Quality Technician

Now is a great time to join Nopak, a leader in fluid power located in the Greater Milwaukee Area. As our privately held business undertakes a significant growth initiative, we are looking for a hands-on Quality Technician to work on our shop floor. This role reports to the Engineering Manager.

This is a shop-based role. You will spend your day at the machines and the inspection bench — measuring parts, checking first articles, verifying setups, and working alongside machinists to catch problems while the job is still running rather than after it ships. Nopak builds hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders in a high-mix, low-volume environment, so the work changes constantly and the judgment of the person doing it matters.

The ideal candidate understands machining and knows how to measure a part correctly. You can read a print and its tolerances, select the right gage for the feature, take a repeatable measurement, and explain to a machinist why a dimension is out and what is likely causing it. You are comfortable telling someone their part is not right, and equally comfortable helping them fix it.

You will own day-to-day inspection and measurement, the calibration of gages and measuring equipment, and the inspection documentation that makes quality repeatable — work instructions, inspection templates, and first article records. You will support the Engineering Manager on root cause analysis and corrective action when quality escapes occur.

We pride ourselves on helping energetic, ambitious employees thrive in our entrepreneurial and fast-paced culture. If you are looking for the chance to learn and make an impact, we want to hear from you.

• Perform in-process, first article, and final inspection on machined, welded, and assembled parts against print requirements.
• Select and use the correct measuring equipment for each feature — micrometers, calipers, bore and depth gages, height gages, dial indicators, gage blocks, thread and pin gages, and surface plate setups.
• Take repeatable, defensible measurements and record results accurately; know when a reading is questionable and re-verify rather than pass it along.
• Verify machine setups and first pieces before a run is released, working directly with the machinist and Shop Supervisor.
• Inspect incoming material and supplier parts against purchase and print requirements; document and communicate nonconformances.
• Perform final inspection prior to shipment and confirm the product matches order and print requirements.
• Identify, tag, and segregate nonconforming material; document the disposition and follow it through to closure.

• Read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and GD&T, including datums, positional tolerance, runout, and surface finish callouts.
• Understand CNC milling and turning operations well enough to connect a dimensional problem back to a probable cause — tool wear, fixturing, work holding, thermal growth, program error, or operator technique.
• Work alongside machinists at the machine, not from an office; make inspection a part of the production conversation rather than a gate at the end of it.
• Support the Manufacturing Engineering team with dimensional data during machine and process prove-outs.
• Provide feedback to Engineering on tolerances or callouts that are impractical, unmeasurable, or repeatedly problematic on the floor.

• Maintain the gage and measuring equipment inventory; track location, condition, and calibration status.
• Perform or coordinate calibration on schedule; maintain calibration records and remove out-of-tolerance equipment from service immediately.
• Recommend gaging, fixtures, and inspection methods that make critical features faster and more reliable to…