Plant Quality Engineer: Root-Cause & Process Excellence

Socket.dev; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Pretium Packaging seeks a hands-on Plant Quality Engineer to join the Salt Lake City, UT team and solve manufacturing challenges at the source. You will act as a technical resource for structured problem solving, SPC, measurement systems, risk analysis, and validation, partnering with Operations, Process Engineering, Maintenance, and suppliers.

This on-site role emphasizes safety, quality, and teamwork. You’ll lead root-cause investigations, verify improvements with data, and drive robust

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Quality, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, Plastics, or related engineering discipline preferred.
• 3–5 years of experience in quality engineering, process engineering, manufacturing engineering, or technical quality preferred.
• Experience solving manufacturing problems and improving process capability in a production environment.
• Experience in rigid packaging, plastics processing, food-contact packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, or another regulated manufacturing environment is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead structured investigations into customer complaints, nonconformances, recurring defects, process failures, and adverse trends.
• Apply tools such as 5 Why, fishbone analysis, data stratification, hypothesis testing, and cause verification.
• Distinguish occurrence, escape, and systemic causes, then implement corrective actions that address verified root causes.
• Verify effectiveness through objective evidence and sustained performance data.
• Develop SPC strategies for critical product and process characteristics.
• Select appropriate control charts, rational subgrouping methods, and reaction plans.
• Analyze process capability and performance using Cp, Cpk, Pp, and Ppk where appropriate.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to translate statistical signals into timely process action.
• Plan and execute measurement system studies for gauges, test equipment, inspection methods, and attribute evaluations.
• Conduct Gauge R&R, bias, linearity, stability, resolution, and attribute agreement studies as applicable.
• Confirm measurement systems are suitable for validation, capability analysis, process control, and product acceptance.
• Improve measurement methods, fixtures, calibration practices, training, and consistency.
• Lead or support Process FMEA and related risk assessments for new and existing processes.
• Identify failure modes, effects, causes, controls, and risk-reduction priorities.
• Translate FMEA outputs into control plans, inspection standards, work instructions, maintenance requirements, and validation activities.
• Update risk assessments based on validation results, complaints, process changes, and lessons learned.
• Help qualify new or changed resins, colorants, additives, packaging components, molds, tooling, machines, and auxiliary equipment.
• Develop and execute IQ/OQ/PQ protocols with defined scope, sampling, test methods, acceptance criteria, and deviation handling.
• Use risk assessment, MSA, SPC, capability analysis, and designed trials to demonstrate consistent conformance.
• Document results, resolve deviations, recommend approval status, and transfer validated settings and controls into production documents.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Data-driven decision making

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Written communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Quality, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, Plastics, or related engineering discipline

Tools

CAPA

SPC

MSA

FMEA

IQ/OQ/PQ

Excel

Job description

Pretium Packaging seeks a hands-on Plant Quality Engineer to join the Salt Lake City, UT team and solve manufacturing challenges at the source. You will act as a technical resource for structured problem solving, SPC, measurement systems, risk analysis, and validation, partnering with Operations, Process Engineering, Maintenance, and suppliers.

This on-site role emphasizes safety, quality, and teamwork. You’ll lead root-cause investigations, verify improvements with data, and drive robust