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Lean manufacturing engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Maria Benavides Ph.D.,

Dr. David Grewell Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical lean manufacturing engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for lean manufacturing engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.6% of lean manufacturing engineer resumes contained lean manufacturing as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a lean manufacturing engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 lean manufacturing engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Lean Manufacturing

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use lean manufacturing:

Provided coaching and guidance to assembly process supervisors during the implementation of Theory of Constraints, Lean Manufacturing/Six-Sigma philosophy.
Analyzed and assessed current operational condition, defined objectives and oversaw the implementation of lean manufacturing projects and tools.

2. Kaizen Events

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use kaizen events:

Participated directly and indirectly in all KAIZEN events.
Facilitate several Kaizen events and continuous improvement projects that help increase capacity by 15% in manufacturing department.

3. Process Improvement

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use process improvement:

Led process improvement teams to identify and implement back office system improvements.
Assisted Subject matter experts & Lean practitioner in facilitating process improvement workshops.

4. Sigma

In Greek alphabets, sigma is the 18th letter that means "to sum up". In statistics, the lower case symbol of sigma is the unit of measurement for standard deviation which is used to assess the variability in a given set of data. While the upper case symbol is for summation notation means to add up all the given numbers in the data set.

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use sigma:

Promoted Six Sigma within organization on increasing certification base and leveraged our team for upcoming project proposals on a monthly basis
Provided coaching and guidance to assembly process supervisors during the implementation of Lean-Six Sigma.

5. Kanban

Kanban is a technique for managing, supervising, and improving administrations to make work profitable. The entire premise is to make work more and more efficient. Ironing flaws out, and managing what works, and improving on it. Change is applied in small increments to avoid a shock in the system.

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use kanban:

Supported implementation infrastructure of Kanban system to the production floor.
Reduced raw material inventory by $1.5 million in 6 months time, using visual controls / kanban.

6. PDCA

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use pdca:

Led Root Cause Problem Solving (Fishbone, 5-Why, PDCA, FMEA, and SWOT) analysis.
Utilize Brainstorming, Waste reduction, SMED, 5S and PDCA philosophies to continuously improve.

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7. Lean Six Sigma

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use lean six sigma:

Implement manufacturing process improvement and Lean Six Sigma program.
Coached employees in Lean Six Sigma certification process and daily improvement opportunities.

8. Lean Principles

Lean Principles refer to the thought process engineers use to eliminate waste -- whether that is a waste of product, time, or money -- in manufacturing. The process considers the value of the product, how the product is manufactured, the time used in manufacturing, and how any scrap is processed. These principles, however, can also be used outside of manufacturing operations; they can also be utilized to further team productivity, client interaction, and other job procedures.

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use lean principles:

Demonstrated superior leadership and presentation skills using lean principles.
Trained on-site lean coordinators and team members on lean principles across 7 manufacturing plants in USA and Mexico.

9. Takt

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use takt:

Assisted in studying sub-assemblies of product families to reduce takt time.
Developed work content with takt times (TT).

10. FMEA

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use fmea:

Use FMEA and Risk Based approached for identifying the root cause of possible failure.
Lead quality improvement projects focused on product failures and process problems using Fishbone Diagrams, Failure Mode Matrix, and FMEA.

11. Value Stream Maps

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use value stream maps:

Lead process to develop Value Stream Maps for Plant level and manufacturing departments; Molding, Punch Press, Welding Auto.
Raised Plant Value Stream Mapping score by 200% via development of 10 current and future state value stream maps.

12. Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of improvement of products, services, and processes with the help of innovative ideas. It is an organized approach that helps an organization to find its weaknesses and improve them.

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use continuous improvement:

Researched, recommended and implemented improved production systems and procedures to improve labor and machine utilization through a continuous improvement philosophy.
Determined labor productivity, rework, raw material inventory and overtime to identify and implement Continuous improvement opportunities.

13. Shop Floor

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use shop floor:

Supported production shop floor for 5S activities, reduce change over with single minute die exchange process.
Deployed the 5S methodology across the plant from the offices to the shop floor.

14. Toyota

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use toyota:

Implement and teach TPS (Toyota Production System) principles.
Transferred the first Toyota Remote Keyless Entry Door Handle assembly line to the United States from Japan.

15. Lean Tools

Here's how lean manufacturing engineers use lean tools:

Developed the incident investigation policy to meet corporate safety practices using Lean tools.
Provided ongoing training and guidance to colleagues and management on Lean tools and techniques.

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What skills help Lean Manufacturing Engineers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on lean manufacturing engineer resumes?

Dr. Maria Benavides Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Chemistry Program Coordinator, Assistant Chair, University of Houston - Downtown

Apart from a good foundation in the chemistry discipline, skills that will stand out on resumes include: experience in various analytical techniques, excellent communication skills both verbally and in writing, ability to work collaboratively (team player), and the ability to think critically to find solutions to problems (problem solving). Another valuable skill nowadays would be to be competent in the use of technology for communication purposes (Zoom, etc.).

What soft skills should all lean manufacturing engineers possess?

Dr. David Grewell Ph.D.

Department Chair and Professor, North Dakota State University

Communication, problem-solving abilities, leadership, and organizational skills are all key in allowing IE's to be successful in the workplace and to build teams that can collaborate and adapt to unexpected changes, challenges, and setbacks in the workplace. These skills also help them to leverage the resources to solve problems quickly with low costs allowing them to move on to the next challenge facing the world today in today's complex economy, in particular when facing a pandemic.

What hard/technical skills are most important for lean manufacturing engineers?

Dr. David Grewell Ph.D.

Department Chair and Professor, North Dakota State University

An IE must be able to break down complex problems into manageable issues and provide solutions for these problems that face the world in today's complex interconnected systems. A background in statistics, design and analysis, process management, and a strong foundation in the engineering disciplines make this possible.

What lean manufacturing engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Kamran Abedini

Professor and Chairman, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

First of all, I do not recommend a gap year or any interruptions in education as it could require additional warm-up and setup for starting it again in the future. However, if they "need" to do so, I recommend they at least take one course so that they understand the trend and the expectations of students in an educational environment. For example, in the last couple of semesters, both faculty and students have learned and experienced new methods of virtual learning and assessment. If you just plan on coming to school after a few semesters, you would be highly surprised by the changes, taking you much time to prepare, and it would cause falling behind your coursework.

What type of skills will young lean manufacturing engineers need?

Diran Apelian

Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Director Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC), University of California

Talent will be the most in-demand asset in the 21st century. It is not about capitalism or socialism - the 21st century is all about "talentism".

Those graduates who will succeed and lead will have:
an understanding of the human dimension;
the ability to harvest the data revolution;
skills in line with the Industry 4.0 pathways; and
commercial and business acumen.

What technical skills for a lean manufacturing engineer stand out to employers?

Tracy Farrell

Adjunct Instructor, Clarkson University

Technical skills that employers are seeking include "real" computer skills like Microsoft Office Suite tools, proper communication skills via email and website development and postings, developing proper document format that is appropriate to send to stakeholders (i.e., letter formatting, report writing, email formatting); strong communication skills that include speaking professionally and respectfully to stakeholders as well as writing professionally (i.e., making eye contact when speaking, proper handshake, respectful dialogue including questioning); project management - knowing how to organize work and develop a timeline that includes who will be responsible for what and follow through; data analysis - being able to not only present data in an organized and understandable manner; but, be able to interpret data correctly offering the justification behind what they are interpreting and why.

Respectfully, today's graduates do not understand that being able to text and use social media does not prepare them for "real" computer skills. Many students that I have in high school and in college do not have proper writing skills, document formatting skills, or document management skills to know how to save documents properly and where to save to.

Do you want to know more?

List of lean manufacturing engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a lean manufacturing engineer resume and required skills for a lean manufacturing engineer to have include:

Lean Manufacturing
Kaizen Events
Process Improvement
Sigma
Kanban
PDCA
Lean Six Sigma
Lean Principles
Takt
FMEA
Value Stream Maps
Continuous Improvement
Shop Floor
Toyota
Lean Tools
Material Flow
Piece Flow

Lean Concepts
CAD
Cost Reduction
DMAIC
Lean Culture
Cost Savings
Visual Management
MDI
Plant Layout
ISO
A3
Assembly Line
OEE
Process Flow
TPM
On-Time Delivery
Toyota Production System

Capital Equipment
TPS
Business Processes
Production Systems
Quality Issues
Assembly Cells
Solidworks
JIT
Production Floor
Continuous Flow
SPC
WIP
Product Quality
ERP
CNC

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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