Senior Supplier Quality Engineer
Leads supplier qualification, audits, NPI readiness, performance monitoring, and corrective actions for complex hardware components and systems. Requires an engineering bachelor’s degree and 7–10+ years of supplier or manufacturing quality experience across electronics, electromechanical, and mechanical commodities.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end assessment and qualification of new suppliers for components, PCBAs, subassemblies, and system-level products.
- Conduct supplier quality-system and process audits; document findings, assess risk, and drive corrective actions to closure.
- Evaluate process capability, special-process controls, inspection and test methods, calibration, sub-tier management, and change control.
- Partner with Strategic Sourcing and Engineering to define qualification requirements, select suppliers, and approve suppliers based on evidence.
- Maintain supplier qualification records, audit results, risk ratings, approved supplier status, and supplier development plans.
- Define supplier quality deliverables for new parts and NPI builds, including quality plans, inspection requirements, control plans, and production-readiness criteria.
- Review and approve First Article Inspection packages and drive APQP/PPAP activities, including PFMEA, process flow, control plans, MSA, capability studies, and validation of critical-to-quality characteristics.
- Verify production readiness through on-site reviews, pilot-build support, and closure of open risks before volume production.
- Monitor supplier scorecards and quality trends, including defect rates, PPM, escapes, corrective-action timeliness, audit findings, and repeat nonconformances.
- Establish risk-based incoming inspection and supplier surveillance plans.
- Support nonconformance disposition, deviations, material review, supplier change notifications, and qualification of process, tooling, site, or sub-tier changes.
- Issue and manage Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs), ensuring containment, problem definition, production protection, and timely execution.
- Lead supplier root-cause investigations using 8D, 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, fault-tree analysis, and related methods.
- Validate root causes, approve corrective and preventive actions, verify effectiveness, and drive systemic improvements.
- Travel to domestic and international supplier sites for qualification, audits, production readiness, issue resolution, and supplier development.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
- 7–10+ years of Supplier Quality, Quality Engineering, or Manufacturing Quality experience supporting complex hardware products.
- Experience assessing, auditing, qualifying, and developing suppliers across electronics, electromechanical, and mechanical commodities.
- Knowledge of quality-management systems and supplier auditing against ISO 9001, AS9100, or applicable industry standards.
- Experience reviewing First Article Inspection and APQP/PPAP deliverables, including drawings, GD&T, dimensional reports, material certifications, PFMEAs, control plans, MSA, and capability data.
- Experience managing SCARs and leading supplier root-cause investigations and corrective actions.
- Understanding of manufacturing and inspection processes for PCBAs, cables, sheet metal, machined parts, plastics, and system assemblies.
- Working knowledge of SPC, Cp/Cpk, MSA, sampling plans, control plans, PFMEA, and risk-based supplier quality controls.
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings and specifications and communicate technical quality risks clearly.
- Knowledge of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, part and document control, revision and change management, approval workflows, supplier data, and configuration traceability.
Nice-to-Haves
- Lead-auditor or quality certification.
Compensation
- Base salary range: $175,000–$275,000 annually.
- Additional compensation may include bonus and equity.
Skills
Supplier Quality, Iso 9001, As9100, Supplier Auditing, First Article Inspection, Apqp, Ppap, Pfmea, Control Plans, Msa, Spc, GD&T, 8D, Scars, Plm
Similar jobs
Hardware Engineering jobs
Zoox
Foster City, CA
Develops and validates brake control systems, specifications, diagnostics, and supplier firmware for an autonomous vehicle platform. Requires an engineering degree, 6+ years in automotive or aerospace, hydraulic braking expertise, HIL validation experience, and hardware-software-firmware debugging skills.
Anthropic
Boston, MAOwns the basis of design and reusable contract-document templates for global physical security and low-voltage systems, coordinating consultants and construction delivery. Requires 6+ years of design engineering experience, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, strong technical-authoring skills, and expertise in security systems, BIM, and automation.
Zoox
Foster City, CA
Leads supplier quality and manufacturing readiness for high-voltage powertrain batteries from prototype through production. The role requires engineering experience in quality or manufacturing, supplier audits, battery manufacturing processes, corrective actions, and high-voltage safety.
Crusoe
San Francisco, CALeads data center design optimization across space, power density, and cost, translating commercial requirements into engineering decisions. Requires 7+ years of infrastructure experience, strong electrical and mechanical systems knowledge, quantitative cost modeling, and cross-functional leadership.
Zoox
Foster City, CA
Leads supplier quality, industrialization, validation, and continuous improvement for automotive seating and vehicle interior suppliers. Requires a relevant engineering bachelor’s degree, 8+ years of quality or manufacturing experience, and hands-on expertise with interior commodities and manufacturing processes.