Senior Supplier Quality Engineer

CelLink Corporation; South Carolina; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

CelLink Corporation is seeking a Senior Supplier Quality Engineer to lead supplier quality programs across a high-volume manufacturing environment. You will collaborate with Design Engineering, NPI Process Engineering, Equipment Engineering, and Supply Chain to define quality expectations at the component level and drive robust supplier performance.

The role emphasizes root cause analysis, supplier audits, QC improvement, and NPI readiness, with travel up to 10-20% as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Quality Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of related experience in supplier quality or QA in high-volume manufacturing with audit experience.
• Familiarity with ISO 9001, CFR, IATF and QMS processes.

Responsibilities

• Track supplier KPIs, defect rates, and delivery quality metrics; qualify and bring up inspection and tester vendors.
• Plan, lead, and conduct on-site or remote audits to evaluate vendor quality systems and capabilities.
• Drive root cause analysis and manage SCARs and CAPA to ensure effective corrective actions.
• Establish and monitor COPQ reduction initiatives and supplier accountability.
• Develop KPIs and implement Six Sigma/Lean/QC methods across the supply chain.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with design, engineering, and supply chain to ensure new product readiness.

Skills

Root cause analysis

Statistical QC

Six Sigma

Quality audits

CAPA management

NPI quality

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Quality Engineering

Job description

CelLink is seeking a Senior Supplier Quality Engineer responsible for working with our suppliers to develop and implement supplier quality programs. In this role you will be working closely with our internal Design Engineering, NPI Process Engineering, Equipment Engineering , Supply Chain, as well as our vendors.

The ideal candidate will have stellar analytical skills with a deep-rooted structured problem-solving background and show proven experience in root cause analysis, failure analysis resolution, supplier audits, performance monitoring, and performance improvements. Coupled with strong grasps of NPI quality methodologies to bring up supplier quality metrics, this individual shall lead activities properly defining quality expectations at component level.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Performance Monitoring: Track supplier Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), defect rates, and delivery quality metrics. Qualify and bring up inspection and tester vendors to meet testing demand. Monitor supplier’s alignment to new product introduction schedules to ensure predictable and stable mass production volume ramp.
• Supplier Audits and Qualification: Plan, lead, and conduct on-site or remote audits to evaluate vendor quality systems (QMS) and manufacturing capabilities. Will include Tier2/3 Suppliers (NTC, stamp terminals, epoxy, connectors, PCBA, stiffeners).
• Root Cause Analysis & Corrective Action: Drive failure analysis including: understanding component failures and defining FA goals, coordinating complete FA work at suppliers’ FA facilities, summarising and presenting FA results, issue and manage Supplier Corrective Action Reports (SCAR) through close, and verify the effectiveness of vendor CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action) plans, and implement lessons learned process.
• Cost recovery for supplier-caused IQC failures, establish financial accountability with suppliers, and improve operating margin through systematic COPQ reduction (Cost of Poor Quality).
• Establish KPIs: >90% $$ recovery of failures/COPQ, Chargebacks issued within 30 days, 80% reduction in repeat failures.
• Process Improvements: Implement statistical techniques, Six Sigma, Lean principles, FMEA, and SPC (Statistical Process Control) across the supply chain. Develop continuous improvement plan with suppliers and track/reporting progress. Track supplier’s quality Key Performance Indicators closely.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Working closely with suppliers and partnering with the internal engineering and supply chain teams to assure new product readiness, ensure performance meets key quality and reliability metrics, and NPI (New Product Introduction) and design transfers.
• Quality Expectation Definition: Establish and lead activities within internal and external teams to ensure proper definition of quality expectations appropriate for each component. Compile and evaluate data to understand acceptable limits of manufacturing process.
• Quality Representative: To internal teams supporting activities for customer quality and internal quality requirements.
• Ability to travel domestically/internationally to supplier sites on as needed basis ~10-20%

Minimum Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Experience/Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Quality Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of related experience in supplier quality or quality assurance experience in a complex, high-volume manufacturing environment with audit experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Familiarity with industry-specific regulations such as ISO 9001, CFR, IATF
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing techniques and process/quality controls for mechanical components.
• Proven understanding of data driven, statistical QC and QA problem solving methodology

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Working Conditions/Hours:

Salaried Exempt

Physical Demands – Office and Manufacturing Environment

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms and pull/push; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment –

Includes both a typical office environment, with minimal exposure to excessive noise or adverse environmental issues, and a shop environment, with exposure to high noise levels from operating machines, physical hazards from moving equipment and machine parts, nuisance dust, and skin exposure to chemicals used to run/maintain machines

PPE-

May be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment, including but not limited to safety glasses, safety shoes, bump-caps, gloves, hair nets, masks, & clean-room frocks while adhering to the prescribed safety procedures

We believe diversity and inclusion among our teammates are essential to our success. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees while building teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are an equal opportunity employer. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. CelLink participates in the E-Verify program in specific locations as required by law.

CelLink was founded in 2012 and entered volume production in 2018. CelLink provides electrical systems to the world’s leading automotive OEMs & EV manufacturers, data center developers, and stationary power companies. The company has raised approximately $315M in funding through private investment and multiple grants from the US Department of Energy. CelLink’s investors include 3M, Atreides, BMW, BorgWarner, Bosch, D1 Capital, Fidelity, Fontinalis Partners, Ford, Franklin Templeton, Lear, Park West, SK Telecom, Standard Investments, T. Rowe Price, Tinicum, and Whale Rock