Open to opportunities

Steven Sampson

@stevensampson

Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement engineer integrating AI to cut cycle times and deliver finance-verified operational excellence.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking for an environment where process improvement is the actual job—not a side project. I want to keep cutting cycle time with Lean Six Sigma and AI-assisted workflows, backed by Finance-verified results.

I find what’s broken, build the fix, and document it so it doesn’t come back. I bring nearly two decades of Lean Six Sigma experience across manufacturing, defense, and aerospace—focused on Finance-vetted results, not estimated ones.

In my current role at Carlisle, I serve as plant Lean / COS lead, advancing the facility through Carlisle Operating System certification and currently driving Bronze certification across full plant scope. I built Copilot Studio agents that read SharePoint data, scan handwritten audits into trend reports, and support 5C problem solving—cutting analysis cycles from 20+ hours to roughly 3.

Earlier, at L3Harris, I led 50+ improvement projects tied to Operational Excellence income targets, including $3.5M verified kaizen benefit and $340K COPQ cost avoidance. I also redesigned hiring processes using Value Stream Analysis (33% cycle time reduction, new-hire readiness from 0% to 90%), trained 2,000+ employees across organizations, and coached 10+ Green Belt and Black Belt candidates through certification.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Continuous Improvement Engineer II

Current

Carlisle Ccm

Jan 2025 - Present (1 year 5 months)

Served as plant Lean/COS lead, advancing the facility through Carlisle Operating System certification to Phase 3 and currently driving Bronze across full plant scope. Built Copilot Studio AI agents and an analysis workflow that cuts repeated 5C audit/trend analysis from 20+ hours to ~3, and delivers KPI/SQDC dashboards for leadership decisions.

Lean Six Sigma Carlisle Operating System (COS)CoPilot Studio Root Cause Analysis

Current

AI Coach & Business Owner

Current

Intellect Ai Coach

Jan 2023 - Present (3 years 5 months)

Provide AI-assisted workflow integration for CI and operations professionals, building repeatable tools that are adopted by active clients. Work with skeptical stakeholders to deliver practical workflows clients can use immediately.

Automation Enablement Build Tools Client Consulting Change Adoption Support

Operational Excellence Specialist

L3Harris Corp

Jan 2016 - Jan 2023 (7 years)

Supported $29M Operational Excellence income targets by identifying and vetting improvement sources through Finance before committing targets. Led 50+ improvement projects and built Power BI CI reporting from scratch, including a cross-functional HR process redesign that reduced cycle time 33% (0% to 90% new-hire ready-to-work).

Operational Excellence Power BI Change Management HR Processes

Continuous Improvement Facilitator

Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corp

Jan 2007 - Jan 2016 (9 years)

Facilitated cross-functional improvement projects within the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program under DOE, DOT, OSHA, EPA, and Navy regulatory requirements, using Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 5S, and Root Cause Analysis. Trained 1,200+ employees in Lean and Six Sigma and led an ER upgrade serving 1,200 employees at the Idaho Falls facility.

Value Streams Root Cause Analysis Training Facilitation Lean Six Sigma Program Based CI Stakeholder Engagement

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Brigham Young University

Bachelor of Science, Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Earned a B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering Technology with a minor in Business. Completed additional coursework including finance, Scrum, SMED, TPM, 5S, Toyota Kata, and value stream mapping.