Design Continuous Improvement Leader

The Design Continuous Improvement Leader will lead the Design Continuous Improvement function for Performance Coatings Group (PCG), integrating Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), continuous improvement, business process design, data analytics, and strategic customer problem solving.

The Design Continuous Improvement Leader will build a scalable, business-unit-focused operating model that applies customer-critical requirements, disciplined experimentation, statistical methods, digital tools, and structured governance to improve product-development speed, robustness, quality performance, and profitable growth. This requires partnering across R&D, Quality, Operations, Sales, Technical Service, Procurement, Legal, regional teams, and customers to convert business needs into measurable improvement priorities and sustainable standard work.

Job duties include contact with other employees and access to confidential and proprietary information and/or other items of value, and such access may be supervised or unsupervised. The Company therefore has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and is necessary to protect the safety of the Company’s staff, employees, and business relationships.

This role is not remote/hybrid. This role will report to Sherwin-Williams Morikis Global Technology Center located at 6745 Miller Road, Brecksville, OH 44141.

10% Travel

• Develop and execute the PCG Design Continuous Improvement strategy, roadmap, governance cadence, portfolio priorities, and measures aligned with business and customer needs.
• Lead the global DFSS program, including Champion training, Yellow/Green/Black Belt curricula, candidate mentoring, certification governance, refresher content, and regional capability expansion.
• Institutionalize design quality practices in product development, including voice of customer, critical-to-quality translation, House of Quality, measurement-system analysis, design of experiments, FMEA, statistical modeling, and robust design.
• Partner with business units to identify high-value opportunities and allocate resources to initiatives with the strongest customer, quality, growth, risk, speed, or financial impact.
• Lead strategic customer and product-quality improvement efforts using DMAIC, accelerated root cause, Lean, Kaizen, value-stream mapping, advanced analytics, and structured experimentation.
• Advance data and analytics solutions using approved citizen-data-science and workflow tools such as Dataiku, Power Automate, SharePoint, Business Objects, and related platforms.
• Drive measurable improvement in complaint resolution and complaint-rate processes, design-program adoption, FMAP maturity, toller governance, and applicable quality standards.
• Provide oversight and partnership for GBMS, ISO 9001 activities, management review, calibration governance, and related R&D quality-system programs, as assigned.
• Establish transparent dashboards and operating reviews for project count, validated savings, opportunity cost, schedule, adoption, compliance, customer outcomes, capability development, and key risks.
• Build an engaged, high-performing team through talent planning, objective setting, quarterly development conversations, recognition, job shadowing, coaching, succession planning, and cross-functional exposure.
• Communicate effectively with senior leaders, business partners, regional teams, and customers; escalate material risks early and recommend practical corrective actions.
• Promote a strong safety culture and comply with all applicable Company policies, quality requirements, and ethical standards.

Minimum Requirements
• Must be legally authorized to work in the country for which you are applying for employment (without now or in the future needing sponsorship for employment work visa and/or permanent residence status)
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, technology, operations, quality, or a related field.
• 8 years of leadership experience in R&D, Quality, Operations, product development, or continuous improvement, including responsibility for complex cross-functional and multi-site initiatives. 
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering technical training, mentoring certification candidates, managing improvement portfolios, and coaching leaders and project teams. 
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving capability, including DOE, MSA, FMEA, statistical modeling, data visualization, and appropriate statistical software. 
• Executive-level communication, facilitation, change leadership, project/program management, and stakeholder-influence skills. 
• Experience working across regions or global teams and willingness to travel as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications
• Advanced degree
• 10 years of leadership experience in R&D, Quality, Operations, product development, or continuous improvement, including responsibility for complex cross-functional and multi-site initiatives.
• Black Belt certification or equivalent mastery of DFSS, DMAIC, Lean, advanced statistics, and structured problem solving required and Master Black Belt certification

Successful candidate will be required to sign an Employee Restrictive Covenant Agreement where permitted by law.