Supplier Quality Engineer

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

This position has three main purposes:

• Coordinate supplier quality issues with the vendor and corporate home offices in Taiwan.
• Lead the various departments on reducing damage and scrap of purchased parts during the assembly and testing process.
• Manage the vendor failure analysis process.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

To support the three main purposes above, the person holding this position will:

Take the lead on containment of problems reported by the vendor and/or discovered in our process.

• Lead and coordinate sort activities, either by company personnel, vendor personnel, or third-parties contracted by the vendor.
• Report results of any such sort daily to concerned parties at QMN, corporate HQ, the vendors, etc.
• Drive the vendor to a root cause and corrective action, normally using the 8D process, but other process may be acceptable as well.
• Work with inventory control during the sort to ensure our inventory is managed, there is clear delineation between good/suspect/bad material and all are appropriately labeled, stored and transacted in our inventory control system.

Lead the Operations, Quality, Process and Test Engineering teams on damage reduction and scrap reduction processes for purchased/supplied materials.

• Track assembly and test induced damage on a weekly basis.
• Lead the team on a damage reduction process for each main customer using DMAIC principles - Trend Analysis, Pareto Analysis, Action Plans.
• Report to management progress, roadblocks and action plans on a regular basis.

Lead the reporting process when returning parts to the vendor/supplier for failure analysis.

• Tracking using an established database.
• Follow up for timeliness and completeness.
• Report results to management and product quality engineers as appropriate.
• Drive vendors/suppliers to root cause and corrective action as appropriate dependent on the results of the failure analysis.

OTHER:

• Assists with plant ISO 9001 activities including internal auditing, calibration and document control.
• Drafts Process Flows, Procedures, Work Instructions and Forms as required.
• Any other tasks as assigned by the Quality Manager.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor's degree from four-year College or university (preferably in Engineering, Math or Science) and 3 years related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Previous experience with third party quality system certifications such as ISO 9001.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, fellow engineers, customers and suppliers.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.
• Certified as ISO 9001 internal auditor.
• Ability to read, write and speak fluent English.
• Computer literate in a Windows Environment: Excel, Word, Power Point, Visio, Internet Explorer, etc.
• Analytical and detail oriented with good organizational skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to use tact and diplomacy.
• Self-motivated with ability to use own initiative.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, talk and listen. The employee is occasionally required to stand; sit; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Fast paced with multi-tasking.

Professional, yet casual work environment.

Office, manufacturing plant and warehouse environments in multiple locations in Lavergne, TN

SPECIAL CONDITIONS:

Ability to work extended hours as needed.

Ability to travel as needed.

OTHER DUTIES:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.