Position Summary:
The Quality Manager is responsible for ensuring the highest standards of product quality and operational excellence in an injection/reaction injection molding facility. This role supports the development, implementation, and maintenance of a robust quality management system, as well as leading a team of quality professionals to drive continuous improvement and adherence to industry standards. This role’s leadership is essential in enhancing product quality, reducing defects, and optimizing processes, ultimately contributing to the company’s reputation and customer satisfaction.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Quality Assurance and Control: Oversee quality control processes, including inspection, testing, and monitoring to ensure products meet specified quality and safety standards.
- Continuous Improvement: Partner with Global Quality Team(s) to lead efforts to identify, analyze, and address quality issues, implementing corrective and preventive actions to drive ongoing improvement.
- Quality Team Leadership: Recruit, train, and manage a team of quality professionals, providing guidance and support to ensure departmental goals and objectives are met.
- Quality Metrics and Reporting: Establish and maintain quality performance metrics, generating regular reports for management review and decision-making (PPM, Scrap, COQ, Systems Compliance, etc)
- Supplier Quality Management: Collaborate with suppliers to ensure incoming materials and components meet quality standards and drive supplier performance improvement initiatives.
- Regulatory Compliance: Stay current with industry regulations, standards, and certifications, ensuring the manufacturing plant is in compliance with all relevant requirements. IATF 16949, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001etc.
- Quality Management System Development: Collaborate with Global Quality Team(s) to develop, implement, and maintain an effective quality management system in compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
- Root Cause Analysis: Utilize root cause analysis techniques to investigate and resolve quality issues, preventing their recurrence.
- Customer Focus: Maintain a strong customer focus by monitoring customer feedback, addressing complaints, and implementing strategies to enhance customer satisfaction.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with other departments, such as production, engineering, and logistics, to align quality goals and drive process improvements.
- Audits and Inspections: Coordinate and participate in internal and external audits, working to resolve any findings and ensuring a culture of quality and compliance.
- Leads or participates on APQP teams as appointed. Prepares and presents technical and program information to team members and management and ensures compliance.
- Oversees all phases of inspection including first Article Inspection, PPAP, and receiving and in-process inspection.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
This is an individual contributor role with support for the other operations leaders and team members as well as the Corporate Quality team
Required Qualifications:
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, quality management, or a related field. A master’s degree is a plus.
- Proven experience in quality management within a manufacturing environment, with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.
- In-depth knowledge of quality management systems, methodologies, and tools, including Six Sigma, Lean, and statistical process control.
- Strong leadership and team management skills, with a track record of developing and leading high-performing quality teams.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical abilities, with a focus on root cause analysis and continuous improvement.
- Knowledge of relevant industry standards and regulations (e.g., IATF 16949, ISO 9001, PPAP, APQP, etc.).
- Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, to interact with cross-functional teams and customers.
- Strong project management skills and the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
- Detail-oriented with a commitment to delivering the highest levels of product quality.
- Certification in quality management (e.g., ASQ Certified Quality Manager, Six Sigma Black Belt) is a significant advantage.