Quality & Continuous Improvement Manager

About the Role

CMC designs and manufactures tufting machinery and has an established Lean operating structure with existing quality practices in place. We're looking for a Quality & Continuous Improvement Manager to own two connected things: bringing our quality practices into alignment with ISO 9001 and driving the ongoing process improvement work that reduces cost, waste, and cycle time across the shop - including how engineering changes and new designs move into production.

This isn't two separate jobs bolted together - quality and continuous improvement should reinforce each other. A defect is a process problem, and fixing it the Lean way (root cause, standard work, mistake-proofing) is what actually makes quality stick instead of becoming a paperwork exercise.

What You'll Do

Quality Practices

• Assess current quality practices against ISO 9001 requirements and close the gaps so our processes align with the standard.

• Formalize document control, calibration, and internal audit programs, building on the existing Lean structure rather than replacing it.

• Own control plans for new product introductions and engineering changes.

• Build a consistent method for capturing scrap, rework, warranty, and field failure costs (COPQ) using Epicor Kinetic data, and report it by job, product line, and root cause on a regular cadence.

• Drive root cause / corrective action (RCCA, 8D) on repeat quality issues and track closure to completion.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead kaizen events and targeted process improvement projects across the machine shop, welding, and assembly areas.

• Identify and prioritize improvement opportunities using COPQ data, scrap trends, and floor observation - not just where it's easiest to run an event.

• Build and maintain standard work, visual management, and mistake-proofing (poka-yoke) where they reduce variation and defects.

• Track savings and cycle-time impact from CI projects and report results against CMG's operational improvement goals.

• Train and coach area leads and operators on basic problem-solving tools (5 Why, A3, PDCA) so improvement isn't dependent on one person running it.

Engineering & Process Improvement

• Partner with the Director of Engineering to identify design changes that would reduce manufacturability issues, rework, or scrap - feeding shop-floor problems back into design decisions instead of just absorbing them downstream.

• Review new product introductions and engineering changes for manufacturability and quality risk before they hit the floor, not after.

• Work with Engineering to standardize designs and reduce unnecessary variation across similar products where it's driving avoidable cost or complexity.

• Build a feedback loop so recurring production issues systematically inform future design and engineering decisions.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with the Manufacturing Process Manager and Area Plant Manager to resolve process and floor-related quality issues at the source.

• Work with Materials on supplier quality issues, scorecards, and corrective action follow-up for critical components.

• Serve as the primary quality contact for customers requiring formal documentation (certificates of conformance, corrective action responses, inspection reports).

What You Bring

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or a related field.

• 8+ years in a quality and/or continuous improvement role in a heavy machine shop or heavy industrial manufacturing environment - large fabricated components, precision machining, weldments.

• Hands-on experience implementing ISO 9001-aligned practices (not just working inside a certified system).

• Practical experience running kaizen events, A3s, or similar structured problem-solving - able to show real before/after results, not just training certificates.

• Experience working cross-functionally with engineering to resolve manufacturability and design-related quality issues.

• Comfortable pulling and interpreting data from an ERP system (Epicor experience a plus, not required).

• Enough shop-floor credibility to earn respect from machinists, welders, and assemblers - this isn't a desk job.

Preferred

• ASQ certification (CQE or CQM/OE).

• Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt.

• Experience building a quality function inside a Lean environment rather than treating the two as separate programs.

Success in the First Year Looks Like

• ISO 9001 gap assessment complete against current practices, with a clear roadmap for alignment.

• A working COPQ reporting process pulling directly from Epicor Kinetic, reviewed monthly with operations leadership.

• A documented manufacturability review process in place with Engineering for new products and design changes.

• A running cadence of kaizen/improvement projects with tracked, documented savings.

• Measurable reduction in repeat scrap/rework issues on top offenders, including those tied to design.