Strategic Accounts Quality Engineer

Location:

Jeffersontown, KY / Simpsonville, KY

Department:
Quality

Job Type: Full-Time

KCC Companies is an employee-owned (ESOP) company dedicated to providing complete design, manufacturing, installation, and service for commercial & residential Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC).

KCC enhances the lives of our customers, partners, employee-owners, and communities by providing innovative HVAC solutions.

• 9 Paid Holidays
• EBITDA Bonus
• Health, Dental, Vision insurance, and other Ancillary coverages
• 401K
• Monthly Accrued Vacation
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

This hybrid Quality Engineer role integrates responsibilities across Advanced Product Quality Planning, Product Quality Assurance, and Field Quality Analysis. The ideal candidate will be a proactive problem solver with strong analytical skills, excellent communication, and capable of leading cross‑functional initiatives that achieve product conformance to specifications, manufacturing reliability, and customer satisfaction throughout the product lifecycle.

Advanced Quality Engineering:

• Act as a key stakeholder in cross‑functional project planning to ensure quality is represented throughout the lifecycle.
• Ensure quality‑related activities are synchronized with overall project schedules and deliverables.
• Support gate reviews with quality documentation and metrics and ensure timely escalation of quality risks that may impact project deliverables.
• Interpret and integrate customer quality expectations into project development, including special characteristics, inspection criteria, and traceability needs.
• Develop, implement, and maintain early launch containment strategies and control plans to ensure robust process control and risk mitigation.
• Collaborate with engineering teams during concept, design, and validation phases to ensure quality requirements are embedded early in the development process, including providing support for Design for Manufacturability, FMEAs, risk assessments, prototype, and process capability evaluations.
• Develop and manage project PPAP packages, ensuring alignment with customer‑specific requirements and internal standards.
• Partner closely with the SQE team to ensure externally supplied components meet quality expectations during launch and production.

Product Quality Engineering:

• Lead structured cross‑functional problem‑solving efforts using 8D, DMAIC, and root cause analysis tools to address quality issues to drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) while monitoring effectiveness.
• Maintain KPIs and data collection systems.
• Support and optimize inspection and testing protocols, including in‑line checks, end‑of‑line testing, and audit procedures.

Field Quality Engineering:

• Act as the primary quality liaison for customer complaints, warranty claims, and field failures; leading cross‑functional investigations to ensure timely containment, root cause identification, and permanent corrective actions.
• Deliver clear, professional communication to customers and internal stakeholders regarding issue status, resolution plans, and quality performance metrics.
• Analyze field data to proactively identify negative trends and communicate across the organization to drive upstream proactive improvements in design, manufacturing, and supplier quality.
• Integrate field failure data into NPD and FMEA processes.
• Support customer audits, quality reviews, and scorecard improvement initiatives.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field. Associate degree with relevant experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Quality Engineer or similar experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience working within a structured QMS (i.e., ISO 9001, IATF 16949, etc.)
• HVAC industry experience, including familiarity with HVAC systems, components, and performance testing is a plus.
• Experience with ERP systems is a plus.

Technical

Skills:

• Strong working knowledge of PPAP, APQP, FMEA, DFMA, Control Plans, and core quality tools.
• Proficient in structured problem‑solving methodologies (8D, DMAIC, Fishbone, etc.).
• Profici…