Quality Manager

POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Quality Manager leads the PSG Hydro Cincinnati quality function with ownership for manufacturing quality, customer quality, supplier quality, and the site Quality Management System. This role is accountable for building a proactive, data-driven quality culture that prevents defects, improves product reliability, reduces cost of poor quality, and ensures products and services meet customer expectations. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:

• Lead the Cincinnati Quality team and provide clear direction, coaching, prioritization, and accountability across customer quality, manufacturing quality, supplier quality, inspection, QMS, and corrective-action processes.
• Own and continually improve the site Quality Management System, including quality procedures, document control for QMS records, internal audits, management reviews, calibration, corrective and preventive actions, quality alerts, and audit readiness.
• Drive measurable improvement in quality performance using data from customer complaints, RMAs, audit failures, rework, incoming inspection, supplier performance, and cost of poor quality.
• Lead customer quality processes, including complaint investigations, CAR/CAPA responses, customer audits and surveys, quality communications, containment actions, and cross-functional problem solving for key accounts.
• Support Operations by preventing and resolving manufacturing quality issues, improving inspection methods, strengthening production quality audits, supporting work instruction effectiveness, and ensuring appropriate quality controls are in place before product reaches the customer.
• Lead supplier quality in partnership with Supply Chain, including supplier qualification, incoming inspection strategy, supplier performance reviews, SCARs, vendor corrective actions, supplier visits, and risk-based controls for critical components.
• Partner with Engineering and NPD teams to embed quality planning into product development, design reviews, validation planning, ECO/change control, PFMEA, control plans, first article/first-off approvals, and product reliability improvements.
• Support Engineering-led Regulatory Affairs by ensuring supplier changes, component changes, product changes, and corrective actions are properly documented, risk assessed, and traceable to QMS requirements. Escalate any changes that may affect product certification, listing status, customer requirements, or regulatory commitments.
• Facilitate recurring quality reviews that turn data into action, including Pareto analysis, root-cause review, aging corrective actions, supplier quality trends, floor audit trends, customer complaint trends, and progress against quality improvement priorities.
• Build cross-functional discipline around root cause and corrective action using structured problem-solving methods such as 8D, 5 Why, fishbone, PDCA, DMAIC, and mistake-proofing.
• Develop Quality team capability through standard work, training, career development, performance management, and clear expectations for ownership and urgency.
• Perform other duties as assigned.  

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or other related technical field.
• 7+ years of Quality, Manufacturing Quality, Supplier Quality, or Quality Systems experience, with 2+ years leading people or cross-functional quality programs.
• Demonstrated experience leading a manufacturing quality function in a technical, industrial, assembled-product, electronics, plastics, fluid-handling, equipment, or similar manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on experience with core quality tools including PFMEA, control plans, APQP/PPAP or equivalent quality planning methods, capability studies, root cause analysis, 8D, 5 Why, SPC, and corrective action management.
• Experience working with supplier quality, incoming inspection, supplier corrective actions, supplier qualification, and vendor performance improvement. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization and translate quality data into clear business actions.
• Proven record of hands-on project leadership, follow-through, accountability, and driving sustained process improvement.

PREFERRED REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience with plastic components, machined parts, electronics, electro-mechanical assemblies, fluid-handling equipment, dispensing systems, or similar products.
• ASQ certification such as CQE, CQA, or CMQ/OE; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt preferred. 
• Systems experience with Microsoft Office, Power BI, Oracle ERP, MES, quality databases, and structured issue-tracking systems is strongly preferred.