Responsibilities/Principal Duties:

• Ensures the quality lab area is compliant with all safety and 5S requirements.
• Provides direction, coaching, and training for quality engineers and team members applying company policies and procedures in a fair and consistent manner.
• Responsible for department team members annual review process along with any corrective actions needed for company policy violations or performance issues.
• Utilizes process control methodology (Six Sigma, SPC, Design of Experiments, etc.) to solve problems and improve process control and capability.
• Supports the efforts of the process engineers in investigating and resolving quality issues, making recommendations for preventive action, optimizing current products and processes, and commercializing new products.
• Develop and maintain systems including performance measurements, failure costs, control systems, quality standards, and product and process capability for all raw materials and finished products by utilizing such tools as statistical methods, pareto charts, flow charting and failure mode effects analysis
• Establish and maintain a process and quality assurance audit function to ensure compliance with standards and specifications. Develop corrective action plans and systems.
• Direct efforts in gaining and maintaining knowledge of trends in the industry that lead to improvements in product quality, product consistency, process efficiency, or cost reductions.
• Define process specifications, which include operating conditions, set points, tolerances, processing procedures, and packaging specifications, based on a strong understanding of customer requirements.
• Ensures plans are in place to meet all performance indicator targets and goals. Report to leadership management on the performance of the QMS (e.g., results of quality audits, corrective actions), including the need for improvement.
• Serves as a resource on FMEA's, change management, the design of experiments, Six Sigma, and other process control tools.
• Interfaces with multiple functions and customers to resolve problems, respond to customer complaints, develop corrective actions, develop new products, and improve existing processes.
• Improve quality performance by developing quality assurance plans, auto-control and SPC processes, training, and audits.
• Provide leadership for continuous improvement for the overall production system by reducing internal, external, and supplier PPM.
• Support customer's requirements with regards to quality complaints and feedback, including quality requirements and improvement plans.
• Simplify tools and processes to increase the efficiency of the quality organization.
• Manage and improve the global risk mitigation plan for the business.
• Ensure that the organization’s Quality Management System conforms to customer, internal, ISO 9001, EDANA and regulatory and legal requirements
• Ensure evaluation of and reporting on vendor quality systems
• Conduct periodic management review meetings.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education / Work Experience

BS in Engineering

Six Sigma Green Belt required

Six Sigma Black Belt strongly preferred

Minimum 7 years of increasing responsibilities in a manufacturing environment (preferably in extrusion, textile or paper)

CQM or CQE through ASQ highly desirable

Experience in statistical methods, including SPC, capability studies, etc.

Excellent communications skills