Tier 2 Quality Manager

Reports To: General Manager / President Department: Operations / Manufacturing

Position Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Quality Manager to build, lead, and enforce a comprehensive quality program for our engineered chemical feed and water treatment systems. This is not an administrative quality role focused on paperwork and inspections. This is a leadership position with real operational authority and accountability.

The Quality Manager will be responsible for establishing quality standards, processes, controls, and accountability throughout the entire product lifecycle. They will have the authority to stop work, reject nonconforming materials or workmanship, require corrective action, and withhold shipment when quality requirements have not been met.

The ideal candidate will be a strong technical leader who is comfortable working on the manufacturing floor, partnering with Engineering and Operations, challenging the status quo when necessary, and driving a culture of quality throughout the organization.

Our goal is simple: prevent quality issues from reaching the customer rather than finding them at the end of the process.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Leadership & Program Development

• Develop, implement, and continuously improve the company's quality management system.
• Establish quality standards, procedures, inspection requirements, and documentation practices.
• Define and enforce quality gates throughout the manufacturing process.
• Create a culture of accountability and continuous improvement across the organization.
• Act as the company's primary authority on manufacturing quality and product acceptance.

Manufacturing Quality Oversight

Establish and maintain quality checkpoints for:

• Engineering release
• Incoming material inspection
• Fabrication
• Mechanical assembly
• Piping installation
• Instrumentation installation
• Electrical and controls integration
• In-process testing
• Final inspection
• Functional testing
• Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT)
• Documentation review
• Shipment release

Ensure no system advances to the next phase until all established requirements have been satisfied.

Nonconformance & Corrective Action Management

Own and manage the company's nonconformance process, including:

• Identification and documentation of quality issues
• Containment actions
• Technical disposition and resolution
• Assignment of corrective actions
• Verification of corrective action effectiveness
• Tracking recurring problems and systemic issues
• Escalation of unresolved concerns to management

Lead root cause investigations and implement long-term solutions that prevent recurrence.

Supplier Quality Management

• Establish supplier quality requirements and expectations.
• Develop inspection and acceptance criteria for critical components.
• Monitor supplier performance and nonconformances.
• Lead supplier corrective action activities.
• Support supplier qualification and evaluation efforts.
• Recommend supplier replacement when quality performance is unacceptable.

Engineering & Manufacturing Collaboration

Partner closely with Engineering and Manufacturing to identify and resolve:

• Drawing errors and omissions
• BOM inaccuracies
• Revision control issues
• Manufacturability concerns
• Inadequate inspection criteria
• Missing testing requirements
• Customer-specific quality risks

Serve as an active participant in improving processes rather than simply auditing results.

Customer Quality Support

• Investigate customer complaints and quality concerns.
• Lead root cause and corrective action efforts related to customer issues.
• Participate in customer meetings, FATs, and inspections as needed.
• Identify recurring trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure customer commitments are incorporated into corrective action plans.

Quality Metrics & Reporting

Develop and maintain a quality performance dashboard that tracks:

• First-pass yield
• Rework hours and costs
• Scrap
• Nonconformance reports
• Repeat quality issues
• Customer complaints
• Warranty claims
• Supplier defects
• Final inspection failures
• FAT failures
• Corrective action performance
• Cost of poor quality
• Shipment holds
• Quality-related schedule impacts

Use data to identify trends, measure improvement, and drive business decisions.

Authority & Decision-Making

This position has independent authority to:

• Stop production or assembly when quality requirements are not being met.
• Reject nonconforming material, workmanship, or completed systems.
• Require corrective actions from internal departments and suppliers.
• Establish quality gates and acceptance criteria.
• Approve or withhold shipment of completed systems.
• Escalate quality concerns directly to senior leadership.

The successful candidate must be willing to make difficult decisions when quality standards are compromised and ensure that schedule pressure never overrides product quality.

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years of progressively responsible quality experience within industrial manufacturing environments.
• Experience managing quality programs for engineered-to-order, custom equipment, or industrial systems.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, mechanical assemblies, and industrial equipment.
• Experience with nonconformance management, root cause analysis, and corrective action programs.
• Strong ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, BOMs, and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience developing and implementing inspection and test plans.
• Experience working with suppliers and supplier quality programs.
• Strong leadership, communication, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to operate effectively on the manufacturing floor as well as with executive leadership.

Preferred

• Experience with chemical feed systems, pumps, valves, piping systems, instrumentation, skids, water treatment equipment, wastewater treatment equipment, or related process equipment.
• Experience supporting or leading Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT).
• Experience with ISO 9001 or similar quality management systems.
• Background in industrial water, wastewater, process, or OEM equipment manufacturing environments.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 12 months, the Quality Manager will be expected to establish:

• Clearly defined quality gates throughout manufacturing
• Formal shipment release requirements
• A robust nonconformance management process
• A structured root cause and corrective action program
• Supplier quality standards and accountability measures
• Standardized inspection and testing procedures
• Meaningful quality performance metrics
• A calibration and inspection equipment program
• Customer complaint and warranty tracking processes
• A measurable reduction in rework, repeat failures, and quality escapes

Who We're Looking For

We are not looking for a quality administrator.

We are looking for a quality leader.

The ideal candidate is technically credible, highly accountable, and comfortable challenging Engineering, Manufacturing, suppliers, and management when quality standards are at risk. They are equally comfortable identifying problems on the manufacturing floor, determining why they occurred, implementing corrective actions, and ensuring those solutions remain effective.

Most importantly, they understand that quality is not measured by the number of defects found. Quality is measured by the number of problems prevented from ever reaching the customer.