Supplier & Customer Quality Engineer

The position may require standing, walking, sitting, reaching, handling, use of hands and fingers, speaking, hearing, and visual inspection activities. The employee may occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull items associated with normal office, laboratory, production, and supplier-site activities. Work may occur in office and manufacturing environments with exposure to noise, moving mechanical equipment, varying temperatures, fumes, dust, vibration, and other industrial conditions. Required personal protective equipment and site safety requirements must be followed. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

This position description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Responsibilities may be modified to meet business, customer, regulatory, or organizational needs.

This position description supports consistent role expectations across the organization, identifies the education, training, skills, and experience required, and defines the competencies needed for personnel whose work affects product and supplier quality.

The Quality Engineer / Supplier Quality Engineer develops and maintains quality documentation and systems, supports launch and manufacturing quality, and works with suppliers and customers to resolve product, process, and system issues. The role leads containment and corrective action, facilitates continuous improvement, reviews supplier and customer PPAP requirements, monitors supplier performance, and helps ensure compliance with ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AIAG Core Tools, and applicable customer-specific requirements.

• Develop, maintain, and control APQP and Product Realization documentation, including FMEA, control plans, MSA, SPC, PPAP, inspection instructions, and gage instructions.
• Maintain quality records in accordance with document-control and retrievability requirements.
• Participate in the development and maintenance of formal quality management systems, including ISO 9001 and IATF 16949.
• Lead or facilitate structured problem solving using tools such as 5 Why, 8D, Ishikawa diagrams, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action verification.
• Drive continuous improvement and share quality-system and process best practices.
• Interface with customer, supplier, engineering, program, and manufacturing personnel to resolve quality concerns.
• Identify and train a qualified backup for key responsibilities and support onboarding, coaching, and development of team members as assigned.
• Perform additional duties as directed by the leader.

• Plan, support, and implement launch-quality activities to achieve zero safe-launch findings before and after start of production.
• Ensure appropriate inspection and containment plans are established for the process value stream and confirm product quality through applicable phase-exit requirements.
• Develop and control APQP documents through PPAP approval for new launches and customer-initiated product changes.
• Interpret customer-specific requirements and communicate requirements to internal teams and external providers.
• Participate in DFM, process-plan, tolerance-assessment, GD&T, KDC, measurement-plan, and fixture-drawing reviews as required.
• Support gage procurement, including quoting, design review and approval, customer approval, supplier gage-design approval, and related PPAP review.

• Respond to production quality concerns involving manufactured products, purchased components, raw material, assembled components, and subcontracted processes.
• Ensure compliance with process control plans and facilitate product and process change notifications in accordance with AIAG and customer-specific requirements.
• Lead containment and interim countermeasures, investigate root cause, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Design, specify, and implement quality-control sampling systems, testing methods, inspection methods, and equipment.
• Train operators and other personnel on control plans, inspection methods, gage instructions, and applicable quality procedures.
• Analyze and interpret GD&T data and support confirmation of process and product capability.

• Serve as the primary plant liaison for supplier and external-provider quality issues and coordinate activities with launch and manufacturing quality teams.
• Lead supplier containment, returns, corrective actions, chargebacks, verification activities, and escalation as required.
• Review and approve supplier PPAP submissions for program launches, engineering changes, and ongoing production requirements.
• Monitor and communicate supplier quality and delivery performance; facilitate supplier development and improvement plans.
• Perform supplier assessments, process audits, and quality-system audits against ISO 9001, IATF 16949, and customer-specific requirements.
• Communicate company and customer quality requirements to suppliers and provide supplier training and development support.
• Provide quality input for supplier selection and evaluate supplier readiness and risk.
• Support supplied-material controls from receiving inspection and part labeling through supplier quality management.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Business, Logistics, or a related field. Equivalent relevant work experience or certification may be considered.
• Three or more years of quality engineering, supplier quality, or related manufacturing experience preferred; five or more years may be required for advanced-level assignments.
• Automotive manufacturing experience preferred, including familiarity with customer-specific requirements and AIAG Automotive Core Tools.
• Demonstrated competence in APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC, control plans, GD&T, tolerance stack-up, and structured problem solving.
• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 quality management systems.
• Experience conducting supplier assessments or audits and driving improvements at supplier locations.
• Experience with one or more relevant processes or materials, such as steel fabrication, metal stamping, welding, plastic injection molding, plastic resin, steel coil, or e-coating, preferred.
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking, project-management, negotiation, written communication, and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft applications and applicable quality, ERP, or manufacturing systems.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.

• →Provide direction, technical coaching, and mentoring to less-experienced quality team members.
• →Support training and onboarding of new team members and suppliers.
• →Approve time, attendance, and vacation requests for direct reports when supervisory responsibility is assigned.
• →Review and respond to employee improvement suggestions in the designated business system.