Supplier Quality Engineer
· Support the evaluation, qualification and approval of new suppliers and processes through capability reviews, audits, trial lots and documented risk assessments.
· Conduct supplier process and quality-system audits; document findings, agree corrective actions and verify effective closure.
· Work with suppliers to establish practical quality controls, inspection plans, process controls and traceability requirements for new and transferred parts.
· Monitor supplier readiness during production ramp-up, including material certification, special-process qualification, tooling, capacity and inspection capability.
· Review supplier quality performance using incoming inspection results, defect trends, return-to-vendor data, NCRs, delivery impact and repeat-failure history.
· Lead containment and coordinate supplier corrective actions using structured problem-solving methods such as 5Why, Fishbone, 8D and CAPA.
· Issue and track Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs); challenge root causes where necessary and verify that corrective actions are implemented and effective.
· Coordinate material disposition and recovery actions with Quality, Engineering, Production and Supply Chain to minimize disruption to customer delivery.
· Escalate significant supplier risks, repeated defects or overdue actions with clear facts, impact assessment and recommended next steps.
· Define or improve incoming inspection requirements, sampling plans and acceptance criteria based on drawing requirements, process risk and supplier performance.
· Support inspection and validation of machined components, raw materials and special processes such as anodizing, plating, passivation, heat treatment and surface finishing.
· Review supplier documents including certificates of conformance, material certificates, inspection reports, First Article Inspection reports and process certificates.
· Support First Article and outsourced production kick-off activities by confirming that quality requirement sand technical clarifications are communicated to suppliers.
Performance improvement and cross-functional support
· Maintain supplier quality data and provide concise weekly or monthly reporting on supplier defects, SCAR ageing, audit actions and improvement progress.
· Drive improvement projects with selected suppliers to reduce defect rates, improve process capability and prevent recurrence.
· Participate in internal and customer quality reviews where supplier performance or outsourced processes are involved.
· Support maintenance and continuous improvement of supplier-quality procedures, approved supplier controls and quality records in line with Quality Management System.