Quality Engineering Manager: Lead Quality & Product Excellence

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; Buffalo Grove (IL); On-site; USD 91,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Job summary

Wabtec invites a Quality Engineering Manager to lead a high-performing team responsible for quality across customers, manufacturing, suppliers, and new product development. You will champion structured problem solving, risk reduction, and quality planning throughout the product lifecycle.

You will partner with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to raise product reliability, drive continuous improvement, and ensure regulatory and customer requirements are met.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or related field preferred and 7+ years of progressive experience in quality engineering, including 5 years in leadership roles.
• Proven success in implementing quality improvements in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of ISO 9001 and similar standards.
• Excellent communication, leadership, negotiation, and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Quality Engineers, providing technical guidance, coaching, and performance management.
• Lead quality initiatives supporting customer programs, manufacturing operations, suppliers, and new product development activities.
• Provide technical leadership for customer quality issues, ensuring timely containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and communication.
• Serve as the quality lead for high-impact projects and critical business initiatives.
• Drive the use of structured problem-solving methodologies, including 8D, DMAIC, and root cause analysis, to resolve complex quality issues and prevent recurrence.
• Lead APQP New Product Development (NPD) quality activities, including risk assessments, validation planning, and launch readiness reviews.
• Apply and promote quality tools and methodologies including FMEA, PPAP, SPC, MSA, DOE, and Control Plans to improve product and process performance.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to achieve quality objectives and improve customer satisfaction.
• Lead customer-facing quality activities including audits, issue resolution, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Analyze quality data and performance metrics to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support supplier quality improvement activities, including issue resolution, risk mitigation, and performance monitoring.
• Develop and deliver quality-related training and coaching to build organizational capability and strengthen quality awareness.
• Ensure compliance with quality management system requirements, customer requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
• Drive improvements in quality systems, tools, processes, and reporting methods to enhance product quality, operational performance, and customer satisfaction.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Quality engineering

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or science

Tools

SAP

Oracle

Power BI

Job description

Wabtec invites a Quality Engineering Manager to lead a high-performing team responsible for quality across customers, manufacturing, suppliers, and new product development. You will champion structured problem solving, risk reduction, and quality planning throughout the product lifecycle.

You will partner with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to raise product reliability, drive continuous improvement, and ensure regulatory and customer requirements are met.