Quality Manager

Quality Manager

As part of the Site Leadership Team reporting to the Senior Manager of Total Quality, the Quality Manager provides end-to-end leadership for Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) at a CREMER manufacturing site.

This role is responsible for the effectiveness of the Quality Management System (QMS), product and process quality, food safety where applicable, laboratory/inspection controls, and customer and supplier quality.

An important focus of the role is to help modernize quality practices by simplifying processes and expanding the effective use of digital tools, data, automation, and AI. The goal is to improve efficiency and decision-making while maintaining strong quality and compliance standards.

The most successful candidates will be managers who deeply understand and appreciate system thinking (people and processes) and possess knowledge of variation to include predictive ability. The Quality Manager develops, implements, and manages quality control systems designed to ensure continuous production of advanced composite materials and applications (consistent with established standards, customer specifications, and Cremer goals). This role engages suppliers and customers with limited travel expectations (<10%).

Responsibilities

QA & QC Leadership

• Lead and develop the QA/QC team across the assigned manufacturing site.
• Establish clear priorities, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
• Ensure effective inspection, testing, laboratory controls, product release, and quality assurance processes, as applicable.
• Develop the technical and leadership capabilities of the Quality team.
• Build strong collaboration between Quality, Operations, Engineering, Maintenance and Supply Chain.

Quality Systems & Compliance

• Ensure effective implementation of the Quality Management System and applicable regulatory, customer and certification requirements.
• Manage nonconformances, CAPAs, management of change, audits, document control, and quality training.
• Maintain compliance with applicable standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 17025, SQF, HACCP, GMP, IPEC and other relevant programs.
• Ensure strong audit readiness and timely, sustainable corrective actions.
• Escalate significant quality and compliance risks to the Head of Quality.

Quality Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor quality performance through clear KPIs and use data to identify risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.
• Lead root cause investigations for significant or recurring quality issues and ensure corrective actions are effective.
• Strengthen preventive quality practices and reduce reliance on detection and inspection alone.
• Work with Operations to improve right-first-time performance, reduce recurring nonconformances and lower the cost of poor quality.
• Ensure lessons learned and successful practices are shared across sites.

Quality Simplification & Digitalization

• Act as a change agent within the Quality function, identifying opportunities to make QA/QC processes simpler, faster, and more effective.
• Review existing procedures and workflows to eliminate unnecessary complexity, duplication and manual activities while maintaining required controls.
• Collaborate with other Quality Manager peers to harmonize quality practices across sites where appropriate and within the direction and standards established by the Head of Quality.
• Improve the effective use of QMS and other digital quality tools.
• Increase the use of quality data, dashboards, and analytics to support faster and better decisions.
• Identify and implement practical opportunities for automation and AI to improve quality workflows, analysis, knowledge access, and administrative efficiency.
• Partner with the Head of Quality, Operations, and other functions when improvements require broader changes or investment.
• Measure the impact of improvements through quality performance, efficiency, cycle time, and user adoption.

Customer, Supplier & Business Support

• Lead the response to significant customer quality concerns, including containment, investigation, and corrective actions.
• Manage supplier quality issues and supplier corrective actions.
• Support new products, process changes, and business opportunities by identifying quality risks and appropriate controls.
• Represent Quality in cross-functional site initiatives and support business decisions with fact-based quality input.

WCM Support

• Demonstrated experience applying WCM/TPM methodologies, particularly the Quality Maintenance pillar, with a focus on zero defects and prevention at the source.
• Strong knowledge of Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and process capability improvement.
• Proven experience implementing structured problem-solving methodologies such as RCA, 5 Why, Fishbone, and statistical process control (SPC).
• Experience applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies to reduce process variation, defects, rework, and Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).
• Ability to drive Right First Time (RFT), customer complaint reduction, and systematic quality loss elimination.
• Experience developing quality ownership at the shop-floor level through standardization, operator training, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Chemistry, Food Science, Quality or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 5+ years of progressive Quality experience in manufacturing, with demonstrated management / leadership responsibility.
• Strong practical experience across both QA and QC.
• Quality Engineering, Chemical processing experience, and/or knowledge of chemistry are highly valued.
• Experience with QMS, audits, CAPA, root cause analysis, customer quality, and applicable manufacturing/food-safety standards.
• Demonstrated experience improving or simplifying quality processes, not only maintaining established systems.
• Experience implementing digital quality tools, automation, analytics, or process improvements is strongly preferred.
• Lean/Six Sigma, ASQ certification, Lead Auditor, PCQI, HACCP or similar qualifications are valued where relevant.

Leadership Capabilities

• Proven experience leading structured continuous improvement programs with measurable business results.
• Ability to develop and coach cross-functional teams in WCM/TPM/Lean methodologies.
• Strong analytical capabilities, KPI management, and systematic loss analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to establish standards, sustain improvements, and build a proactive problem-solving culture.
• Change-oriented:
• Hands-on leader
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Data-driven
• Influential
• Digitally curious
• Learning agility