New Product Engineer

IFABCORP; North Carolina; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

IFABCORP is seeking an APQP Engineer Lead to provide technical leadership for Advanced Product Quality Planning across new-product launches, transfers, and major process changes. You will translate customer requirements into robust manufacturing controls and validation plans to ensure readiness before production.

The role acts as the technical owner of APQP/PPAP, PFMEA, control plans, process flow, MSA, and SPC, leading cross-functional teams to prevent defects and ensure successful launches.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Quality, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or related Engineering.
• Five or more years of APQP/PPAP, quality or launch engineering experience.
• Advanced knowledge of AIAG Core Tools: APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, and SPC.
• Experience leading cross-functional APQP/PPAP activities in discrete manufacturing.
• Ability to interpret drawings, GD&T, and customer specifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead APQP activities for assigned programs, new-product introductions, transfers, and major process changes.
• Serve as technical owner for APQP/PPAP, PFMEA, control plans, and process capability analyses.
• Define APQP timing plans, deliverables, and gate-review criteria for each program.
• Facilitate cross-functional APQP meetings with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain.
• Lead preparation and submission of PPAP packages at required levels.

Skills

APQP

PPAP

PFMEA

Root-cause analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Quality/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

Sage 500 ERP

Job description

The APQP Engineer Lead provides technical leadership for Advanced Product Quality Planning activities supporting IFAB’s new-product launches, product transfers, engineering changes, and significant process changes. This role ensures that customer requirements are translated into robust, capable, repeatable manufacturing processes before production launch.

The APQP Engineer Lead is the primary technical owner of APQP, PPAP, process-risk reduction, validation, and launch-quality readiness. The role leads cross-functional teams in applying APQP tools—including process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, control plans, MSA, SPC, capability studies, and PPAP—to prevent defects and achieve successful production launches. APQP is a structured manufacturing and product-development approach intended to ensure products and processes meet customer specifications and quality requirements.qad+1

• Lead APQP activities for assigned customer programs, new-product introductions, transfers, tooling launches, and major manufacturing-process changes.
• Serve as IFAB’s technical subject-matter expert for APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, control plans, process flow, MSA, SPC, capability analysis, safe launch, containment, and corrective action.
• Establish APQP timing plans, required deliverables, gate-review criteria, launch-quality milestones, and escalation paths for each assigned program.
• Facilitate cross-functional APQP meetings with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Maintenance, Purchasing, Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Operations.
• Translate customer drawings, specifications, customer-specific requirements, packaging requirements, and quality expectations into practical manufacturing controls and validation requirements.
• Lead development, review, and maintenance of process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, control plans, standardized work, inspection instructions, reaction plans, and error-proofing plans.
• Ensure PFMEAs and control plans accurately reflect actual manufacturing conditions across stamping, forming, welding, CNC machining, assembly, painting, and related fabrication processes.
• Lead feasibility and design-for-manufacturability reviews; identify risks related to part design, material, tooling, fixtures, equipment, welding, machining, finishing, inspection, capacity, packaging, and handling.
• Define and coordinate measurement-system analysis, inspection-gauge validation, fixture verification, first-article inspection, dimensional layouts, material/performance testing, and process-capability studies.
• Review capability and quality data; drive improvement plans where process performance does not meet customer, IFAB, or launch requirements.
• Lead preparation, internal approval, and customer submission of PPAP packages at required customer submission levels.
• Serve as the technical quality contact for assigned customers during APQP reviews, PPAP discussions, launch-quality concerns, and corrective-action activity.
• Support production trial runs, run-at-rate events, first-off/last-off inspections, pilot builds, pre-production builds, and start-of-production readiness reviews.
• Establish and lead safe-launch, early-production-containment, and heightened-inspection plans until process performance is stable and approved for normal production.
• Lead structured problem-solving for launch-related and customer-quality issues using 8D, A3, 5 Why, fishbone analysis, Pareto analysis, and corrective/preventive-action methods.
• Coordinate quality-related supplier readiness activities, including supplier APQP requirements, tooling/gauge timing, incoming-quality requirements, supplier PPAPs, and supplier corrective actions.
• Conduct or support layered process audits, process audits, product audits, and launch-readiness audits to confirm processes match approved APQP documentation.
• Mentor Quality Engineers, Quality Technicians, APQP Coordinators, and cross-functional team members in the practical application of AIAG Core Tools and customer-specific requirements.
• Improve IFAB’s APQP templates, PPAP checklists, launch dashboards, standard work, training materials, and document-control practices.
• Maintain complete, accurate, auditable, and customer-ready APQP/PPAP records in accordance with IFAB procedures, customer requirements, and applicable quality standards.
• Follow all IFAB safety requirements and actively support a safe, clean, organized manufacturing environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Quality, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or related Engineering discipline; equivalent directly relevant experience may be considered.
• Five or more years of experience in APQP, PPAP, quality engineering, advanced quality, manufacturing engineering, supplier quality, or launch-quality engineering.
• Demonstrated experience independently leading APQP and PPAP work for new-product launches in a discrete-manufacturing environment.
• Advanced working knowledge of AIAG Core Tools: APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, and SPC.
• Proven experience leading and facilitating PFMEAs, developing control plans, completing MSA studies, evaluating Cp/Cpk or Pp/Ppk results, and implementing reaction plans.
• Experience with metal stamping, forming, welding, CNC machining, assembly, painting, coating, or comparable industrial manufacturing processes.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, dimensional requirements, material specifications, inspection criteria, and customer-specific requirements.
• Strong root-cause analysis and corrective-action skills, including 8D, 5 Why, fishbone, Pareto, and verification-of-effectiveness methods.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence decisions without direct supervisory authority.
• Strong written, verbal, customer-facing, organizational, and project-management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, ERP/MRP systems, quality-documentation systems, and customer portals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an ISO 9001 and/or IATF 16949 manufacturing environment.
• Automotive, heavy truck, off-highway, industrial OEM, Tier 1, or high-volume customer-driven manufacturing experience.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt, or equivalent certification.
• AIAG/VDA FMEA training and experience.
• Experience with welding-quality requirements, coating/paint specifications, machining inspection, CMMs, vision systems, fixture design, and error-proofing.
• Experience auditing suppliers or managing supplier PPAP and corrective-action activity.
• Experience with Sage 500 or comparable ERP/MRP systems.
• Technical authority: Applies APQP and quality-engineering methods correctly and can explain the “why” behind controls, risks, and validation requirements.
• Risk prevention: Identifies potential product, process, tooling, supplier, and measurement risks early and drives preventive actions before launch.
• Cross-functional leadership: Moves work forward across Quality, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and external suppliers.
• Data-based judgment: Uses dimensional, capability, scrap, defect, and audit data to make sound recommendations and prioritize action.
• Customer orientation: Represents IFAB professionally and ensures commitments, PPAP submissions, and quality responses are accurate and timely.
• Hands-on execution: Is comfortable moving between customer documentation, data analysis, engineering reviews, and the production floor.

Key Performance Indicators

• APQP milestone completion and on-time PPAP submission rate.
• Customer PPAP approval and first-submission acceptance rate.
• Number, age, and closure timeliness of APQP risks, launch action items, and corrective actions.
• Process capability achievement against customer and internal requirements.
• Launch-related scrap, rework, containment, premium freight, and customer complaints.
• Time required to transition programs from safe launch to stable, normal production.
• Accuracy, completeness, and audit readiness of APQP and PPAP documentation.
• Measurable reduction in recurring launch and quality issues through lessons learned and standardization.

Authority and Interfaces

The APQP Engineer Lead has authority to identify and escalate launch-quality risks, require corrective actions, recommend containment, stop release of incomplete PPAP packages, and withhold quality approval for production readiness when evidence does not demonstrate conformity. Final business decisions on customer commitments, production schedules, capital expenditures, and shipment disposition remain with the appropriate IFAB functional leaders.

This role works closely with the NPI Manager, if assigned, but has a distinct focus: the NPI Manager owns the overall program and business launch, while the APQP Engineer Lead owns the technical quality-planning and validation system.