Quality Engineering Lead

Viper Innovations Ltd; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days holiday

Life assurance

Critical illness insurance

Contributory pension scheme

Cycle to work/volunteering/electriccar

Hybrid & flexible working

Bonus scheme

Job summary

Viper Innovations is seeking a Quality Engineering Lead to lead quality engineering and assurance across products, manufacturing processes and the supply chain. You will head investigations, drive containment and corrective actions, and build a skilled Quality Team to prevent recurring issues.

The role requires strong leadership, experience in QA/audits, and effective collaboration with suppliers and internal functions to embed quality into engineering and manufacturing.

Qualifications

• HND, HNC, BEng, MEng or equivalent qualification in engineering.
• Experience in a quality engineering, manufacturing engineering or electronics/electrical engineering environment.
• Practical experience of product or manufacturing investigations, structured root-cause analysis, corrective action and NCR management.
• Understanding of Quality Management Systems and Quality Assurance, including experience conducting or supporting product, process or supplier audits.
• Good understanding of electronic and/or electromechanical products and manufacturing processes, and the ability to interpret technical drawings, specifications and Bills of Materials.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication and leadership skills, with the ability to analyse quality data, write clear reports and collaborate across functions.

Responsibilities

• Lead quality engineering support across manufacturing, assembly, inspection and test, including product, component and process failure investigations.
• Lead containment, structured root-cause and corrective action using tools such as 5 Whys and 8D, progressing NCRs through to effective closure.
• Support Quality Assurance through process, product and supplier audits, ensuring operational processes are defined, controlled, followed and continually improved.
• Develop quality planning, inspection strategies and acceptance criteria; lead First Article Inspections and contribute to FMEA and engineering change verification.
• Work with Supply Chain and suppliers to resolve component, PCBA and assembly quality issues and improve supplier quality performance.
• Use data to drive continuous improvement, while leading cross-functional investigations and developing the Operations Engineering Quality Team.

Skills

Quality leadership

Root-cause analysis

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

HND/HNC/BEng/MEng or equivalent

Tools

FMEA

8D problem solving

NCR management

Audits

Job description

• Are you an experienced quality engineer ready to lead quality improvement in a growing engineering business?
• Do you enjoy solving complex product and manufacturing quality problems and preventing them from recurring?
• Would you like to develop a quality team and help build quality into electrical and electronic products, processes and suppliers?

Viper Innovations is a King’s Award-winning engineering technology company partnered with The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). We deliver advanced monitoring and asset integrity solutions that protect mission-critical electrical systems in subsea energy, rail, and industrial sectors worldwide.

The Role:

We are looking for a Quality Engineering Lead to join our Operations Engineering team. This hands-on leadership role spans Quality Engineering and Quality Assurance across our products, manufacturing processes and supply chain. You will lead investigations and improvement activities, develop the Quality Team and work across the business and with suppliers to prevent recurring issues and build quality into products and processes.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Lead quality engineering support across manufacturing, assembly, inspection and test, including product, component and process failure investigations.
• Lead containment, structured root-cause and corrective action using tools such as 5 Whys and 8D, progressing NCRs through to effective closure.
• Support Quality Assurance through process, product and supplier audits, ensuring operational processes are defined, controlled, followed and continually improved.
• Develop quality planning, inspection strategies and acceptance criteria; lead First Article Inspections and contribute to FMEA and engineering change verification.
• Work with Supply Chain and suppliers to resolve component, PCBA and assembly quality issues and improve supplier quality performance.
• Use FTY, rework, scrap and Cost of Quality data to drive continuous improvement, while leading cross-functional investigations and developing the Operations Engineering Quality Team.

What We Are Looking For:

• HND, HNC, BEng, MEng or equivalent qualification in a relevant engineering discipline, and/or demonstrable experience relevant to the role.
• Experience in a quality engineering, manufacturing engineering or electronics/electrical engineering environment.
• Practical experience of product or manufacturing investigations, structured root-cause analysis, corrective action and NCR management.
• Understanding of Quality Management Systems and Quality Assurance, including experience conducting or supporting product, process or supplier audits.
• Good understanding of electronic and/or electromechanical products and manufacturing processes, and the ability to interpret technical drawings, specifications and Bills of Materials.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication and leadership skills, with the ability to analyse quality data, write clear reports and collaborate across functions.

Desirable, but not essential:

• Experience of electronics manufacturing/PCBAs, supplier quality and ISO 9001.
• Knowledge of IPC standards, FAI, FMEA, SPC/process capability and/or formal auditor training.

What's in it for You:

• 26 days holiday plus bank holidays (with the option to buy or sell 5 additional days)
• Life assurance
• Critical illness insurance
• Attractive contributory pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme/volunteering scheme/electric car scheme available
• Hybrid & flexible working arrangements: We offer a balanced hybrid working model, with three days based in the office and two days working remotely. Our flexible working hours include core hours from 10am to 3pm, allowing employees to structure their start and finish times.
• Bonus Scheme to celebrate the company’s successes and individual performance

If you are passionate about quality engineering, solving complex problems and developing a preventative quality culture, and want to be part of an exciting and innovative team, we’d love to hear from you!

Note on Sponsorship: We regret to inform you that at this time, we are unable to offer sponsorship for work authorisation for this role. Therefore, candidates must possess valid authorisation to work in the UK without requiring visa sponsorship.