Senior Quality Engineer

Job Title : Senior Quality Engineer

Reports To: Director of Quality

Location: Akron, OH

Position Summary

The Senior Quality Engineer will lead and continuously improve quality systems, manufacturing processes, and product compliance to meet customer, regulatory, and company standards. This role provides technical leadership in quality engineering, supplier development, process qualification, corrective actions, and continuous improvement while mentoring quality personnel and supporting cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead quality engineering activities for new, revised, and existing products, including APQP, validation, control plans, and production-readiness reviews .
• Develop and maintain inspection plans, control plans, work instructions, PFMEAs, procedures, and quality records.
• Lead complex corrective and preventive actions using 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone, and statistical problem-solving methods .
• Analyze process capability, variation, and defect trends using SPC, MSA, and capability studies.
• Lead product, process, and equipment qualifications, including first-article, validation, and run-at-rate activities.
• Investigate customer complaints and internal nonconformances, coordinating containment, corrective actions, and effectiveness verification.
• Provide technical guidance on nonconforming materials, scrap, rework, and deviation approvals.
• Manage supplier quality performance, supplier reviews, audits, and corrective actions.
• Drive Lean and Six Sigma initiatives to reduce defects, scrap, rework, and cost of poor quality.
• Coordinate calibration and validation of CMM and precision measurement equipment.
• Prepare and present quality metrics, audit results, and improvement recommendations.
• Support ISO 9000/IATF-style compliance , internal audits, customer assessments, and corrective-action follow-up.
• Mentor quality engineers and inspectors and provide plant-wide quality training.
• Collaborate with engineering, production, maintenance, purchasing, suppliers, and customers to resolve quality issues.

Ideal Candidates

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.
• 6+ years of progressive quality engineering experience , preferably in injection molding or a comparable manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of:

1.Quality assurance and continuous improvement methods

2.ISO 9000, SPC, TQM, DOE, APQP, and PFMEA

3.Control plans and measurement systems analysis

4.Metrology and process capability

5.Ability to interpret engineering drawings and GD&T .

6.Experience with CMM systems and precision measuring equipment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Lean or Six Sigma certification.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) preferred.
• Experience with Minitab or equivalent statistical software.
• Knowledge of PC-DMIS, PolyWorks, quality management software, and CAD.
• Experience in supplier quality, customer relationship management, and audit readiness.