Staff Process Quality Engineer

Hypertherm Associates; Hanover (NH); On-site; USD 94,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock ownership (ESOP)

Profit-sharing

Community service time

Environmental stewardship

No layoff philosophy

Job summary

Hypertherm Associates in Hanover, NH is seeking a Staff Process Quality Engineer to lead manufacturing quality programs and drive process capability. You will mentor teams, apply data-driven methods, and partner with Engineering and Operations to prevent defects and improve yields.

The role emphasizes cross-functional leadership, problem-solving, and CAPA governance, with emphasis on NPI quality risk management and ISO-compliant controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• 7+ years in quality/manufacturing engineering.
• Strong knowledge of process quality and SPC.
• Experience with 8D/DMAIC and root cause analysis.
• Experience with NPI and process validation.
• Lean and Six Sigma experience.

Responsibilities

• Establish and improve process controls and inspection strategies.
• Analyze data for trends and lead root cause corrective actions.
• Lead Kaizen and Lean Six Sigma improvements at Black Belt level.
• Partner with Engineering for NPI quality risks and validation.
• Support CAPA, audits, and quality governance.
• Provide quality leadership across functions.
• Connect manufacturing performance to customer experience.
• Mentor engineers and technicians in quality tools.

Skills

Quality engineering

Root cause analysis

Statistical methods

Lean Six Sigma

Cross-functional leadership

Problem solving

Process control

CAPA

8D DMAIC

Education

B.S. in engineering

Tools

PFMEA

MSA

Control Plans

GDT

Job description

Staff Process Quality Engineer

Hypertherm Associates is seeking an experienced Staff Process Quality Engineer to join our Heavy Industrial Business (HIB) Quality team in Hanover, NH.

You will lead process quality activities supporting HIB manufacturing operations and business goals: improving process performance, reducing variation and defects, and ensuring products meet customer and business expectations. You will partner with Manufacturing, Manufacturing Process Engineering, Design Engineering, Operations, and other Quality teams.

Using data, structured problem solving, and quality engineering methods, you will identify risks, investigate recurring issues, drive corrective action, and strengthen process controls. You will also coach teams in problem solving, process control, and continuous improvement to build quality capability across the organization.

As a Staff Process Quality Engineer, you will:

• Manufacturing process quality and control: Establish and improve process controls, quality plans, inspection strategies, and monitoring methods to prevent defects and consistently meet manufacturing requirements.
• Performance monitoring and corrective action: Analyze manufacturing and quality data for trends, variation, and emerging risks. Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for significant or recurring process and product quality issues.
• Process capability and continuous improvement: Use statistical and quality tools to assess process capability, reduce variation, improve yield, and sustain improvements. Lead Kaizen and continuous improvement activities at the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt level.
• New product and process introduction: Partner with Engineering and Manufacturing to identify quality risks early and establish controls, validation, measurement methods, and acceptance criteria before production release.
• Quality systems and governance: Support corrective and preventive action (CAPA), internal and external audits, Quality Steering Team activities, and other quality management processes to ensure compliance and operational alignment.
• Cross-functional leadership: Provide quality leadership across Manufacturing, Manufacturing Process Engineering, Design Engineering, and Operations. Facilitate problem solving and data-driven decisions.
• Customer-focused quality: Connect manufacturing performance to product quality and customer experience. Use internal and field quality information to identify prevention and improvement opportunities.
• Quality capability building: Serve as a subject matter expert and mentor for engineers, technicians, and manufacturing teams in problem solving, statistical methods, process control, and quality tools.

Who you are and the experience you bring:

• BS degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline.
• 7+ years of quality or manufacturing engineering experience in a high-technology or complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong experience in manufacturing process quality, process capability, and statistical process control.
• Experience leading structured problem solving and corrective action using 8D, DMAIC, 5 Why, root cause analysis, or similar methods.
• Experience in New Product Introduction and manufacturing process qualification or validation.
• Working knowledge of Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA), Control Plans, Measurement System Analysis (MSA), and statistical methods.
• Experience applying Lean and Six Sigma to manufacturing process improvement.
• Ability to analyze quality and manufacturing data, identify trends, and turn findings into practical actions.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and communication skills, including influencing teams without direct authority.
• Ability to balance immediate production quality needs with longer-term systemic improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and develop others in quality engineering tools and problem solving.

Preferred experience that differentiates you:

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Electromechanical products and complex assembly and test processes.
• GD&T, measurement systems, and process capability analysis.
• Working within an ISO 9001 quality management system.
• Developing or improving manufacturing quality metrics and process controls.

Location: Hanover, New Hampshire

Travel: Up to 10%

Why join Hypertherm Associates?

• Collaborative, 100% employee-owned culture
• Profit-SharingandEmployee Stock Ownership (ESOP)
• Five days (40 hours) Paid Community Service Time
• Strong commitment to Environmental Stewardship
• Stable, growing organization with a no-layoff philosophy

Sponsorship of new applicants for employment authorization, or any other immigration-related support, is not available for this position at this time.

Hypertherm Associates is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we welcome all applications. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

At Hypertherm Associates, we are committed to building an inclusive diverse, flexible, and collaborative environment. If our mission resonates with you, but you don’t meet all posted requirements, we encourage you to still apply. We will evaluate your application materials and may suggest alternative roles that better leverage your strengths and talents. For positions with multiple levels, we will evaluate your prior experience to determine the level within our organization you are best aligned based upon the job applying.

$93,936.00-$156,562.00 Annual

This is the base pay range that an applicant can expect to make upon hire.

Pay within this range will vary based upon relevant experience, skills, and education among other factors.