Director of Quality Assurance

Director of Quality Assurance

Summary:

Forge Battery is a rapidly growing company that is building a multi-GWh battery plant in Morrisville, NC, and is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Director of Quality Assurance (QA), to lead the QA resources and assets. The Director of Quality Assurance is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of quality systems and processes for a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery manufacturing facility.

This role ensures that all products meet stringent safety, regulatory, and customer requirements while driving operational excellence and a culture of quality across the organization.

This role is a critical leadership position responsible not only for managing quality, but for building and scaling the quality function from early-stage ramp through full production in a high-growth, next-generation battery manufacturing environment.

The Director of Quality Assurance with report to the Chief Operating Officer of Forge Battery.

Essential Functions:

Quality Strategy and leadership

* Develop and execute the plant's quality strategy aligned with corporate objectives.

* Lead and mentor the QA/QC teams, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

* Serve as a key member of the plant leadership team, contributing to overall business strategy.

* Own the long-term vision for building and scaling the quality organization, systems, and talent to support multi-GWh production growth.

* Drive enterprise-level quality initiatives across Engineering, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure alignment on product and process excellence.

* Establish, implement, and maintain robust QMS in compliance with industry standards (e.g., ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001).

* Ensure adherence to regulatory and safety requirements specific to Li-ion battery manufacturing.

Quality Management Systems (QMS)

* Oversee document control, change management, and internal audit programs.

* Design and evolve scalable quality systems capable of supporting rapid production ramp, process changes, and product evolution.

* Ensure systems are structured to support data-driven decision-making and real-time performance visibility.

Product & Process Quality

* Drive quality assurance across all stages: incoming materials, in-process production, and final product testing.

* Implement advanced quality tools (e.g., Six Sigma, SPC, FMEA, root cause analysis).

* Lead efforts to reduce defects, scrap, and rework while improving yield and reliability.

* Partner closely with Engineering to influence Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Quality (DFQ) initiatives.

* Support the transition of new products and processes from development into production, ensuring robust quality validation and control plans.

* Operate effectively in non-steady-state manufacturing environments, managing variability, process instability, and yield ramp challenges.

Customer & Supplier Quality

* Act as the primary quality liaison with customers, addressing complaints, audits, and corrective actions

* Oversee supplier quality management, including qualification, audits, and performance monitoring.

* Ensure timely resolution of non-conformances and implementation of corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).

* Lead customer qualification efforts and ongoing quality performance for high-reliability end markets (e.g., defense, aerospace, energy).

* Establish rigorous supplier development and quality assurance processes to support advanced materials and critical components.

* Provide executive-level reporting and insights linking quality performance to overall business outcomes and operational efficiency.

Compliance & Safety

* Ensure compliance with all applicable regulations, including environmental, health, and safety standards.

* Support product certification processes (e.g., UL, IEC standards for battery systems).

* Lead risk assessments and ensure safe manufacturing practices.

* Own product safety, reliability, and risk mitigation strategies for lithium-ion battery systems in safety-critical applications.

* Drive proactive failure analysis and reliability testing methodologies to ensure…