Continuous Improvement Lead - 1st Shift

Overview

At PepsiCo, you’ll discover a place where our mission is to create smiles around the world. With a portfolio of more than 500 beloved brands including, Gatorade, Lay’s and Quaker, our work touches millions of people every day.

At the heart of the company is a team of thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers who collaborate to innovate and turn ideas into action. Driven by innovation and a focus on creating joyful moments through food and drinks, our decisions are guided by consumer centricity, creating opportunities for our associates to do meaningful work and make a lasting impact in the communities we serve.

The Continuous Improvement Lead (Run-to-Target / RTT) is a key operational leader responsible for making RTT a core way of working across plant operations. RTT is PepsiCo’s continuous improvement system that blends coaching, standard work, and loss elimination to drive sustainable performance. In this role, you will own the deployment, sustainment, and evolution of RTT—ensuring it is fully embedded into the Integrated Work System (IWS), frontline routines, and leadership behaviors.

This is a high‑visibility, high‑impact role that strengthens operational capability, builds accountability, and shapes plant culture. The RTT Lead partners closely with the Plant Director, plant leadership teams, Pod RTT Lead, and frontline teams to deliver today’s results while building tomorrow’s capability. This role is also a strong development feeder for future Plant Director opportunities.

Responsibilities

Working hours: 06:30 AM start (1st shift)Working days: Monday – FridayFlexibility: Occasional flexibility based on business needs

RTT Deployment & Sustainment

• Lead the end‑to‑end deployment, expansion, and ongoing sustainment of RTT across the plant
• Embed RTT into daily, weekly, and monthly operating routines (Line Structure Teams, Shift DDS, Plant DDS)
• Maintain RTT processes within the IWS framework to ensure rigor, consistency, and effectiveness

Operational Excellence & Accountability

• Partner with the Plant Director to drive disciplined execution of RTT processes
• Establish clear ownership for RTT behaviors and outcomes across leadership and frontline teams
• Identify execution gaps and coach teams to close performance and capability gaps

Capability Building & Coaching

• Build RTT capability across frontline team members, team leaders, and plant leadership
• Coach teams to use data, standards, and structured problem‑solving to eliminate losses
• Ensure frontline voices are activated through structured forums and routines

Culture & Ways of Working

• Model and reinforce a culture of continuous improvement, ownership, and transparency
• Establish and sustain “one best way” RTT execution within the plant
• Partner with the Pod RTT Lead to ensure alignment across the pod and national network

Program Evolution & Enterprise Alignment

• Lead ongoing refinement of RTT to improve effectiveness, simplicity, and scalability
• Share learnings and best practices across plants
• Support enterprise efforts to standardize RTT nationally

Compensation and Benefits

• The expected compensation range for this position is between $73,400 - $122,850.
• Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process.
• Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 8% of annual salary paid out annually.
• Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement.
• In addition to salary, PepsiCo offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.

Qualifications

Required

• Experience in a manufacturing or production environment
• Strong understanding of safety, quality, and operational standards
• Ability to lead and influence without formal authority
• Strong communication, organization, and problem‑solving skills
• Willingness to take accountability for shift or line performance
• Experience as a lead operator, team lead, or similar frontline leadership role
• Experience with daily management systems (DDS, tier meetings, etc.)
• Knowledge of continuous improvement, IWS, or Lean concepts
• Demonstrated coaching ability and skill in giving actionable feedback

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• Experience in manufacturing, operations, process improvement, or operational excellence
• Strong understanding of production processes and performance metrics
• Experience in beverage, food, or CPG manufacturing
• Bottling, canning, or BIB line experience
• Technical or engineering background
• Indefinite right to work in the U.S. and a valid driver’s license

Leadership & People Skills

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to drive change
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Skilled in coaching, facilitation, and team‑based decision making
• Ability to give and receive constructive feedback that leads to measurable improvement

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Our Company will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable laws, including but not limited to, San Francisco Police Code Sections 4901-4919, commonly referred to as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance; and Chapter XVII, Article 9 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, commonly referred to as the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.

PepsiCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Female / Minority / Disability / Protected Veteran / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity / Age

If you'd like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please download the available EEO is the Law & EEO is the Law Supplement documents. View PepsiCo EEO Policy.

Please view our Pay Transparency Statement