Director of Quality Assurance

Director of Quality Assurance

Full‑time, Raleigh, NC

Forge Battery is a rapidly growing company building a multi‑GWh battery plant in Morrisville, NC. The Director of Quality Assurance leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of quality systems and processes for a lithium‑ion (Li‑ion) battery manufacturing facility, ensuring all products meet stringent safety, regulatory, and customer requirements while driving operational excellence.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 long‑term product performance.

• Champion Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives across the plant.
• Utilize data analytics and KPIs to monitor performance and drive decision‑making.
• Lead cross‑functional initiatives to improve product quality, process capability, and customer satisfaction.
• Implement advanced analytics, real‑time dashboards, and statistical tools to enable predictive quality and performance optimization.
• Drive cost‑of‑quality reduction initiatives while supporting aggressive production and scaling targets.

• Lead internal…