Director Advanced Quality

Reporting to the Executive Director of Quality & Business Systems, the Director serves as a key leader in ensuring effective implementation of quality processes, standardized operating procedures, and continuous improvement initiatives that support customer satisfaction, operational excellence, and business growth. This role drives quality consistency across manufacturing sites and product programs while developing organizational capability in quality systems and compliance.

• Lead the implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the North America Quality Management System.
• Ensure compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, customer-specific requirements, and corporate quality standards.
• Develop, review, and deploy quality system procedures, standards, and best practices.
• Drive standardization of quality processes across manufacturing facilities.

• Support deployment and sustainment of the YFAI Business Operating System across all facilities.
• Facilitate process maturity assessments and identify opportunities for operating model improvements.
• Coordinate cross-functional activities to ensure consistent execution of business system requirements.
• Monitor key performance indicators and establish action plans to close performance gaps.

• Direct the regional internal audit program and ensure audit plans are risk-based, complete, and effective.
• Coordinate external certification and customer audits in partnership with plant and functional leaders.
• Ensure timely closure of audit findings and verify effectiveness of corrective actions.
• Monitor compliance trends and implement preventive measures to reduce repeat findings.

• Analyze quality performance metrics across plants and programs to identify systemic issues and improvement opportunities.
• Lead regional reviews of quality key performance indicators including customer complaints, warranty, internal scrap, first-pass yield, and corrective action effectiveness.
• Develop enterprise-wide improvement initiatives and coordinate execution across sites.
• Provide clear executive reporting, decision support, and recommendations to senior leadership.

• Lead structured problem-solving and root cause analysis initiatives for recurring quality issues.
• Champion Lean, Six Sigma, and operational excellence methodologies as practical tools for sustainable performance improvement.
• Facilitate best-practice sharing across manufacturing locations.
• Support digitalization and automation of quality management processes.

• Lead and develop quality systems managers, auditors, and other assigned quality professionals.
• Establish development roadmaps and succession plans for key quality roles.
• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, compliance, and customer focus.
• Support cross-regional collaboration and resource sharing across the quality organization.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Business, or a related technical field required.
• Master's degree preferred.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in automotive manufacturing, quality, operations, engineering, or program management.
• 5+ years in a leadership role managing quality systems, quality operations, audit, or operational excellence functions.
• Demonstrated experience implementing and managing IATF 16949 and ISO-based quality systems.
• Experience leading internal and external audits, including customer and certification audits.
• Experience working in a multi-site, matrixed, and international business environment.
• Strong understanding of automotive OEM customer requirements and disciplined corrective action methods.
• Ability to travel local and internationally to suppliers and internal plants up to 40% of the time.

• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE).
• ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).
• Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean certification, or equivalent continuous improvement credential.
• IATF 16949 Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor certification.

• Sustained compliance to IATF 16949, ISO, customer-specific, and corporate requirements.
• Reduction in customer complaints, repeat issues, and major quality incidents.
• Improvement in regional quality performance indicators and corrective action effectiveness.
• Successful completion of internal, external, customer, and certification audits.
• Improved maturity and adoption of the Business Operating System across sites.
• Strengthened quality leadership pipeline, bench strength, and succession readiness.

• Quality Systems:
  Understand, apply and meet all function related YF IOS requirements.
• Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS):
  Understand, apply and meet all function related EHS requirements.
• Product Safety:
  Understand, apply and meet all function-related Product Safety…