Lead Quality Engineer

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.; Post Falls (ID); On-site; USD 108,000 - 162,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP

Top-tier benefits

Paid holidays

Vacation & sick days

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) seeks a results-driven Lead Quality Engineer to create and scale the quality systems for a new manufacturing facility. You will lead a technical team, partner with production, engineering and site leadership, and drive preventive quality strategies while expanding manufacturing operations.

You will shape a high-performing quality culture, implement robust testing and analytics, develop capabilities, and mentor engineers and technicians in a fast-growing

Qualifications

• As a B.S. engineer, you have deep technical grounding and leadership exposure.
• You have 6+ years in engineering and experience leading a team.
• You implement quality tools and drive process improvements.
• You collaborate across manufacturing, engineering and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical advisor to production operations on material, design, and assembly issues.
• Plan, design, and implement tests to monitor quality.
• Analyze data to understand product defects and root causes.
• Lead supplier collaboration to eliminate component failures.
• Drive design and process improvements for reliability.
• Act as SME in internal/external audits and certifications.
• Supervise, coach, and develop the quality team.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Quality system development

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Project management

Auditing & compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

FMEA

Six Sigma

PDCA

Statistical methods

Metrology

Job description

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) is seeking a self-driven and forward-thinking leader to join our Manufacturing Quality Assurance team. This is a unique opportunity to build and shape quality systems from the ground up while leading a team of technical professionals at SEL's newest manufacturing facility. As a Lead Quality Engineer within the Manufacturing Quality Assurance team, you will partner closely with manufacturing, engineering, and site leadership to establish and strengthen the quality culture, build robust quality systems, improve process capability, implement preventive quality strategies, and help scale manufacturing operations as production grows. You'll lead a team of quality professionals and engineers, developing their capabilities while creating a high-performing quality organization. This role combines technical depth with people leadership. If you're looking for a role where you can make a visible impact, develop people, solve complex manufacturing challenges, and help define the future of a growing facility, this is the role for you. The strongest candidates will bring demonstrated leadership experience, familiarity with SEL design and/or manufacturing processes, a solid engineering foundation, and a commitment to modeling and promoting SEL Values. Success in this role requires strong collaboration, adaptability, and the ability to effectively influence across functions while utilizing exceptional problem-solving, facilitation, and negotiation skills. This role offers a unique opportunity to launch and scale quality operations within a new manufacturing facility while gaining experience that prepares you for future leadership growth opportunities within SEL.

Typical Day

• Serve as a technical advisor to production operations; troubleshoot material, design, and assembly issues.
• Plan, design, and implement tests to monitor quality.
• Analyze data to facilitate understanding of product defects.
• Partner with suppliers to identify and eliminate the cause of component failures.
• Drive improvements in product design, assembly, and component quality to increase product reliability.
• Serve as subject matter expert in internal/external audits and certification activities.
• Supervise, coach, and teach a quality team.

Qualifications

• A B.S. degree in Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 6+ years of experience in an engineering discipline
• Experience managing a team of technical personnel
• Strong leadership, organization, and communication skills
• Strong project management and problem-solving skills
• Knowledge of quality tools and process improvement techniques (FMEA, Six Sigma, PDCA)
• Knowledge/experience in any of the following: design for manufacturability/assembly, tolerance studies, plastic and metal part design, Design of Experiments (DOE)
• Experience using metrology and statistical methods
• Ability to work cooperatively in a diverse team environment

Competitive pay. Superior benefits. Inspiring work.

Pay Range Data Lead Quality Engineer: $107,600 - $161,500 per year. Our compensation ranges are based on the responsibilities of the role. Starting pay is determined individually and considers factors such as relevant experience, skills, knowledge, and training. Candidates may be considered at different levels based on their background. As a result, pay may vary to align with the level of the role.

Inspiring work. People are at the core of our company and we hire employee-owners. We welcome you to learn more about how we support employees. We’re 100% employee owned. Retirement benefits include an employer funded stock ownership plan (ESOP) and personal 401(k) options. We offer top tier medical, prescription, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance. We recognize the importance of a healthy life balance and offer: 10 paid holidays, annual vacation accrual starting at 12 days, 9 paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave that covers 90% of your pay. We foster growth and development of our employees through avenues such as STEM courses, apprenticeships, tuition assistance, and engineering development programs.

SEL is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Vets/Disabled. SEL invents, designs, and builds digital products and systems that protect power grids around the world. This technology prevents blackouts and enables customers to improve power system reliability and safety at a reduced cost. A 100 percent employee-owned company headquartered in Pullman, Washington, SEL has manufactured products in the United States since 1984 and now serves customers worldwide. Our mission is simple: to make electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.