Quality Manager

American Axle & Mfg., Inc.; Mebane (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Dauch Corporation seeks an experienced Quality Manager to lead the plant's quality assurance and control at the Alamance Manufacturing Facility in Mebane, NC. This onsite role partners with plant leadership to ensure product quality, regulatory compliance, and cost-of-poor-quality reduction.

The candidate brings extensive quality management and engineering experience, strong analytical and communication skills, and a proven ability to drive continuous improvement and supplier/customer quality

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in quality management within an automotive manufacturing environment.
• 5-10+ years of Engineering experience.
• Previous leadership or management experience required.
• Strong knowledge of quality systems, tools, and methodologies (e.g., FMEA, SPC, 8D, Six Sigma).
• Proven ability to drive built-in quality.
• Experience with ISO or industry-specific quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Develops, implements, and maintains the plant's Quality Management System (QMS).
• Ensures compliance with ISO 9001, IATF 16949, FDA, or other standards.
• Leads internal and external audits, including customer and regulatory audits.
• Serves as primary contact for quality-related customer concerns and escalations.
• Establishes and monitors KPIs for scrap, rework, defects, and complaints.
• Oversees inspection, testing, and validation for materials and finished goods.
• Leads root cause analysis and CAPA initiatives.
• Drives Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement programs.
• Manages and develops the Quality team and fosters accountability.
• Collaborates with suppliers and customers to ensure quality standards.

Skills

Quality management

Audits

Cross-functional leadership

Problem solving

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Quality/Manufacturing

Tools

FMEA

SPC

8D

Six Sigma

Job description

Job Posting Title

Quality Manager

Legal Entity

GKN Driveline North America Inc. (Delaware)

Job Description Summary

Dauch is seeking an experienced Quality Manager to join our team in Mebane, North Carolina at our Alamance Manufacturing Facility. This fully onsite role serves as a key strategic partner to plant leadership, playing a critical for leading and managing all aspects of the plant's quality assurance and quality control programs. This role ensures that products meet internal standards, customer requirements, and regulatory compliance while driving continuous improvement initiatives across the manufacturing operation. The ideal candidate has extensive progressive quality management experience and a proven ability to improve quality performance, reduce defects, and lower cost of poor quality. They bring a strong record of audit success, regulatory compliance, and enhancing customer satisfaction by proactively resolving quality issues. Additionally, they have led impactful continuous improvement initiatives that drive sustainable operational excellence. This person should have the ability to improve overall quality and drive scrap costs down. They should also have excellent problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills, strong communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive change. Preferred qualifications include a certification in Quality (e.g., ASQ Certified Quality Manager, Six Sigma Black Belt) and familiarity with ERP/MES systems and data analysis tools.

Quality Management & Compliance

• Develops, implements, and maintains the plant's Quality Management System (QMS).
• Ensures compliance with applicable standards (e.g., ISO 9001, IATF 16949, FDA, or other industry-specific requirements).
• Leads internal and external audits, including customer, regulatory, and certification audits.
• Serves as primary point of contact for quality-related customer concerns and escalations.

Quality Control & Assurance

• Establishes and monitor quality performance metrics (KPIs), including scrap, rework, defects, and customer complaints.
• Oversees inspection, testing, and validation processes for incoming materials, in-process production, and finished goods.
• Ensures proper use of statistical process control (SPC) and other quality tools.

Continuous Improvement

• Leads root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective/preventive action (CAPA) initiatives.
• Drives continuous improvement programs using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.

Leadership & Team Development

• Manages, coaches, and develops the Quality team (engineers, inspectors, technicians).
• Fosters a culture of quality and accountability across the plant.
• Provides training on quality standards, procedures, and tools.

Supplier & Customer Quality

• Collaborates with suppliers to ensure quality standards are met and address supplier quality issues.
• Works closely with customers to resolve quality concerns and maintain strong relationships.
• Supports new product introductions (NPI) to ensure quality requirements are met.
• All other duties as assigned.

Required Skills and Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in quality management within an automotive manufacturing environment.
• 5-10+ years of Engineering experience.
• Previous leadership or management experience required.
• Strong knowledge of quality systems, tools, and methodologies (e.g., FMEA, SPC, 8D, Six Sigma).
• Proven ability to drive built-in quality.
• Experience with ISO or industry-specific quality standards.

About Dauch:

Dauch Corporation is a premier Driveline and Metal Forming supplier serving the global automotive industry with a powertrain-agnostic product portfolio that supports electric, hybrid, and internal combustion vehicles. The company is headquartered in Detroit, MI, with operations that span 24 countries and more than 175 locations. Formed through the acquisition of Dowlais Group plc and its subsidiaries - GKN Automotive and GKN Powder Metallurgy, Dauch unites deep engineering roots with global manufacturing capabilities and an entrepreneurial spirit to move mobility forward. Visit www.dauch.com to learn more.

Dauch will not discriminate against any Associate or applicant for employment because of age, race, color, gender, religion, weight, height, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic history or information, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, national origin, or other characteristic protected by law.

Dauch will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that Associates are treated equally during employment, without regard to their age, race, color, gender, religion, weight, height, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic history or information, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, national origin, or other characteristic protected by law.

To request assistance or accommodations, please e-mail [e-mail].

Dauch is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.