Director of Quality

Upside Innovations, LLC; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Upside Innovations, part of SixAxis Manufacturing Technologies, seeks a Director of Quality to own the Quality Management System and lead a team of three Quality Inspectors. You will partner with Operations, Engineering, Sales, Purchasing and Project Management to prevent defects and drive quality excellence.

The role focuses on preventive action, supplier quality, and cross-functional leadership to elevate quality across the organization while aligning with strategic growth.

Qualifications

• Experience leading quality programs in a manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001 framework and quality systems.
• Ability to drive preventive action and supplier quality improvement.

Responsibilities

• Own the CAPA process from issue capture through root cause and closure.
• Lead cross-functional teams in structured problem solving and corrective actions.
• Manage and coach three Quality Inspectors and oversee weld quality initiatives.
• Define, manage, and improve the Quality Management System (ISO 9001).
• Lead quality review meetings and report metrics to leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Quality management

CAPA

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Monday.com

Tools

Monday.com

Welding QA procedures

Job description

Upside Innovations is a manufacturer of aluminum ramps, steps, canopies, OSHA steps, covered

walkways, and custom access products. We have been growing tremendously since Upside started in

2009 and we continue to add new positions to our team. We are now part of SixAxis Manufacturing

Technologies which is fueling additional growth in our business.

Position Summary

As Upside continues to scale, we are elevating our quality leadership to match the size and complexity of

the business. The Director of Quality is the senior quality leader at Upside Innovations and a member of

the leadership team reporting to the President. This role owns the Quality Management System and is

accountable for moving the organization from finding problems at final inspection to preventing them at

the source.

The Director partners directly with leaders in Operations, Engineering, Sales, Project Management and

Purchasing. Rather than dictating fixes, the Director facilitates root cause analysis and reaches

agreement with each functional owner on the corrective and preventive actions their teams will carry

out, then holds everyone accountable for follow-through. This is a hands-on leadership role that directly

manages and works alongside a team of three Quality Inspectors.

Success in this role means preventing field quality issues, errors caught at the point they occur, a clearly

measured and declining cost of quality, and a preventive action program that the rest of the leadership

team owns and supports.

Key Responsibilities

Preventive Action and Shared Ownership

• Build and lead a formal preventive action program that identifies and addresses risks before they

become defects, quality escapes, or customer complaints.

• Facilitate preventive and corrective actions jointly with the functional leader who owns the

process, so that the people doing the work agree on the solution, its owner, and its due date.

• Analyze trends in nonconformances, quality escapes, scrap, rework, warranty, and customer

complaints to target the highest-impact improvement opportunities.

In-Process Quality

• Work with Operations to establish operator self-checks, first article inspection, defined inspection

points, control plans, and mistake-proofing (poka-yoke) in fabrication, welding, and assembly.

• Shift inspector time from end-of-line inspection toward process verification, audits, and coaching

on the shop floor.

• Partner with Operations to put verification controls in picking and shipping, such as pick verification, packing checklists, and pre-shipment checks, to reduce shipping and picking errors.
• Partner with Engineering to reduce bill of material (BOM) errors through review and release checks, design review participation, and feedback loops from errors found downstream.
• Participate in design reviews and pre-production reviews, and work with Engineering and Sales to flag manufacturability and quality risks on custom and non-standard projects before they reach the shop.

Corrective Action and Problem Solving

• Own the corrective and preventive action (CAPA) process from issue capture through root cause, agreed countermeasure, verification of effectiveness, and closure.
• Lead and coach cross-functional teams in structured problem solving.
• Manage customer complaints and returns, including containment, customer communication, and follow-through, with occasional visits to installation sites as needed.

Quality Management System

• Define, manage, and continually improve the Quality Management System across the organization, structured around the ISO 9001 framework. Formal certification is not a current goal, but the system should be built so it could support certification in the future.
• Maintain controlled procedures, work instructions, inspection standards, and quality records.
• Ensure products meet applicable code, and regulatory requirements.
• Support customer and parent company audits and align with SixAxis quality practices where appropriate.

Welding Quality

• Own the welder qualification program, ensuring all welders are qualified to Upside's Welding

Procedure Specifications (WPS) and that qualification records are current.

• Lead and support the CWI on staff in welding inspection, welder testing, and weld quality improvement.

Cost of Quality, Metrics, and Systems

• Establish a cost of quality model that captures scrap, rework, remakes, shipping errors, warranty,

and field repair costs, working with Finance and Business Analytics.

• Define and report core quality KPIs such as quality escapes by source, first-pass yield, internal

defect rate, cost of quality, CAPA on-time closure and effectiveness, and supplier performance.

• Own quality workflows in Monday.com, including task ownership, due dates, and escalation, so

actions are visible to the full leadership team.

• Lead regular quality review meetings with the leadership team to review metrics, trends, and the

status of agreed actions.

• Set inspection and quality requirements for raw materials, extrusions, and purchased components, and monitor supplier compliance.
• Partner with Purchasing on supplier qualification, scorecards, supplier corrective actions, and incoming inspection.

Team Leadership and Culture

• Directly lead, develop, and work alongside a team of three Quality Inspectors, including setting priorities, inspection coverage, training, and performance reviews.
• Train employees across the company on quality expectations, inspection standards, and problem-solving methods.
• Build a culture where front-line employees and leaders raise issues early and own quality in their own areas.