Senior Quality Engineer

Overview

The Senior Quality Engineer provides technical leadership for quality assurance activities involving products, processes, suppliers, and the Contec Quality Management System. This position independently leads complex investigations, validation activities, audits, and quality improvement initiatives and provides technical guidance in the identification of root causes and implementation of effective corrective and preventive actions. The Senior Quality Engineer partners with customers, R&D, Manufacturing, Engineering, suppliers, and other functions to ensure the quality of all products purchased, produced, and delivered by Contec.

Responsibilities

• Leads complex investigations and cross-functional problem-solving efforts involving product, process, supplier, or customer quality issues; determines root causes, develops effective solutions, and drives corrective and preventive actions through implementation and verification.
• Leads high-impact quality initiatives supporting company goals, Management Review, and Quality Management System objectives, including NCR and CAPA trending and closure, MRB and Internal Error review, FMEA development and maintenance, and quality-performance reporting.
• Independently plans and conducts internal quality system audits and supports appropriate follow-up and corrective actions.
• Guides, assists with, and performs process, equipment, and test-method validations, including Gage R&R and other measurement system studies.
• Provides technical guidance, mentoring, and training to Quality Engineers, Quality Technologists, Quality Interns, and other associates as appropriate.
• Proactively analyzes existing processes and quality data to identify and implement improvements that prevent recurrence, reduce scrap, improve process capability, and enhance product quality.
• Makes independent decisions regarding product or process quality based upon analysis and experience.
• Communicates significant quality issues, trends, risks, and recommended improvements to management and appropriate cross-functional teams.
• Works with R&D and Process Engineering during product and process development to ensure proper quality system controls and documentation are in place when products are released for production.
• Develops relationships with customers, sales associates, and internal teams to understand needs and expectations, with the goal of improving processes to deliver high-quality products. Ensures proper communication of nonconformances or process improvements.
• Plans, conducts, and follows up on supplier quality system audits as needed. Works with suppliers to improve their quality systems and improve the quality of the delivered product.
• Applies statistical process control (SPC) methods for analyzing data to evaluate the current process and process changes.
• Reviews data and/or performs studies of various purchased products or components and provides input to the decision of whether to accept the product and future purchases from the vendor.
• Documents data obtained during all quality assurance activities, consistent with company policies and procedures related to the Contec Management System.
• Participates and works within ISO 9001 quality standards guidelines in accordance with Contec’s quality goals.
• Others may be assigned.

Competencies

To be successful in their essential duties, the individual is also expected to have general knowledge of and stay current in developments in the following areas:

Problem Solving: Uses complex and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. Asks probing questions to analyze situations or nonconformances. Effectively determines root cause and evaluates various corrective actions.

Drives Results: Consistently achieving project goals under tough circumstances; has a strong bottom-line orientation; persists in accomplishing project objectives despite setbacks; pursues everything with energy, drive, and the need to finish.

Innovation and Creativity: Creating new and better ways for the assigned areas to be successful; has good judgment about which ideas and suggestions will work.

Customer Focus: Builds customer relationships. Dedicated to meeting customer expectations and using customer feedback and information for process and product improvements.

Decision Making: Makes good decisions based on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment. Makes decisions quickly, even without complete information and under tight deadlines.

Communicates Effectively: Proficient in both written and verbal communication, to various levels of the organization and outside customers. Adjusts the message to fit the audience.

Action Oriented: Takes on new opportunities with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm. Acts decisively to see projects to completion.

Functional and Technical Skills: Learns technical information related to manufacturing processes to enable accurate determination of root cause and corrective actions.

Collaboration: Works cooperatively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives.

Supports Core Values: Able to demonstrate support and adherence to Contec’s core values: respect for others, doing “whatever it takes” within Contec’s core values, vision and strategic direction, exhibiting integrity, having a tolerance for risk, understanding there is life outside of work, enjoying the ride.

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed 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.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s degree (B.S.) from four-year college or university preferably in a science-related field; five (5) or more years of quality engineering experience in a manufacturing environment; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

• Proficiency and technical aptitude with analysis software such as Minitab or equivalent, and Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) is required. Proficiency with Microsoft Power BI or other data visualization and business intelligence tools is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to apply statistical methods, including statistical process control (SPC), measurement-system analysis, and process-capability analysis, is required. Experience with Design of Experiments is preferred.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to analyze and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs. Ability to develop, comprehend, and interpret, statistics (such as mean, standard deviation, process capability index, confidence intervals, and probabilities) from raw data using available computer and calculator functions and use statistical process control tools (control charts, acceptance test plans).

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) certification required. Six Sigma Black Belt, or equivalent certification preferred.

Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an associate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the associatewill spend 50%– 70% of the time in an air-conditioned, quiet office environment. The remaining time will be spent in a higher temperature, moderately noisy manufacturing environment with forklifts, pallet jacks, and other manufacturing equipment with moving parts. Hazardous chemicals are regularly used in the manufacturing environment, and the associate will be occasionally exposed to these chemicals. The associate will occasionally enter the Cleanroom and must be able to tolerate periods of time in full cleanroom garments. Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the associateis regularly required to remain in a stationary position, typically at a desk; occasionally required to remain in a stationary position on concrete manufacturing floor; regularly required to move between office locations and manufacturing floor; regularly operate a phone, computer, printer, and copier; occasionally position self to view or retrieve products from various levels. The associate will constantly communicate with peers, customers, and other departments through both verbal and electronic communication such as email; must be able to convey shop order or project status and exchange accurate information in these situations. Must be able to read small product labels, product drawings, and other documents. Must be able to assess a product for damage or defects. The associate is occasionally required to lift and/or move up to fifty pounds (50 lbs.) without assistance. Steel-toed shoes will occasionally be required in the manufacturing area. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.