Vice President of Quality

Vice President of Quality

Department: Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Oak Brook, IL

Reporting To: Ron Rabe

Compensation: $230,000 - $330,000 / year

Vice President of Quality is a senior leadership role responsible for establishing, scaling, and continuously improving the enterprise Quality Management System (QMS) across a multi-plant, ISO 9001 certified manufacturing organization and its global supply chain. This leader ensures product and process quality, regulatory compliance, supplier quality performance, and a strong culture of continuous improvement.

This role is critical to enabling product line expansion, supporting third‑party manufacturing partners, and ensuring quality is designed into new products and processes from concept through commercialization. The VP of Quality partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, and Research & Development to embed quality into business strategy, new product introduction, and operational execution.

Quality Management System (QMS) Leadership

• Develop, deploy, and continuously improve a scalable, standardized Quality Management System aligned with ISO 9001 requirements and business objectives.
• Ensure consistent interpretation and application of QMS requirements across all manufacturing sites and supporting functions.
• Own global quality policies, procedures, standards, and governance models.
• Lead management review processes and ensure actionable outcomes tied to business performance.
• Ensure the QMS effectively supports new product introduction, product line expansion, and integration of external manufacturing partners.

Manufacturing Site Quality Oversight

• Provide functional leadership and accountability for plant Quality leaders across all manufacturing locations.
• Ensure compliance with ISO 9001, customer requirements, and internal standards at each site.
• Drive disciplined use of core quality tools (e.g., corrective action, root cause analysis, SPC, PFMEA, PPAP, risk management, control plans).
• Establish and track key quality KPIs including internal and external PPM, FPY, COPQ, audit findings, and customer complaints.
• Lead enterprise response to significant quality events, customer escalations, and containment actions.
• Partner with Engineering and R&D to ensure quality is embedded in product design, validation, and launch readiness.

Supplier Quality & Global Supply Chain Oversight

• Establish and execute a robust Supplier Quality Management framework across a global and increasingly outsourced/partnered supply base.
• Ensure supplier compliance to quality, regulatory, and contractual requirements through audits, scorecards, and development plans.
• Partner with Supply Chain to drive supplier qualification, risk management, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead supplier corrective action processes and escalation management when quality performance is at risk.
• Support sourcing decisions with supplier quality assessments and due diligence.
• Lead quality integration and oversight for third‑party manufacturing partners, including qualification, performance management, and ongoing governance.

Compliance, Audits & Risk Management

• Serve as the executive owner for external and internal audits, including ISO 9001 certification bodies, key customers, and regulatory agencies as applicable.
• Ensure timely closure and effectiveness of corrective actions resulting from audits and assessments.
• Proactively identify quality and compliance risks across manufacturing and the supply chain and implement mitigation strategies.

Continuous Improvement & Quality Culture

• Champion a culture of quality, accountability, and continuous improvement across the organization.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, and R&D to integrate quality into process design, new product introduction, and change management.
• Drive standardization and best practice sharing across sites to improve performance and reduce variability.
• Develop and mentor quality leaders and build a strong succession pipeline within the Quality organization.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on quality risks, opportunities, and strategic initiatives.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally to balance quality, cost, delivery, and growth objectives.
• Clearly communicate quality performance, trends, and risks at an executive level.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline (advanced degree preferred).
• 15+ years of progressive quality leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, including multi‑site responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-level ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems.
• Strong background in supplier quality management and global supply chain oversight.
• Proven ability to lead audits, corrective actions, and enterprise quality transformations.
• Demonstrated experience building and scaling quality systems to support new product introduction and/or external…