Supplier Quality Specialist

Department: Quality
Position: Supplier Quality Specialist
Location: Chico, California
Pay Range: $28.00 – $38.00 per hour

Supports supplier qualification, incoming-material quality, supplier performance, and corrective-action activities for advanced cylindrical lithium-ion cell development and manufacturing. Reporting to the Senior Quality Manager, this entry-level individual contributor supports supplier audits and assessments, verifies incoming products and documentation, investigates supplier-related nonconformances, administers assigned supplier corrective actions, and provides approved supplier education and coaching. Quality retains incoming acceptance and disposition authority;
Procurement retains sourcing and commercial authority; authorized technical owners retain material selection, specification, and qualification authority.

Benefits Full-time employees are eligible to participate in the Company’s 401(k) plan and medical plan, and to receive other benefits in accordance with Company policies. A summary of our current benefits is below.

• Paid Time Off (PTO): PTO accrues from your first day of employment
• Holiday Pay: 10 paid holidays per year, designated by the Company
• 401(k):
  Participation in the Company’s 401(k) plan
• Medical:
  The Company pays up to $500 per month toward medical coverage for employees and their dependents.
• Dental:
  Premiums are paid in full by the employee.

• Support risk-based qualification and onboarding of suppliers for battery materials, cell components, equipment, outsourced processes, calibration, testing, and technical services.
• Plan and conduct assigned supplier system, process, product, capacity, and special-process audits under qualified supervision until independent competency is documented.
• Perform or coordinate approved incoming inspection and verify supplier status, identity, revision, lot/serial traceability, condition, labeling, certificates, and test results.
• Identify, segregate, label, and quarantine suspect or nonconforming incoming material and initiate required nonconformance and supplier-notification processes.
• Issue, track, and evaluate supplier corrective-action requests, including containment, root cause, 8D, CAPA, implementation evidence, and effectiveness verification.
• Maintain supplier-quality scorecards and analyze defects, escapes, responsiveness, audit findings, change control, corrective-action aging, and recurring issues.
• Review supplier change notices and coordinate required technical, Quality, Procurement, and business approval before implementation.
• Support supplier quality agreements, incoming-quality requirements, performance reviews, improvement plans, and approved supplier education and coaching.
• Maintain complete supplier, audit, inspection, nonconformance, approval, and performance records in PLEX MES and other controlled systems while preserving the Procurement boundary.

• High school diploma or equivalent is required; an associate or bachelor’s degree in quality, engineering, materials science, chemistry, manufacturing, supply chain, business, or a related field is preferred.
• Zero to two years of supplier-quality, quality, inspection, manufacturing, laboratory, engineering-support, or supply-chain experience; internships, co‑op assignments, academic projects, and technician experience may qualify.
• Documented completion of all four required ASQ courses:
  Supplier Quality Professional:
  An Introduction;
  Auditing for Improved Supplier Performance;
  Quality/Engineering Tools for Supplier Management; and Introduction to Supplier Management.
• Foundational knowledge of supplier qualification, auditing, incoming inspection, SCAR/8D/CAPA, sampling, SPC, process capability, MSA, PFMEA, control plans,…