Supplier Quality Engineer

Excelon Solutions; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Excelon Solutions in Palo Alto, CA seeks a Supplier Quality Manager to manage supplier performance and act as the primary contact for supplier quality matters. You will monitor KPIs, investigate issues, and coordinate containment and corrective actions with suppliers and internal teams.

You will lead root cause analysis using 8D/5 Whys/Ishikawa, drive CAPA, and collaborate on process improvements (PFMEA, SPC, MSA, PPAP, APQP).

Qualifications

• Experience leading supplier quality programs and acting as a primary point of contact with suppliers.
• Proficiency in data-driven quality metrics, dashboards, and KPIs.
• Experience with 8D, 5 Whys, Ishikawa analysis, and statistical methods.
• Ability to coordinate rapid containment and risk mitigation with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Familiarity with PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, MSA, process validation, and PPAP/APQP.
• Experience with New Product Introduction and design-transfer activities.
• Experience performing supplier audits and CAPA closure.

Responsibilities

• Manage quality performance for an assigned group of suppliers and serve as primary contact for supplier quality matters.
• Monitor supplier performance using dashboards, scorecards, and KPIs; communicate risks and improvement priorities.
• Investigate supplier-related issues affecting inspection, manufacturing, installation, and field service; coordinate containment and mitigation.
• Lead or support root cause investigations and supplier corrective actions using 8D, 5 Whys, Ishikawa, and statistical methods.
• Review supplier corrective actions to confirm root causes and prevent recurrence.
• Support Qnote/NCR and Material Review Board activities involving supplier-provided components.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Procurement to improve manufacturing processes and implement quality controls (PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, MSA, CpK/PpK).
• Support Quality at the Source (light PPAP) to shift toward prevention and data-driven validation.
• Participate in New Product Introduction and design-transfer activities with Engineering and suppliers.
• Support supplier readiness through FAI, PPAP, APQP, inspection planning, and qualification activities.
• Review Supplier Change Notifications and coordinate qualification and validation before implementation.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to evaluate supplier changes.
• Conduct or participate in supplier audits and for-cause investigations; track corrective actions to closure.
• Analyze non-conformance, scrap, rework, warranty, and field data to reduce defects and Cost of Poor Quality.
• Participate in cross-functional forums for timely decisions and issue resolution.

Skills

Supplier quality

Quality data analysis

Root cause analysis

8D problem solving

Ishikawa diagrams

Statistical analysis

SPC

MSA

PFMEA

PPAP/APQP

Process validation

Supplier audits

Tools

Excel

Minitab / statistical software

QMS / quality management systems

Job description

Manage quality performance for an assigned group of suppliers and serve as a key point of contact for supplier quality matters.

Monitor supplier performance using quality data, dashboards, scorecards, and key performance indicators. Communicate emerging risks, performance concerns, and improvement priorities to suppliers and internal stakeholders

Investigate supplier-related issues affecting incoming inspection, manufacturing, installation, and field service. Coordinate rapid containment and risk-mitigation activities to protect production, customers, and patients.

Lead or support root cause investigations and Supplier Corrective Action Requests using structured problem-solving methods such as 8D, 5 Whys, Ishikawa diagrams, and statistical analysis.

Review supplier corrective actions to confirm that root causes have been identified, appropriate actions have been implemented, and recurrence has been effectively prevented.

Support Qnote/NCR and Material Review Board activities involving supplier-provided components. Help minimize production disruption, blocked inventory, scrap, rework, warranty costs, and field impact.

Work with suppliers to improve manufacturing processes and implement appropriate quality controls, including PFMEA, Control Plans, Statistical Process Control, Measurement System Analysis, process capability analysis, Cpk/Ppk, and process validation.

Support Quality at the Source (“light” PPAP) by helping suppliers move from reliance on inspection toward prevention, process control, and data-driven validation.

Participate in New Product Introduction and design-transfer activities. Partner with Engineering and suppliers to review drawings, specifications, tolerances, critical attributes, manufacturability requirements, and inspection strategies.

Support supplier readiness through First Article Inspection, PPAP, APQP, inspection planning, and other qualification activities based on product and process risk.

Review Supplier Change Notifications involving materials, manufacturing processes, equipment, tooling, sub-tier suppliers, quality systems, or manufacturing locations.

Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs, Service, and other stakeholders to evaluate supplier changes and ensure required qualification and validation activities are completed before implementation.

Conduct or participate in supplier audits, process assessments, supplier qualifications, and for-cause investigations. Document findings and track corrective actions through effective closure.

Partner with Service and other functions to review field-performance and warranty data, identify supplier-related trends, and drive appropriate investigations and corrective actions.

Analyze non-conformance, scrap, rework, warranty, and operational data to identify opportunities to reduce defects and Cost of Poor Quality.

Participate in cross-functional forums to support timely decisions and resolution of supplier-related issues.