Director of Quality
Fulltime opportunity
Location: Endicott, NY
Onsite role
The Director of Quality leads quality throughout the business; inspiring, motivating, guiding and supporting others in achieving the goal of world class processes and zero defects. They have the authority to make significant decisions, establish protocols and guidelines, set objectives and timelines and implement rules and policies, creating new ones as necessary. They are first point of contact for suppliers, customers, regulators and executives.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Quality Assurance Oversight: Develop and implement quality assurance programs and procedures to ensure compliance with aerospace industry standards, regulations, and customer requirements. In charge of overseeing the daily operations in a quality assurance department.
- Supplier Quality Management: Collaborate with suppliers to ensure the quality of incoming materials, components, and services. Establish and maintain supplier quality metrics, audits, and improvement programs to ensure supplier performance meets quality standards.
- Product Quality Control: Ensure that products adhere to the company’s quality standards and industry regulations by conducting research and assessments, developing quality test systems, and reviewing reports.
- Continuous Improvement Initiatives: Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance manufacturing processes, product quality, and operational efficiency. Utilize quality data, metrics, and feedback to identify opportunities for improvement and implement corrective and preventive actions.
- Data Analysis and Reporting: Accountable for the performance and results of the quality function and reports on key quality indicators and metrics. Communicate and promote the importance and value of quality to all stakeholders.·
- Root Cause Analysis and Problem-Solving: Lead investigations into quality issues, root cause analysis, and corrective action implementation to prevent recurrence of quality-related problems. Utilize quality tools and methodologies such as 5-Why, 8D, and FMEA to drive problem-solving and process improvement.·
- Customer Quality Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for customer quality matters. Address customer inquiries, feedback, and concerns related to product quality, performance, and compliance. Foster strong relationships with customers through proactive communication and responsiveness.
- Training and Development: Oversee the quality assurance and improvement activities of the organization. Responsible for developing and implementing quality policies, standards and systems that ensure customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance and operational excellence. Set the vision, goal and objectives for quality management and align them with the organizational strategy and culture.
- Provide value to our customers by using Lean tools and concepts to identify and eliminate waste in all forms (scrap/rework, transportation, motion, waiting, inventory, over production, over processing, and under-utilization of people). Uses systemic thinking by seeing processes from end to end and works to challenge the status quo to eliminate the root cause of problems. Is involved in individual and/or team activities that involve using Lean tools and concepts to improve the flow of information and material.
- Other duties as assigned.
KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS
- External Customer Complaints
- Internal Nonconformance's
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Education: A bachelor's degree in engineering, quality management, industrial technology, or equivalent experience
- Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt preferred
- Experience: Several years of experience in quality assurance or quality control roles, with progressively increasing responsibilities. Experience in a supervisory or managerial capacity is preferred.
- Quality Management Knowledge: Comprehensive knowledge of quality management principles, practices, and methodologies is essential. This includes familiarity with quality standards such as ISO 9001, AS9100, or other industry-specific quality requirements.
- Regulatory Compliance: Understanding of relevant quality regulations, standards, and certifications applicable to the aerospace industry.
- Leadership Skills: Strong leadership and management abilities are necessary to effectively lead a quality team and drive quality initiatives within the organization. This includes the ability to motivate, coach, and develop team members.
- Analytical Skills: Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to identify root causes of quality issues, analyze data, and implement corrective and preventive actions to improve processes and product quality.
- Communication Skills: Effective communication skills, both verbal and written, are essential for interacting with team members, stakeholders, and external parties. This includes the ability to convey technical information clearly and concisely.
- ·Quality Tools and Techniques: Proficiency in quality tools and techniques such as statistical process control (SPC), root cause analysis (RCA), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and Six Sigma methodologies is often preferred.
- Computer Skills: Proficiency in using quality management software, Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and other relevant software applications for data analysis, reporting, and documentation management.
