Sr. Product Quality & Safety Assurance Engineer

Petco Quality Assurance Engineer

Want to help pets live their best lives?

We're proud to be where the pets go and where the pet people go. If you want to make a real difference, create an exciting career path, feel welcome to be your whole self and nurture your wellbeing, Petco is the place for you.

Our core values capture that spirit as we work to improve lives by doing what's right for pets and people.

• Pet First – Protect & Empower. All pets should Live their Best Life. We put the needs of pets and pet parents at the center of everything we do.
• Foster the Fun – Connect & Bond. Our Passion for pets brings us together! We celebrate the journey of pet parenthood through district experiences, products, and services.
• Let's Go! Own & Commit. We are stronger as One Petco team. We bring our unique superpowers and champion authenticity in everyone to drive success.

About Petco:

We're proud to be "where the pets go" to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years — from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it. We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood — the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between. And we're here for it. Every tail wag, every vet visit, every step of the way. We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers. In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.

Essential Job Functions:

• Collaborate and provide quality assurance input and solutions throughout the Product Development and Life Cycle process by participating in appropriate and timely cross functional meetings.
• Collaborate with certified global 3rd-party labs and internal stakeholders to create and maintain standard protocols for all private brand products.
• Develop valid, repeatable and cost-effective test methods. On-board new and assist current vendors in understanding Petco protocols and standards as well as all QA requirements.
• Provide interpretations and communicate quality expectations early in the product development process.
• Apply appropriate test methods to test private brand products at various stages of development, and report results to Product Development team to improve the products.
• Conduct research and use risk analysis tools such as failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) as necessary during design reviews to minimize quality and safety issues experienced in the field.
• Review products during development product lifecycle and resolve issues to minimize delays in testing and get approval required to release purchase orders for shipping.
• Collaborate with Product Development, Global Sourcing, Petco China Sourcing Office, cross functional teams and vendors on all products, testing and manufacturing issues.
• Review QA processes, audit reports and applicable government certifications for factories.
• Review reports that demonstrate compliance of products.
• Assure compliance with appropriate protocols and reconcile issues with direction from QA Manager.
• Monitor and analyze all feedback from internal teams (Customer Relations, Risk Assessment, Stores, Distribution Centers, etc.), determine cause, partner with appropriate parties to develop solutions, and ensure corrective action is implemented in a timely manner.
• Identify patterns of unsatisfactory vendor performance (repeated failures in testing, late testing or shipping, excessive field complaints.) to facilitate and implement correction action plan to improve performance.
• Assist QA Manager in implementing process improvements for the Private Brand Quality Management System.
• Collaborate with QA Team for review of new suppliers or changes in facilities.
• Ensure list of approved vendors and supporting documentation is maintained and accurate.
• Conduct supplier approval process by reviewing new and existing vendor documentation, conducting risk assessment, visiting as necessary, and providing recommendation for engagement, exemption, or rejection.

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conduct in-store visits for QA sample review and collection as needed
• Ensure database reports are run on regular basis in order to provide necessary information and data for testing and analysis.
• Ensure test equipment used for internal testing is properly maintained.
• Ensure that all private brand product complaints, issues and concerns are documented in a manner that can be used to update product/design improvement, QA testing, vendor scoring, etc.
• Perform other related duties, tasks and responsibilities as required, assigned or directed.

Nature of Supervision:

General instruction provided on some tasks. Incumbent should be able to accomplish tasks without supervisory guidance except on complex issues. Actions involving policy decisions require review with department manager. Standards, protocols and procedures, corrective action plans, and similar department documentation developed by QA Engineer require approval of QA Manager. Incumbent regularly makes determinations of compliance, however, deviations from policy must be reviewed by the QA Manager.

Supervisory Responsibility:

None. In QA Manager's absence this position may provide work direction, guidance and technical support to QA Coordinator on routine tasks.

Planning and Problem Solving:

• Reviews reports for scheduled shipping dates to anticipate testing needs.
• Communicates with Sourcing and Product Development teams and vendors to define testing requirements and gain commitments to testing schedules that will ensure on-time shipment of products.
• Assists QA Manager in planning and scheduling facility and product audits.
• Assists internal teams in resolving product quality issues that impact the equity of Petco private brand.
• Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to problems ranging from simple to moderate complexity, without being unduly influenced by others' thinking on the topic.

Impact:

This position is responsible for decisions and actions that will impact all Petco private brand products and programs in excess of $450MM in retail sales.

Education and Experience:

Normally requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent, preferably in Quality Assurance, Engineering or a related technical field. Requires a minimum 5 years progressively responsible professional related experience. An equivalent combination of education and experience can substitute for a degree. Working knowledge of product specifications, testing and test methodology, quality control, inspections/audits preferred. Basic knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes used in the production of consumer products for sale at retail a plus. Must possess excellent verbal and written communication skills and be proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook and miscellaneous database systems. Familiarity with Minitab or similar statistical analysis software a plus. HACCP Certification, SQF Practitioner, ASQ certification (Auditor, CQE, CQA, CRE) preferred.

Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

The pay ranges outlined below are presented in accordance with state-specific regulations. These ranges may differ in other areas and could be subject to variation based on regulatory minimum wage requirements. Actual pay rates will depend on factors such as position, location, level of experience, and applicable state or local minimum wage laws. If the regulatory minimum wage exceeds the minimum indicated in the pay range below, the regulatory minimum wage will be the minimum rate applied.

Salary Range: $88,800.00 - $133,200.00

Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.