SMTS, Process Quality Engineer

QuantumScape Battery, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 112,500 - 163,200; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

RSU/Equity package

Health care

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

QuantumScape Battery, Inc. seeks a Senior Engineer in Process Quality to partner with process owners and operators on cell and separator lines. You’ll implement robust quality controls and lead CAPA efforts in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

You will apply SPC, DFMEA/PFMEA, and DOE to reduce variations, drive continuous improvement, and ensure shop-floor compliance with procedures. Onsite work is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering with 5+ years in quality or process engineering.
• Strong knowledge of SPC, RCA, 8D problem solving, Six Sigma, and Gage R&R.
• Hands-on DFMEA/PFMEA and Control Plan development in manufacturing.
• Proficient in JMP or Python; able to analyze manufacturing data.

Responsibilities

• Monitor process quality using SPC charts, Cp/Cpk analysis, and defect tracking.
• Review DFMEA/PFMEA with process owners and design teams; develop control plans.
• Lead Task Force and MRB on quality excursions; drive CAPA and 8D reports.
• Drive Change Review Board; assess risk, track changes, and maintain records.
• Collaborate with process teams to identify yield improvements and reduce defects.
• Use DOE and statistics to improve sampling and reduce downstream escapes.

Skills

SPC charts

Cp/Cpk analysis

DFMEA/PFMEA

Control Plans

MSA

8D reports

DOE

Python

JMP

Statistics

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

JMP

Python

Job description

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QuantumScape is on a mission to transform energy storage with solid-state lithium-metal battery technology. The company’s next-generation batteries are designed to enable greater energy density, faster charging and enhanced safety to support the transition away from legacy energy sources toward a lower carbon future.

About the team

Manufacturing Quality is a diverse group of engineers and data scientists who bring deep expertise in materials science, electrochemistry, statistics, and machine learning. Our team thrives on data-driven decision-making and a shared commitment to drive continuous improvement to QuantumScape’s solid-state battery technology. We work closely with the Manufacturing, Reliability, and R&D, groups to identify failure modes, engineer critical-to-quality specifications, and implement robust control strategies across all process areas.

What we need

We are seeking a Senior Engineer with industry experience in Process Quality. In this role, you will collaborate with process owners and operators to implement control strategies across QuantumScape’s cell and separator manufacturing lines.

What You’ll do

• Monitor quality of each process by leveraging SPC charts, Cp/Cpk analysis, and defect rate and pareto tracking to flag excursions early and drive continuous improvement.
• Review and refine DFMEAs/PFMEAs with process owners and design teams, prioritizing the highest-risk failure modes using RPN or Action Priority. Develop and maintain Control Plans under revision control — including metrology steps validated through MSA — and ensure shop-floor compliance to documented procedures.
• Lead Task Force (TF) and Material Review Board (MRB) on quality excursions — drive containment, root cause investigation, and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and author 8D reports for internal/external customers.
• Drive the Change Review Board (CRB): screen and classify change requests, prepare risk assessments with change owners, facilitate reviews, track approvals and action items, and maintain auditable change records.
• Collaborate with process teams to identify yield improvement and defect reduction opportunities, isolate sources of variation, and drive improvement projects to closure.
• Leverage DOE and statistical analysis to formalize and improve sampling protocols for go/no-go testing — defining AQL/RQL targets and selecting appropriate sampling strategies — to reduce downstream escapes.
• Use Python or JMP to collect and analyze manufacturing data sets to identify trends, quantify process shifts, and support data-driven decisions on process changes and sampling protocols.

Skills You’ll Need

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Chemical, Mechanical, Materials Science, Metallurgy, Industrial, or related discipline) + 5 years of experience in a quality or process engineering role; Master's degree + 3 years; or PhD.
• Fundamental understanding of quality and reliability engineering, with deep knowledge of quality tools and methodologies such as SPC, root cause analysis (Fishbone, 5 Whys), 8D problem solving, Six Sigma, Measurement Systems Analysis (Gage R&R).
• Hands‑on experience with FMEA (DFMEA/PFMEA) and Control Plan development in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong foundation in descriptive and inferential statistics — distributions, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing — applied to manufacturing data; proficiency with JMP or Python (SQL and Minitab a plus).
• Excellent communication, presentation, and leadership skills — able to distill key insights from large data sets and influence team members, partners, and stakeholders to drive quality improvements.
• Adaptable to shifting priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and self-driven with end-to-end ownership of projects from problem definition to closure.
• A first‑principles thinker who reasons from underlying physics, process mechanics, and data rather than defaulting to convention, and adjusts quickly as priorities shift.

Nice to have

• Fundamental understanding of battery electrochemistries and failure mechanisms; familiarity with electrical test and metrics.
• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), Six Sigma certification, or equivalent.
• Experience in cleanroom/dry‑room manufacturing.

Physical requirements

• Work is performed in a dry room, fume hood, lab area, or glovebox requiring the use of fine motor skills
• Sitting or standing for extended periods of time
• Reaching and twisting motions with hands
• Lifting up to 25 lbs.

ONSITE

This position is required to work onsite 5 days per week to meet the minimum essential duties and requirements of this position. As an on‑site R&D and manufacturing operations organization, in‑person face-to-face interaction is essential to building authentic relationships, trust, teamwork, and collaboration.

Compensation & Benefits

Expected salary range for this role is from $112,500 to $163,200, and a final salary will be determined by the candidate's experience and educational background. QuantumScape also offers an annual bonus and a generous RSU/Equity package as part of its compensation plan. In addition, we do offer a tremendous benefits plan including employee paid health care, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), and other benefits.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.