Manufacturing Quality Engineer (Decatur)

Manufacturing Quality Engineer

Location: Decatur, IL Salary - $75K-80K/year

Experience: 5+ Years (depending on education)

Industry: Heavy Equipment / Manufacturing

Work Environment: Combination of Manufacturing Floor and Office

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Manufacturing Quality Engineer to drive quality improvements, lead root cause investigations, and implement corrective actions within a manufacturing environment. This role serves as a critical liaison between machine assembly plants and component manufacturing facilities, ensuring product quality, resolving manufacturing issues, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in manufacturing quality, structured problem-solving methodologies such as 8D and Six Sigma, and experience collaborating with cross-functional engineering and production teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead timely emergency, interim, and permanent corrective actions for internal and customer-reported quality issues.
• Conduct Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations to identify and resolve manufacturing quality concerns.
• Apply structured problem-solving methodologies, including 8D, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement techniques , to drive sustainable quality improvements.
• Inspect, contain, analyze, and communicate quality issues to factory quality and manufacturing teams.
• Serve as a key liaison between machine assembly plants, component factories, Manufacturing Engineering, and Quality teams.
• Lead quality improvement projects and support End-to-End (E2E) Built-in Quality initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify process gaps, implement corrective actions, and prevent recurring defects.
• Support internal continuous improvement activities to enhance manufacturing processes and product quality.
• Analyze manufacturing quality data, identify trends, and develop actionable improvement plans using Microsoft Office 365 applications.
• Facilitate problem-solving discussions, influence stakeholders, and drive accountability for corrective action implementation.
• Maintain strong relationships with internal and external customers to ensure timely resolution of quality concerns.
• Provide coaching and technical guidance to manufacturing teams on quality standards and problem-solving best practices.

Required Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field with 5+ years of relevant experience preferred.
• Associate degree with 10+ years of relevant manufacturing quality experience.
• Master's degree with 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Relevant internship experience will be considered.

Technical Skills:

• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, quality standards, and quality control processes .
• Hands-on experience applying 8D, RCCA, or similar structured root cause analysis methodologies in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading corrective and preventive actions for manufacturing or customer quality issues.
• Working knowledge of engineering, product design, manufacturing, and maintenance processes.
• Experience supporting quality improvement and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 applications, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Ability to interpret manufacturing quality data and communicate findings effectively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in heavy equipment, automotive, industrial machinery, or component manufacturing.
• Knowledge of Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, and Built-in Quality principles.
• Experience with customer quality issues, supplier quality, or manufacturing quality investigations.
• Familiarity with 8D reports, CAPA, 5 Why Analysis, Fishbone Diagrams, and other quality improvement tools.
• Experience coordinating corrective actions across multiple manufacturing facilities.
• Exposure to assembly plants, component manufacturing, or production quality operations.

Required Soft Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong leadership, collaboration, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Ability to influence teams and drive corrective actions without direct authority.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and comfortable working independently.
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Ability to build relationships with manufacturing, engineering, and customer quality teams.

Work Environment

• Combination of hands-on manufacturing floor activities and office-based analysis and reporting.
• Regular interaction with factory quality teams, Manufacturing Engineering, production personnel, and internal customers.
• Work within a small, collaborative quality team at the Decatur facility.
• Requires a hands-on approach to quality issue investigation, containment, and corrective action implementation.