Staff Process Quality Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP

Community Service Time

Employee ownership

No layoffs

Job summary

Hypertherm Associates is seeking a Staff Process Quality Engineer to join the Heavy Industrial Business quality team in Hanover, NH. You will lead process quality activities, drive CAPA, and strengthen process controls, partnering across Manufacturing, Design Engineering, and Operations to prevent defects and improve yield.

You will coach teams in problem solving, SPC, and Lean Six Sigma while supporting NPI and product qualification to meet customer expectations.

Qualifications

• BS degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering or equivalent.
• 7+ years of quality/manufacturing engineering experience in a high-tech or complex environment.
• Strong experience in manufacturing process quality, process capability, and SPC.
• Experience leading structured problem solving (8D, DMAIC, 5 Why) and corrective action.
• Experience in NPI and process qualification/validation.
• Knowledge of PFMEA, Control Plans, MSA, and statistical methods.
• Experience applying Lean and Six Sigma to process improvements.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and translate into actions.
• Excellent cross-functional leadership and communication; influence without authority.
• Balance urgent quality needs with long-term systemic improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead manufacturing process quality activities to improve performance and reduce defects.
• Analyze data for trends, lead root cause analysis and CAPA.
• Establish process controls, quality plans, and acceptance criteria for production release.
• Coach teams in problem solving and continuous improvement.
• Support audits, quality governance, and CAPA processes.
• Provide cross-functional leadership across Manufacturing, Engineering, and Operations.

Skills

Process quality

Data analysis

Root cause analysis

Quality systems

Lean Six Sigma

Cross-functional leadership

8D DMAIC

PFMEA/MSA

NPI quality

ISO 9001 knowledge

Education

BS in Mechanical/Electrical/Industrial/Manufacturing Eng

Tools

PFMEA

MSA

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.

• 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.

Qualifications

• 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

• 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%

$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.

Hypertherm Associates is more than a place to work; it’s a place to call your own.

We are 100% Associate-owned with an over 50 year history of no-layoffs.

Why join Hypertherm Associates?

• Collaborative, 100% employee-owned culture
• Profit-Sharing and Employee 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.

Application Accommodation: We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).