Quality Engineer

Quality Engineer

Reporting to the quality assurance manager, the quality engineer is responsible for ensuring that the quality of the parts produced in the plant will meet all customer expectations. The quality engineer will quickly and effectively take action when non-conformances are found. The quality engineer will proactively identify and drive continuous improvement projects to increase product quality, overall manufacturing efficiency and productivity while reducing cost and waste.

The position will be a resource for the plant, assisting in solving quality and technical issues; ensuring that the plant and its quality systems evolve and continuously improve through close association with plant management. This position will lead continuous improvement activities in the plant related to quality and food safety requirements.

The quality engineer will maintain the integrity of the certified quality system requirements with lean, cost-effective strategies that meet the organization's needs. The quality engineer role will participate in strengthening the customer relationship. This position is also responsible for food safety and quality procedures to ensure that the company's objectives for food safety and quality meet or exceed customer's and regulatory agency's requirements.

• Manage the Quality of Manufactured Products
• Ensure that product quality and procedures are in place and are being properly executed to minimize defects and protect customers
• Ensure that required quality audits take place and corrective actions for non-compliances are completed
• Coordinate investigations of non-conformances, follow-up on investigations, maintain RCCA log, and complete verification activities with Quality Manager
• Ensure timely and effective follow up on customer product quality issues including:
• Drive the process for answering customer PQIs on time with the plant, using timely follow-up, communication, and production knowledge to ensure answers provided to customers are correct, logical, and have corrective actions completed to prevent reoccurrence
• Respond to customers within 10 days of receipt of PQIs, with clear, well written responses, tailored to an audience that does not have intimate knowledge of the plant or Polytainers operations
• Conduct thorough investigations and root cause analysis of plant issues and internal problems within quality, using the Polytainers problem solving model, to effectively correct deficiencies and prevent reoccurrence
• Maintain the most recent understandings of the quality system requirements and therefore ensure that documented practices meet the true interpretation of the quality management system standards
• Assist the Plant in Achieving Quality Performance Targets
• Participate in determining plant quality assurance objectives and be accountable for ensuring projects assigned are properly planned out, executed, and documented as per planned deadlines
• Establish corrective actions when performance is off target
• Conduct regular reviews of PHRs and PQIs in order to analyze root causes and determine patterns
• Based on the above analysis, engage with plant management to drive forward on corrective actions for major issues
• Customer Relationship Management
• Ensure compliance and timely completion and submission of customer regulatory documents
• Co-ordinate responses to customer request for food safety, allergen, HACCP, and quality questionnaires
• Track and report on customer complaints and formal NCR's and associated corrective action plans.
• Communicate directly with the customer, including visiting the customer's plant, as required
• Engage in customer visits to gain full understanding of customer root cause concerns and to strengthen the customer relationship
• Customer Complaint Management
• Track and report on customer complaints (PQIs) status at daily production meetings, formal NCRs, and associated corrective action plans
• Facilitate team meetings to determine root cause and corrective actions
• Follow up to validate corrective actions have been completed, are effective and provide regular status updates to management
• Prepare final reports to customer and submit to the issuing PQI coordinator for closure
• Auditing Duties
• Perform scheduled SQF internal audits. Prepare and present report on findings at monthly meetings
• Follow up with the department manager responsible for findings that require corrections for NCRs and PQIs
• Lead Plant Continuous Improvement Objectives
• Participate in determining plant objectives in establishing the performance metrics for the objectives and providing leadership in ensuring projects are supported with technical and troubleshooting assistance
• Assist the plant in working with quality directly to achieve desired continuous improvement goals while ensuring plant quality standards are maintained
• Ensure assigned activities are properly planned out, executed, and documented as per planned deadlines. Facilitate implementation of changes
• Provide feedback and follow up throughout the project…