Vice President of Quality & Operations Excellence - Warren, NJ

Vice President Of Quality

The Vice President of Quality is a strategic senior leader responsible for defining, implementing, managing, and continuously improving an enterprise-wide Quality Management System (QMS), Food Safety Management System (FSMS) and Laboratory Quality Management System (LQMS) and driving a culture of continuous improvement/operational excellence across all manufacturing operations and supporting departments. This role ensures that all NIPPON SANSO MATHESON products and services meet the highest standards of safety, purity, and performance required by our manufacturing, food, and electronics customers, minimizing risk for both our customers and NIPPON SANSO MATHESON. The Vice President of Quality will directly impact our profitability, brand reputation, employee development, and business growth by reducing waste, eliminating non-conformances, and optimizing processes. Preferred location for position is NIPPON SANSO MATHESON's headquarters in Irving, TX but position may be performed from other corporate offices located at Warren, NJ, Waverly, NE, or Montgomeryville, PA.

Essential Functions

• Strategic Quality Leadership & Compliance
• Quality Strategy: Develop and lead the corporate quality and food safety vision, strategy, and roadmap aligned with business goals for industrial, food, and electronic products and services, serving as the corporate expert on quality and food safety.
• Certification: Ensure conformance to ISO9001 (Quality), FSSC22000 (Food Safety), and ISO17025 (Laboratory Quality) certification standards through implementation of the QMS, FSMS and LQMS, respectively, and routine auditing.
• Customers: Provide quality and food safety support for marketing, sales, and operations interactions with customers, such as new business opportunities or addressing significant quality or food safety issues.
• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence
• Process Improvement: Lead corporate-wide continuous improvement initiative to enhance process efficiency, reduce waste, and lower operating costs across manufacturing sites and supporting departments through the use of Lean Six Sigma and Digitization methodologies.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Leverage quality analytics, SPC/SQC (Statistical Process/Quality Control), and real-time dashboards to identify areas for improvement and monitor product quality performance.
• Root Cause Analysis: Manage non-conformance (NC Log), corrective actions, and preventative actions (CAPA) systems to address root causes and prevent recurrence.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Customer Experience
• Customer Support: Function as the primary liaison for critical customer quality issues, providing clear, timely communication on corrective actions.
• Innovation Support: Support engineering and operations to ensure quality is built into the product design and new product introduction process.
• Operational Alignment: Partner with operations to align quality and continuous improvement/operational excellence initiatives with overall manufacturing productivity.
• Leadership & Culture Development
• Team Leadership: Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of quality assurance and continuous improvement/operational excellence professionals.
• Quality Culture: Foster a company-wide culture of "Right First Time" (RFT), safety, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Engineering, Food Science, or a related technical field - Required

Master's Degree A Master's degree or MBA is highly preferred – Preferred

Work Experience 10+ years Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in quality or continuous improvement/operational excellence leadership, ideally within the bulk/packaged/specialty gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, or regulated manufacturing industry.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Certifications: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Master Blackbelt preferred), ASQ Certified Quality Manager or Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) preferred.

Technical Knowledge: Deep knowledge of Lean Six Sigma, standard quality tools, and overall operational/organizational system design based upon prevention, performance management, root cause analysis and corrective action process, and quality metrics as a basis for continuous improvement. Knowledge of ISO9001, FSSC22000 and ISO17025.

Core Competencies

Strategic Thinking: Ability to link quality improvements to profitability and business strategy

Influence & Leadership: Proven capability to lead change and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority

Analytical Skills: Strong ability to analyze complex data (including use of statistics) to solve problems

Teaching Skills: Comfortable and dynamic teaching ability, especially with regards to Root Cause Analysis and Lean Six Sigma

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Stationary Position - Occasionally Move/Traverse – Occasionally Stationary Position/Seated - Frequently Transport/Lifting – Occasionally Transport/Carrying – Occasionally Exerting Force/Pushing – Occasionally Exerting Force/Pulling - Rarely Ascend/Descend - Occasionally Balancing - Constantly Position Self/Stooping Occasionally Position Self/Kneeling - Occasionally Position Self/Crouching – Occasionally Position Self/Crawling - Occasionally Reaching Occasionally Handling - Frequently Grasping -Frequently Feeling – Occasionally Communicate/Talking - Constantly Communicate/Hearing - Constantly Repetitive Motions - Frequently Coordination – Occasionally Travel Requirements One (1) to two (2) weeks per month - Required travel to attend Senior Management Meetings, visit Quality team members, perform quality audits at NIPPON SANSO MATHESON locations, and attend customer meetings. International travel to Japan approximately 1-2 times per year.

Nippon Sanso Matheson is an Equal Opportunity Employer that complies with the laws and regulations set forth under EEOC. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, protected veteran status, or disability. EOE AA M/F/VET/Disability