Customer Quality Engineer

Smart4 Sciences; Oak Creek (WI); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart4Chemicals in Oak Creek, Wisconsin is seeking a Customer Quality Engineer to own customer quality issues from containment to final resolution. You will collaborate with Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Sales and Technical teams to champion customer satisfaction and drive quality improvements across processes.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Quality, plus experience in automotive quality and IATF 16949.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality or related technical discipline.
• Experience in an automotive industry and strong understanding of IATF 16949.
• Experience with customer and third-party audits, quality problem-solving methodologies and automotive coatings would be beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Lead the resolution of customer quality issues between customers and internal teams.
• Manage customer claims from containment to root cause analysis and closure.
• Lead structured problem-solving using 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone and Is/Is Not.
• Ensure root causes and corrective actions are robust and sustained.
• Support and lead customer audits with QA Manager and internal teams.
• Ensure customer-specific requirements are integrated into internal processes.
• Identify opportunities for preventative action and continuous improvement.
• Maintain compliance with site QMS and IATF standards.

Skills

Quality engineering

Customer liaison

Audit support

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Quality

Tools

IATF 16949 knowledge

Job description

Smart4Chemicals are looking to recruit a Customer Quality Engineer to join a leading global manufacturer within the coatings and materials sector, based at their Oak Creek, Wisconsin facility.

This is a customer-facing quality role where you will take ownership of customer quality issues from initial containment through to root cause, corrective action and final resolution. Working closely with Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Sales and Technical teams, you will act as a key voice of the customer while driving improvements across quality and production processes.

To be considered, you will need a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality or a related technical discipline, alongside experience within the automotive industry and a strong understanding of IATF 16949. Experience with customer and third-party audits, quality problem-solving methodologies and automotive coatings would be highly beneficial.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the resolution of customer quality issues, acting as the primary quality liaison between customers and internal cross-functional teams.
• Manage customer claims, complaints and quality concerns from containment through to root cause analysis, corrective action, verification and closure.
• Lead structured problem-solving activities using methodologies such as 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone and Is/Is Not.
• Ensure root causes are evidence-based and corrective and preventative actions are robust, effective and sustainably implemented.
• Support and lead customer audits, working closely with the Quality Assurance Manager and relevant internal teams.
• Ensure customer-specific requirements are understood, documented and integrated into internal processes.
• Identify opportunities for preventative action and continuous improvement to improve customer satisfaction and quality performance.
• Maintain compliance with the site QMS, including customer-specific requirements and applicable IATF standards.

Key Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Experience in a customer-facing quality engineering role within manufacturing.
• Automotive industry experience, ideally within coatings, chemicals, polymers or related materials manufacturing.
• Strong working knowledge of IATF 16949 and customer-specific requirements.
• Experience with RCA, 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone and corrective/preventative actions.
• Experience supporting customer and third-party audits.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, particularly in a customer-facing environment.
• Comfortable working across both office and manufacturing environments.
• Willingness to travel approximately 10–15% to customer or supplier locations.

This is an excellent opportunity for a quality professional looking to take ownership of customer quality within a global manufacturing environment, with the opportunity to make a direct impact on customer satisfaction, quality performance and continuous improvement.