvement
• Develop and continuously refine standardized facilitation guides, event templates, tools, and playbooks that ensure consistency and quality across all XMCI kaizen events regardless of site, mile, or business unit
• Contribute to the evolution of XMCI's continuous improvement operating system — providing field-level insights from event execution that inform how charters are scoped, how events are designed, and how sustainment is structured
• Partner with the XMCI scoping team to provide feedback on charter quality — creating a feedback loop that strengthens both the scoping and facilitation functions over time
• Partner with the XMCI analytics team to ensure event documentation and results capture are structured for clean financial validation and entitlement tracking from the outset
• Stay current on industry best practices in Lean, Six Sigma, facilitation, and change management — bringing outside-in thinking to Amazon's CI ecosystem and continuously raising the bar on what world-class kaizen facilitation looks like
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement that empowers local leadership to own and sustain results — reinforcing XMCI's dual focus on operational optimization and building a common Amazon CI culture


A day in the life
- Act as a strategic advisor to process improvement managers and field operators, providing guidance on developing and executing effective network-level program expansion, or process changes.
- Develop and maintain schedules, ensuring timely and proactive dissemination of curriculum to stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.


About the team
The XMCI team's mission is to be the standard for world-class continuous improvement for global logistics to support Amazon's goal of becoming Earth's Best Employer. We work backwards from customer needs to develop mechanisms, technology, and content to deliver the right training at the right time. These training solutions prepare our learners to be successful in driving safety, quality, people and cost metrics within our business.

Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree or above in engineering, project management, operations, logistics, supply chain or related field
- Experience in lean or six sigma methodologies for operational, process, and performance improvement projects including process mapping and process re-design
- Experience with process improvement, Kaizan, and Six Sigma, or experience as a lean sensei
- Six Sigma Green Belt, or 1+ years of managing department spend and labor budgets, performing root cause analysis (RCA), and implementing continuous improvement (CI) experience
- Experience working cross functionally across several teams
- Experience in stakeholder management, dealing with multiple stakeholders at varied levels of the organization
- Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing tools such as: 5S 5Y FMEA PDCA Value Stream Mapping DMAIC Run Charts Pareto Analysis
- Travel up to 50% of the time
- Strong written and verbal communication skills — ability to facilitate large group sessions, lead executive report-outs, and document results clearly

Preferred Qualifications

- Lean-Six Sigma Black Belt certification
- Master's degree in Engineering (Industrial or Mechanical), Operations Research, or related fields

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.