[Remote] Senior Process Improvement Specialist, Cross Mile Continuous Improvement (XMCI)

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Amazon is seeking a Senior Process Improvement Specialist to join their Cross Mile Continuous Improvement (XMCI) team. This role involves driving network-wide projects and facilitating kaizen events to deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, people, and cost outcomes across NA Operations.

Responsibilities

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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

Skills

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

Benefits

• Sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs)
• 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
• Parental leave

Company Overview

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