Process Engineer III, Operational Excellence
Harris Health System is the public healthcare safety-net provider established in 1966 to serve the residents of Harris County, Texas. As an essential healthcare system, Harris Health champions better health for the entire community, with a focus on low-income uninsured and underinsured patients, through acute and primary care, wellness, disease management and population health services. Ben Taub Hospital (Level 1 Trauma Center) and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital (Level 3 Trauma Center) anchor Harris Health's robust network of 39 clinics, health centers, specialty locations and virtual (telemedicine) technology. Harris Health is among an elite list of health systems in the U.S. achieving Magnet® nursing excellence designation for its hospitals, the prestigious National Committee for Quality Assurance designation for its patient-centered clinics and health centers and its strong partnership with nationally recognized physician faculty, residents and researchers from Baylor College of Medicine; McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth); The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine at the University of Houston.
Job Summary
The Process Engineer III drives system-wide operational improvements across inpatient, ambulatory, and support services by applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies and discrete event simulation. This role collaborates with clinicians, administrators, and IT to map value streams, quantify baselines, and design data-driven interventions. The engineer builds and validates simulation models of patient flow, capacity, staffing, and scheduling to test scenarios and forecast impacts on throughput, wait times, length of stay, utilization, and cost. DMAIC and Kaizen projects are managed from problem framing through control, with emphasis on standard work, error-proofing, and statistical process control. Analytics are translated into practical workflows, training, and adoption plans, and business cases, KPIs, and dashboards are developed to sustain gains. The engineer delivers measurable outcomes such as reduced emergency department boarding, optimized operating room block allocation, improved bed management, and higher first-time-right rates. The role mentors' teams to strengthen a continuous improvement culture and maintains model repositories and control plans to ensure compliance with quality and regulatory standards.
Minimum Qualifications
Degrees:
- Bachelors: Industrial and Systems Engineering, Business, Healthcare Administration
- Masters: Industrial and Systems Engineering, Business, Healthcare Administration (Preferred)
Licenses & Certification:
- Project Management Professional: required within 2 years of hire.
- Certified ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt: American Society for Quality required within 2 years of hire.
- Certified ASQ Six Sigma Green Belt: American Society for Quality.
Work Experience:
- Eight (8) years of experience: Required areas of expertise include Lean Six Sigma methodologies, discrete event simulation, and healthcare operations improvement. Proficiency in value stream mapping, statistical process control, and simulation modeling of patient flow, capacity, and scheduling is essential. Experience collaborating with clinical and administrative teams to design, implement, and sustain data-driven interventions is required.
Communication Skills:
- Above average Verbal Communication (Heavy Public Contact)
- Exceptional Verbal (Public Speaking)
- Writing/ Correspondence
- Writing/ Reports
Job Attributes
Knowledge/ Skills/ Abilities Analytical:
- Analytical
- Design
- Mathematics
- Research
- Statistical
Work Schedule:
- Telecommute