Supplier Quality Engineer

TN United Kingdom; Woking; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job description

Harvey Water Softeners is part of Culligan International – a global water treatment company providing solutions for homes, offices and commercial purposes. It is the UK market leader in domestic water softeners and a key household brand within the Culligan Group, having doubled sales over the past five years. The business is currently going through a business transformation to ensure it will deliver its 2025 targets.

At our factory in Old Woking, we have a full production and R&D facility, which sit alongside our head office functions. We invest heavily in our people and are proud to champion a Coaching Culture underpinned by our shared Values. Our factory has undergone modernization to incorporate world class manufacturing and the best-in-class tools and equipment to make our great product. We are continuing to grow with the support of Culligan and we need great people to continue to fuel our momentum.

As a Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE) you will play a crucial role in ensuring that suppliers meet the quality standards and specifications for the water softeners Culligan Harvey's produce. You will be a Harvey Ambassador who lives our values, working with our supplier base and global procurement team to ensure we have full supply contracts in place across all suppliers, negotiating terms and conditions to ensure we receive the best possible market rates. Quality will be at the heart of the role, with focus on inbound part reviews to ensure the correct quality controls are in place and analysis of defects from both production and field service, with follow up root cause analysis into the cause of the failures and feedback to the suppliers to put corrective actions in place. This will be backed up by supplier quality audits to ensure agreed action plans are established and working. Where the Service Level agreement is in place look to reclaim any costs associated with the poor quality.

Working in a cross functional way with other team members & key stakeholders such as Production, Quality, Service & Supply Chain to deliver a strong quality control across all inbound parts and accessories, constantly looking for further process improvements and feeding back to the business with trend analysis and improvement plans.

Requirements

What this role involves:

1. Supplier Evaluation: Work with global procurement to assess and select suppliers based on their ability to meet product and schedule requirements, with required quality standards and within the cost expectations.
2. Contract Reviews: Ensure contracts are in place for all suppliers and align with other key departments to complete contract negotiations for renewals and new suppliers.
3. Quality Audits: Conduct supplier audits to drive process standardization, waste elimination, and continuous improvement.
4. KPI Monitoring: Monitor and improve key supply chain KPIs, including Supplier On Time Delivery, Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO), and Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).
5. Issue Resolution: Work with internal and external stakeholders to resolve supplier quality issues, including production teams, Quality teams and Field Service teams.
6. Collaboration: Collaborate with supplier representatives on quality problems and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
7. Performance Metrics: Manage and maintain supplier performance metrics, assessment, and certification programs.
8. Training: Train suppliers to execute specific quality system processes.
9. Coordination: Coordinate with engineering and procurement teams to ensure supplier compliance with contractual requirements.

What we're looking for:

1. Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality Management, or a related field.
2. 3-5 years of experience in quality engineering or a similar role.
3. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
4. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
5. Proficiency in quality management systems (e.g., ISO 9001), and knowledge of statistical tools and techniques.
6. Negotiation skills and understanding of supplier contracts.
7. Preferred certifications such as Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Six Sigma Green Belt.

What we can offer:

1. A supportive, collaborative team environment.
2. Pension Scheme
3. 25 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays
4. Opportunities for career growth and development.
5. Comprehensive training and ongoing support.
6. Wellbeing programs – Your wellbeing is important to us.
7. Access to ongoing learning and development through our online learning platforms.