Quality Assurance Engineer

Summary
This position will work to ensure high quality mass production brake systems and components. This includes the ability to attend customer trial events and evaluations activities to validate the product quality for each automotive program. Furthermore the ability to perform product problem analysis (with the customers and suppliers) is essential to ensure proper component continuous development and improvement. This position will work with internal departments, customers and suppliers to ensure proper component development and continuous improvement. In addition, this position will provide leadership to ADVICS manufacturing plants for quick detection & resolution of customer quality issues. This position will develop and maintain ADVICS’ products and customer relationships.

Essential Job Responsibilities and Duties
1. Maintain, track and monitor Customer required websites such as Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, Chrysler systems, specifically the Toyota EQPR, SQIDS, SWCS, SKIP, SPIMS, AWS, Covisint systems, as required.
2. Serve as the customer’s primary quality contact for all assigned program ADVICS products being supplied to the customer assembly plants. Hold face-to-face communication activities with suppliers and customers to ensure program development.
3. Lead and coordinate ADVICS new product evaluations during customer prototype reviews, new model reviews or pre-production trials with assistance from other engineers, Coordinators and/or Manager. Attend customer and supplier build activities to gather information to evaluate the status of the developing program.
4. Create appropriate customer and internal documents to support the success of program development. Develop and maintain spreadsheets/databases that track program development and/or program issues.
5. Ensure all activities are on schedule with via customers own program/project planning tools and via the supplier planning tools. Provide technical support to customer Quality Engineering & Production Engineering departments.
6. Develop and perform quality audits to ensure supplier state of readiness with assistance from Senior Engineer and/or Manager.
7. Maintain databases to track programs, change request, quality issue status and others as needed.
8. Coordinate activities for quality improvement at all ADVICS North American manufacturing plants, communicate customer needs and drive improvement activities. Assist continuous improvement teams, support in the development/implementation of containment activities and corrective action countermeasures. Serve as the primary coordinator for the "Go & See" at the customer’s locations for customer concerns.
9. Communicate with all ADVICS “Global” locations, including any affiliate companies.

Other Responsibilities and Duties
1. Coordinate negotiation activities for the removal of scrapped / rejected parts from ADVICS Parts Per Million (PPM) quality record, which serves as a critical Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the customers’ judgment of any supplier location. In addition, coordinate negotiations of the reduction of scrap costs, quality defects, and sort/re-work operations that may impact the ADVICS manufacturing plants.
2. Access and maintain Customer, Tier I/II and Supplier required websites and systems.
3. Assist in the development and maintenance of a mass production performance tracking program and supplier rating system.
4. Assist in analyzing nonconforming products at the customer facility when required.
5. Assist in action plan development based on both the corporate, customer and departmental targets/objectives. The ability to execute a plan; check the actual achievement against the plan and re-plan based on less than targeted results. The “PDCA” approach to be conducted with approval by your manager including the ability to assist in the development of targets/objectives from year-to-year and again track the results.
6. Update management on the status of the assigned programs through meetings and/or reports, including tracking and reporting to senior management changes to the program which impact the business case and program profitability.
7. Ability to represent and/or present on the quality condition/status of any and all ADVICS products. This requires the continuous collection of information from others, i.e. internally, at plant locations, Tier II level locations and others. This is to assure you keep the entire ADVICS team prepared for any customer required update meetings, including support the compliance to the customer’s supplier requirements.
8. Other special projects, tasks or duties as assigned by supervisor and/or management.

Work Environment and Physical Demands
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Most work is performed in a typical office setting; however some work will be performed in a manufacturing setting.
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Open office environment exists.
- This position requires extensive communication with others internally to the company and with external customers and suppliers verbal and written.
- Required to work additional hours to meet deadlines, as necessary.
- Travel is required to meeting sites, customer facilities and supplier and Affiliate Company manufacturing plants.

Equipment and Supporting Services
- Basic Equipment needed is Desk Phone, Business Cards and Security Badge.
- Additional Equipment needed is Cellular Phone, Company Credit Card and Lap Top Computer.
- Special Equipment is not needed.
- Cell Phone optional: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) allows the use of personal smartphone or iPad tablet to be connected to company apps

Qualifications
Education and Experience:

Desired Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Field with a minimum of three (3) years of working with automotive OEM's in Quality Assurance. Prefer brake system however other safety critical product quality experience can meet the requirement in place of brake system experience.

Minimum Qualifications:
- A minimum of 5 years professional experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- MUST have corporate level experience at the tier I level.

Special Skills:
- Demonstrated experience in a quality role either in mass production, new model (aka Advanced Quality) or Warranty.

- Experience in managing prototype quality, pre-production preparation and launch via a quality gates system or tool.
- Experienced in large volumes of data and the development of tools to process large volumes of data across multiple sites.
- Ability to adjust to changing work requirements with little to no notice to meet the customers’ needs and deadlines.
- Experience with turning problems in new systems/process to make a better product/service.
- Ability to travel more than 50% of the time depending on time of year, program cycle, and state of the product quality.
- Skill in working with Toyota Systems such as: Quality Status of Problem Report (EQPR), Supplier Quality Information Delivery System (SQIDS), Supplier Warranty Cost Share (SWCS), Supplier Key Indictor of Performance (SKIP), Supplier Preparation Information Management Systems (SPIMS).
- Skill in working with Big Three Systems- Global Quality and Tracking System (GQTS), Problem Reporting and Resolution (PRR), Problem Resolution and Tracking System (PRTS), Quality With Information and Knowledge (QWIK), Subsetted Warranty Information Feedback Tool (SWIFT), Analytical Warranty System (AWS), Supplier Improvement Matrix (SIM), Measurement of Performance Of Supplier (MOPS), Concern Training System (CTS), Delivery Concern Tracking System (DCTS), Supplier Value Management (SVM), GM Supply Power, Ford Covisint, and DCX quality systems.
- Ability to create detailed and complicated timelines, tracking mechanisms and other correspondence.
- Ability to manage multiple competing deadlines effectively and professionally.
- Skill in effectively participating in teams made up of peers, subordinates and managers.
- Skill in communicating with others in different departments and to other people outside the organization verbally and through writing.
- Knowledge of various quality systems including: APQP, ISO 9000, TS 16949, Shainin RedX, Six Sigma, Tiguchi Method, 5-Why Method, Kepner Tregoe Analysis, etc.
- Ability to use MS Office products, MS Project, MS Access, Email, Internet, Voicemail, and other miscellaneous electronic devices and software products.

Certificates, Licensees, Registrations:
- Six Sigma Green Belt, preferred but not required.
- TS 16949 Lead Auditor, preferred but not required.
- Certified Auditor for Heat Treatment, Spot Welding, Projection Welding