Quality Center Manager

Leads the Quality Center and provides day-to-day direction for quality problem solving, quality systems, containment, escalation, and cross-functional corrective action. Serves as the primary coordinator for Quality Center priorities and ensures issues are driven to verified closure.

• Lead daily Quality Center activities, establish priorities, assign work, and coordinate resources based on business and quality risk.
• Supervise and develop Quality Center technical staff; provide coaching, workload direction, performance feedback, and technical escalation support.
• Lead response to significant product, supplier, manufacturing, and customer quality concerns, including containment, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and effectiveness verification.
• Establish a structured problem-solving process using appropriate quality tools such as 5 Why, Ishikawa, 8D, Pareto analysis, capability analysis, and other data-driven methods.
• Coordinate cross-functional investigations with Purchasing, Supplier Quality, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Logistics, and other applicable teams.
• Ensure timely escalation of significant or recurring quality risks to the Purchasing Manager and appropriate leadership.
• Monitor open corrective actions, containment activities, recurring defects, and Quality Center performance metrics; communicate status and risks to leadership.
• Support supplier-quality improvement activities and coordinate technical follow-up when supplier-related issues affect production or customers.
• Ensure Quality Center documentation, records, test results, problem-solving files, and corrective-action evidence are complete, accurate, and auditable.
• Support customer, supplier, internal, and third-party audits as required and ensure assigned findings are addressed to closure.
• Develop standard work, reporting, escalation criteria, and performance measures for the Quality Center.
• Promote knowledge transfer and consistent problem-solving practices across U.S. operations and global support teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Purchasing Manager.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• 5+ years of progressive quality, manufacturing, supplier quality, or engineering experience preferred, including demonstrated leadership of complex problem-solving activities.
• Prior supervisory, team-lead, or project-lead experience strongly preferred.
• Automotive or high-volume manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of structured problem-solving, corrective action, quality systems, audit readiness, and manufacturing quality controls.
• Strong communication, prioritization, leadership, and cross-functional coordination skills.
• Ability to interpret technical information, quality data, specifications, drawings, and process documentation.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and quality/data systems; experience with automotive quality tools and customer requirements preferred.

Ability to work in office and manufacturing environments, walk production areas, inspect components and processes, and occasionally lift or move items up to 25 pounds. Must be able to wear required personal protective equipment and respond to quality issues throughout the facility.

This position is expected to support SL Tennessee’s commitment to product quality, customer satisfaction, safety, ethical conduct, confidentiality, continuous improvement, and compliance with applicable company, customer, regulatory, and quality-system requirements. Duties may change based on business needs.