Principal Advanced Quality Engineer - Textiles

Job Description

The Principal AQE – Textiles primary duties are to utilize advanced engineering expertise in the Textiles field to contribute to the development and qualification of innovative products and to mentor other engineers cross‑functionally to improve the department’s technical skills. The Principal AQE is a critical member of the New Product Development (NPD) team reporting to Quality Engineering leadership. Throughout a product’s development cycle, this position requires strong cross‑functional communication skills and analytical experience to help launch new and exciting solutions that meet our user’s needs.

You will work in a fast‑paced environment to innovate new products and textile material solutions as a member of a cross‑functional team. The Principal AQE may be asked to act as mentor to junior level AQEs on NPD projects in addition to their normal workload.

Product and Material Development

• Act as a Textiles Subject Matter Expert (SME) helping NPD teams determine optimal materials and designs to improve product performance and meet user expectations
• Interface with Front End Innovation (FEI) team to adapt highly innovative textile materials to production
• Participate in user need research to identify "critical to quality" (CtQ) requirements on materials selection, design features, and construction methods for knit and sewn products
• Collaborate with Engineering and Marketing to define the products' specifications leading in all aspects of performance, quality, reliability, and testing
• Lead Risk Assessments (Design and Manufacturing) for NPD projects during the product development cycle

Supplier & Manufacturing

• Lead supplier process and QMS audits focused on textile‑specific risks
• Establish process capability expectations for textile production at finished goods factories and material facilities as required
• Ensure timely failure reporting and lead root‑cause analysis and effective corrective/preventative actions (FRACA)

Testing/Analysis

• Lead development of capability at multiple test laboratories implementing new and innovative test methods to better quantify product performance
• Own interpretation of global textile performance standards and drive correlation between testing at internal labs and regulatory labs
• Develop test plans and prove out test methods based on new or established product designs to ensure products meet customer requirements
• Perform DOE to support Engineering in their understanding of quality concerns and improvements to design
• Analyze, draw conclusions, report and present product information utilizing statistical techniques such as Weibull analysis, reliability distributions and matrices
• Communicate concise, logical, written conclusions from experiments based on data analysis

Mentoring/Leadership

• Mentor junior level AQEs in developing CtQ requirements, test methodologies and design, setting production specifications and creation of design of experiments
• This position is recognized as a topic expert within the AQE teams, it will be asked to provide, as need, training, mentoring and guidance to REs related to that topic

• Position requires 70% of its time supporting product development work with 30% of its time dedicated to systemic and AQE organizational improvement/development
• Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering or educational equivalent field
• 10+ years of experience directly supporting textiles or soft goods product quality
• Experience with new product commercialization processes emphasizing design, manufacturing, quality, test or reliability activities
• Experience including training in quality engineering fundamentals and proven experience leading a primary function within a project team
• Previous relevant experience with Design of Experiments, life data analysis, and other related statistical tools and software (i.e. Minitab, Reliasoft)
• Demonstrate skills in mentoring other employees in statistical techniques
• Written and verbal communication skills and creative problem‑solving capabilities
• Ability to travel 20% of the time is required (travel includes Domestic and International)
• Preferred: ASQ Reliability Engineering Certification (ASQ-CRE) or the ability and desire to achieve certification
• Preferred:
  Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) or Six Sigma experience

Milwaukee Tool is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Protected Veterans/Disabled