QUALITY & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MANAGER

American Society for Quality; Birmingham, Northern (AL, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Tricon Wear Solutions seeks a Quality & Continuous Improvement Manager to lead and mature the quality function across fabrication, welding, hard facing, and machining sites. The role owns ISO 9001 continuity, drives improvements in defects, lead time, and cost of quality, and maintains authority independent of production pressures.

You will be on the floor mentoring teams and guiding inspections and releases.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years in a manufacturing quality role with leadership experience.
• Hands-on wall-floor presence reading drawings and understanding shop language.

Responsibilities

• Own and mature the ISO 9001 QMS across sites.
• Make ship/no-ship decisions when quality is at risk.
• Lead continuous improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen.

Skills

Quality leadership

Lean Six Sigma

ISO 9001

Root-cause analysis

Shop floor communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

GD&T

PFMEA

8D problem solving

Job description

JOB SUMMARY

The Quality & Continuous Improvement Manager leads and matures the quality function and owns continuous improvement for Tricon Wear Solutions, with responsibility spanning its manufacturing sites (fabrication, welding and hard facing, and machining). Building on Tricon’s existing ISO 9001 certification, the role drives measurable process improvement and raises first-pass quality across engineering and the shop floor. A key objective is consistent quality standards across sites — reducing plant-to-plant variation in how work is inspected, documented, and released. The role reports on a solid line to the Opco COO and operate independently of Engineering and site Operations, so quality oversight and hold / release authority are not subordinated to production or schedule pressure. It is expected to be floor-present — as comfortable running a root-cause investigation and a management review as walking the floor and discussing a weld or machining setup with the team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own and mature the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, building on the existing certification rather than starting over.
• Serve as the independent quality authority — hold release authority on quality holds and make the ship / no-ship decision when standards are at risk, without being overridden by schedule pressure.
• Own all continuous improvement — using Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen — to deliver measurable reductions in defects, rework, lead time, and cost of quality.
• Set the improvement agenda and drive it at pace, holding functions accountable to committed actions and timelines.
• Drive consistent quality standards and acceptance criteria across Tricon sites, reducing plant-to-plant variation in how work is inspected, documented, and released.
• Own a consistent final inspection and release standard so conformance and product presentation are reliable regardless of which site produced the work.
• Improve promise-date reliability so production and engineering can prioritize against accurate, dependable dates.
• Drive root-cause problem solving on internal and escaped nonconformances, closing corrective actions to true root cause.
• Verify adherence to the common standard through periodic site audits, and qualify inspection personnel to consistent criteria so acceptance decisions are reliable.
• Manage supplier and incoming quality, including supplier corrective actions and conformance to specification.
• Own customer quality communication and resolution; support key customer accounts.
• Partner with Engineering to improve first-pass drawing and design accuracy and the drawing-to-production handoff; work with Operations on throughput and prioritization.
• Track cost of quality and report improvement results to leadership on a regular cadence.
• Manage, mentor, and develop the quality team, fostering a culture where quality is owned on the floor.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a quality role within a manufacturing environment, with progression into quality leadership.
• Hands-on background in welding, fabrication, or machining — able to walk the floor, read drawings, and speak the language of the shop.
• Demonstrated continuous-improvement track record with specific, measurable results from Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen.
• Demonstrated ability to drive change at pace across functions without direct authority.
• Strong knowledge and hands-on experience with ISO 9001 standards and audits.
• Strong root-cause and corrective-action discipline (8D, 5-Why, PFMEA, control plans).
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, and material / weld specifications.
• Certifications such as Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, CQE, or CMQ/OE are a plus.
• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor training is a plus.
• Experience with wear steel, hard facing / overlay, heavy fabrication, or metallurgical / wear applications is a plus.
• Experience standardizing quality practice across multiple manufacturing sites is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, quality, manufacturing, or a related field, or equivalent hands‑on experience.