Quality Engineer
Position Title
Quality Engineer
Department
Quality Assurance
Reports To
Quality Manager
Position Summary
The Quality Engineer is responsible for ensuring automotive products and manufacturing processes meet customer, regulatory, and company quality requirements. This role serves as the primary quality contact for production issues, customer concerns, new product launches, and continuous improvement activities while supporting IATF 16949 compliance and automotive Core Tools.
Essential Responsibilities
Create and maintain multi-level Bills of Materials (BOMs) for new and existing products.
Review engineering drawings, specifications, and customer requirements to ensure BOM accuracy.
Verify material descriptions, part numbers, quantities, and revision levels.
Coordinate engineering change requests (ECRs) and engineering change notices (ECNs) to update BOM structures.
Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Production, Purchasing, and Supply Chain departments to ensure BOM integrity.
Establish and maintain routings, manufacturing instructions, and material requirements within the ERP/MRP system.
Validate BOM accuracy during new product launches and product revisions.
Investigate and correct BOM discrepancies that impact production, inventory, or customer requirements.
Maintain configuration control and document revision history.
Assist in cost analysis by evaluating material usage and component requirements.
Participate in continuous improvement activities related to engineering documentation and manufacturing processes.
Customer Quality
Respond to customer complaints and warranty concerns.
Lead 8D corrective action investigations.
Conduct root cause analysis using 5 Why, Fishbone, and other problem-solving methods.
Support customer audits and quality reviews.
Improve customer PPM performance and reduce quality spills.
Manufacturing Quality
Monitor production quality metrics and trends.
Scrap Reporting
Investigate paint, weld, stamping, defects.
Lead containment activities for nonconforming products.
Develop and implement quality alerts and inspection standards.
Verify effectiveness of corrective actions.
New Product Launch (APQP)
Support APQP, PPAP, and customer-specific requirements by ensuring proper material documentation.
Create and maintain:
Process Flow Diagrams
PFMEA
Control Plans
Inspection Instructions
Quality Systems
Maintain compliance with:
IATF 16949
Customer Specific Requirements
Internal Quality Procedures
Participate in internal and external audits.
Support layered process audits and product audits.
Maintain quality records and documentation.
Supplier Quality Support
Work with suppliers on containment and corrective action activities.
Review / Approve supplier PPAP documentation.
Monitor supplier performance and quality trends.
Continuous Improvement
Use SPC, MSA, and capability studies to improve processes.
Reduce scrap, rework, and downtime.
Drive cost reduction through defect prevention.
Required Qualifications
3+ years of automotive manufacturing experience.
Knowledge of:
IATF 16949
APQP
PPAP
FMEA
SPC
MSA
GD&T
Experience with customer corrective actions and audits.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Internal Auditor Certification
Experience with OEM customers such as Ford, GM, Stellantis, Toyota, Honda, or Subaru.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Customer PPM
Scrap & Rework Cost
Internal Audits
Corrective Action Closure Rate
Warranty Claims
Technical Skills
SPC Analysis
Root Cause Analysis
Microsoft Excel
Quality Management Systems
Statistical Reporting
Automotive Core Tools