Quality Engineer The Quality Engineer is responsible for applying engineering principles and quality methodologies to improve product quality, manufacturing processes, and overall operational performance. This position serves as a technical resource to the Quality, Engineering, Production, and other departments by investigating quality issues, identifying root causes, developing sustainable corrective actions, and implementing process improvements. The Quality Engineer will focus on preventing defects, reducing process variation, solving recurring quality problems, and improving manufacturing processes rather than solely identifying defects after they occur. This position requires a strong understanding of manufacturing processes, engineering principles, data analysis, and structured problem-solving. The Quality Engineer will work closely with employees at all levels and must be comfortable working both independently and cross-functionally within a manufacturing environment.
Essential Duties
Quality Engineering & Root Cause Analysis:
Lead investigations into recurring or significant product and process quality issues.
Identify and validate root causes using structured problem-solving methodologies such as 5 Why, Fishbone/Ishikawa, 8D, and other appropriate analytical tools.
Distinguish between symptoms, immediate causes, and underlying systemic causes when investigating quality problems.
Analyze defective products, manufacturing processes, inspection results, and available production data to determine contributing factors.
Develop technically sound corrective actions that address the underlying cause rather than relying solely on inspection, rework, or employee retraining.
Verify the effectiveness of implemented corrective actions through objective evidence and measurable results.
Identify opportunities to prevent similar quality issues from occurring in other products, processes, or departments.
Corrective & Preventative ActionLead and coordinate corrective and preventive action activities related to significant internal, customer, supplier, or process-related quality issues.
Establish corrective action plans, responsibilities, target completion dates, and effectiveness criteria.
Track open corrective actions and follow up with responsible departments to ensure timely completion.
Evaluate completed corrective actions to determine whether the identified problem has been effectively resolved.
Monitor recurring quality issues and identify trends that may require broader process or system improvements.
Maintain appropriate documentation supporting investigations, root-cause conclusions, corrective actions, and effectiveness verification.
Manufacturing Process Improvement:
Evaluate manufacturing processes to identify opportunities to improve product quality, consistency, efficiency, and repeatability.
Work directly with Production and Engineering to identify sources of process variation and develop practical solutions.
Recommend changes to processes, tooling, fixtures, equipment, materials, or methods when necessary to improve quality.
Participate in continuous improvement projects focused on reducing defects, scrap, rework, customer complaints, and process variation.
Assist in developing process controls that prevent defects rather than relying solely on final inspection.
Evaluate the quality impact of proposed changes to manufacturing processes and recommend appropriate controls.
Support the implementation and verification of process improvements.
Engineering & Technical Support:
Review engineering drawings, specifications, tolerances, and customer requirements to identify potential quality concerns.
Work with Engineering to resolve product or manufacturing issues related to design, specifications, tolerances, materials, and manufacturability.
Provide technical input during the development or modification of manufacturing processes.
Assist Engineering and Production with determining appropriate inspection and process-control requirements.
Support new product introductions, prototypes, and significant process changes from a quality perspective.
Participate in technical reviews when product or process changes may affect quality, reliability, manufacturability, or customer requirements.
Assist with determining appropriate methods for measuring and verifying product characteristics.
Quality Data & Analysis:
Analyze quality data to identify trends, recurring problems, process variation, and opportunities for improvement.
Develop and maintain quality metrics used to evaluate manufacturing performance.
Utilize statistical and analytical methods, when appropriate, to evaluate process performance and identify areas requiring improvement.
Analyze scrap, rework, nonconformance, customer complaint, and other quality data to identify systemic issues.
Prepare quality reports and present findings and recommendations to management and affected departments.
Use data and objective evidence to evaluate whether process improvements have produced the intended results.
Quality System & Process Control:
Support the development, implementation, and improvement of quality processes and procedures.
Assist with the development and maintenance of process control documentation, inspection methods, and quality standards.
Participate in internal quality audits and assist with identifying and resolving audit findings.
Evaluate existing quality controls and recommend improvements when they are ineffective, redundant, or insufficient.
Support document control activities by ensuring quality-related procedures, work instructions, forms, and other controlled documents are current, accurate, and properly maintained.
Assist with maintaining an effective quality management system and ensuring quality processes are consistently applied.
Support customer or third-party quality audits as needed.
Customer & Supplier Quality:
Investigate customer quality complaints and coordinate technical responses and corrective actions.
Work with Customer Service, Sales, Engineering, and Production to determine the cause of customer-reported quality issues.
Assist with supplier-related quality investigations when purchased materials or components contribute to product quality issues.
Work with suppliers and internal departments to identify appropriate corrective actions when necessary.
Monitor recurring customer and supplier issues and recommend preventive measures.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Serve as a technical resource to Quality Assurance personnel and manufacturing employees.
Work collaboratively with Production, Engineering, Sales, Purchasing, and other departments to resolve quality concerns.
Communicate technical information in a manner that is understandable and actionable for both technical and non-technical employees.
Facilitate problem-solving discussions and cross-functional improvement activities.
Provide guidance and technical support to Quality Assurance personnel when complex quality issues arise.
Promote accountability for quality at the process level rather than relying solely on the Quality Department to identify defects.
Training & Continuous Improvement:
Develop or assist with training related to quality requirements, process controls, inspection methods, and corrective actions.
Provide technical guidance to Quality Assurance personnel regarding quality standards and problem-solving methods.
Participate in continuous improvement initiatives throughout the organization.
Promote a proactive approach to quality by identifying potential problems before they result in defects or customer complaints.
Stay current with applicable quality engineering practices, manufacturing technologies, and problem-solving methodologies.
Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above, and below, are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Language Ability:
- Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
- Math Ability:
- Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, including whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
- Reasoning Ability:
- Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
- Computer Skills:
- To perform this job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Made2Manage, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Outlook.
