Quality Supervisor

Zumbrota-Drivetrain; Zumbrota (MN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Zumbrota-Drivetrain in Minnesota is seeking a Quality Supervisor / Lead to own the overall quality performance of remanufactured and new products, from incoming components through final inspection and warranty return analysis. You will manage inspections, lead recurring quality meetings, and work with production to hit target warranty rates.

This role also supervises the QA room and QA technicians, partners with engineering and R&D, and coordinates between facilities for quality improvements and

Qualifications

• Strong automotive background and knowledge of transmissions and differentials.
• Proficient in Excel for reporting and trend analysis.
• Valid driver’s license required.
• Ability to develop management reports on quality trends.

Responsibilities

• Own inspections and root cause analysis of defects and warranty returns.
• Lead weekly quality meetings and coordinate with production leadership.
• Supervise QA room and QA staff day-to-day.
• Collaborate with customers, sales, purchasing, engineering on quality issues.
• Inspect units in production and operate dyno; ensure PMs are completed.
• Maintain nonconforming and warranty data to identify trends.

Skills

Automotive background

Self-management

Teamwork

Excel

Tools

CMM

Job description

Position Summary

The Quality Supervisor / Lead is responsible for the overall quality performance of remanufactured and new product, from incoming components through final inspection and warranty return analysis. This role owns the inspection and check-off process, investigates the root cause of defective and returned units, and tracks warranty and nonconformance data to identify trends before they become systemic problems.

The position serves as the primary quality point of contact for customers, sales, purchasing, engineering, and the other Reman quality departments. In addition to hands-on inspection and dyno work, the Quality Supervisor / Lead leads the recurring quality meetings, partners with production leadership to hit targeted warranty rates by product class, and will assume day-to-day supervision of the QA room and QA Tech staff.

Warranty, Returns & Root Cause Analysis

• Take ownership of inspections on new and warranty returned goods to determine the root cause of defective units.
• Partner with Core Receiving to inspect incoming warranty returns prior to credit being issued.
• Maintain and review the daily warranty spreadsheets, monitoring for patterns or trends that may indicate a systemic problem.
• Enter secondary findings into the system on a daily basis.
• Document all returns and warranty claims, and analyze the resulting trend data.
• Meet monthly with the Shop Techs to review warranty rates and return data.
• Collaborate with the production management team to achieve targeted warranty rates by product class.

Production & In-Process Quality

• Work alongside the QA Techs in the Dyno Room to inspect units being built in production.
• Operate the dyno to identify quality issues with units and verify that all products meet company standards.
• Ensure all quality equipment is properly maintained and that weekly preventive maintenance (PM) is completed.
• Provide feedback to the drivetrain techs and shop lead to improve product quality and reduce failure rates.
• Continuously improve the inspection and check-off process.
• Enter daily check-off sheets into the tracking spreadsheets for documentation and trend analysis.
• Learn to operate the CMM (coordinate measuring machine) for part inspections.

Incoming Material & Supplier Quality

• Inspect new components and coordinate with Receiving and Purchasing when an issue is identified.
• Work with Purchasing when defects are traced back to a supplier issue.
• Manage the Nonconforming spreadsheet to mitigate bad components and hold suppliers accountable.
• Partner with Engineering and R&D on problematic or nonconforming parts.
• Learn the QA Bin process and the procedures for holding all nonconforming parts.

Communication & Meetings

• Field the daily quality-related emails and work directly with customers and the sales team.
• Lead the weekly quality meetings in Zumbrota at both the Main and Bowling Alley facilities.
• Own the daily communication with all Reman quality departments.
• Head the monthly quality meeting with Ralph and the team to drive component quality improvements.

Supervision & Leadership

• Perform all day-to-day supervision of the QA room and its employees.
• Assume direct supervisory responsibility for all QA Techs (transitioning over time).
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Preferred Education and Experience:

Strong automotive background.

Must retain a valid driver’s license.

Knowledge and Personal Attributes:

Must have a good working knowledge of manual transmissions, transfer cases and front and rear differentials.

Must be a self-starter and have the ability to work independently as well as within a team.

Must be able to work with Excel.

Must be able to provide management reports on trends and quality improvements.

Ability to self-manage and estimate to complete any given task around production schedules.