Director of Quality

Upside Innovations Llc; Olde West Chester (OH); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Upside Innovations Llc is seeking a senior Quality leader to drive preventive actions, CAPA, and a robust Quality Management System within a manufacturing environment in Ohio. The role emphasizes leadership of a small team, cross-functional collaboration with Operations, Engineering, and Sales, and a focus on manufacturability and quality risk management on custom projects.

You will own CAPA, lead problem solving, and partner to reduce defects, improve processes, and ensure regulatory alignment

Qualifications

• Defined CAPA process and cross-functional problem solving.
• Experience leading quality initiatives in manufacturing environments.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001 or similar frameworks.
• Strong communication and leadership skills for coaching teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead preventive action program to identify risks before defects or complaints.
• Facilitate CAPA with process owners, assign ownership and due dates.
• Analyze trends in nonconformances, scrap, and customer complaints to target improvements.
• Establish operator self-checks, first article inspection, control plans, and poka-yoke.
• Shift inspection focus to process verification, audits, and coaching on the shop floor.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to reduce BOM errors and ensure manufacturability in reviews.
• Own the CAPA process from issue capture to closure and verification of effectiveness.
• Define and continually improve the Quality Management System aligned with ISO 9001 principles.
• Lead welder qualification program and support welding inspection and verification.
• Define cost of quality model and report KPIs such as internal defect rate and on-time CAPA closure.
• Lead quality reviews with leadership to assess metrics and action status.
• Set supplier quality requirements and qualifications, monitor compliance.

Skills

CAPA process

Cross-functional leadership

ISO 9001

Problem solving

Inspection standards

Quality improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree; engineering, quality, manufacturing, or other technical field a plus

Job description

Key ResponsibilitiesPreventive Action and Shared Ownership• Build and lead a formal preventive action program that identifies and addresses risks before theybecome defects, quality escapes, or customer complaints.• Facilitate preventive and corrective actions jointly with the functional leader who owns theprocess, 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 customercomplaints to target the highest-impact improvement opportunities.In-Process Quality• Work with Operations to establish operator self-checks, first article inspection, defined inspectionpoints, 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 coachingon the shop floor.• Partner with Operations to put verification controls in picking and shipping, such as pickverification, 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 releasechecks, design review participation, and feedback loops from errors found downstream.• Participate in design reviews and pre-production reviews, and work with Engineering and Sales toflag manufacturability and quality risks on custom and non-standard projects before they reachthe 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, andfollow-through, with occasional visits to installation sites as needed.Quality Management System• Define, manage, and continually improve the Quality Management System across theorganization, structured around the ISO 9001 framework. Formal certification is not a currentgoal, 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 whereappropriate.Welding Quality• Own the welder qualification program, ensuring all welders are qualified to Upside's WeldingProcedure Specifications (WPS) and that qualification records are current.• Lead and support the CWI on staff in welding inspection, welder testing, and weld qualityimprovement.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, internaldefect 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, soactions are visible to the full leadership team.• Lead regular quality review meetings with the leadership team to review metrics, trends, and thestatus of agreed actions.Supplier Quality• Set inspection and quality requirements for raw materials, extrusions, and purchasedcomponents, and monitor supplier compliance.• Partner with Purchasing on supplier qualification, scorecards, supplier corrective actions, andincoming inspection.Team Leadership and Culture• Directly lead, develop, and work alongside a team of three Quality Inspectors, including settingpriorities, 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 theirown areas.Qualifications• Bachelor's degree; engineering, quality, manufacturing, or other technical field a plus.• 8+ years of quality experience in a manufacturing environment, including 3+ years leading aquality team or function.• Proven ability to influence peers and gain buy-in from functional leaders on actions they own,without relying on direct authority.• Experience in metal fabrication or custom and engineer-to-order manufacturing preferred.• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 or similar quality management system frameworks.• Welding knowledge, including AWS D1.2 and WPS/welder qualification, is a plus but not required.• Excellent communication, leadership, and coaching skills; team oriented with a professional andpositive attitude.Preferred Certifications• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence(CMQ/OE)• Lean or Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt