Plant Supplier Quality Engineer

The Plant Supplier Quality Engineer will protect the assembly line by ensuring incoming components meet quality specifications. This role involves immediate containment, robust problem-solving, and driving cross-functional corrective actions for non-conforming materials. The ideal candidate will be proactive, detail-oriented, and thrive in a fast-paced, high-volume manufacturing environment, contributing to continuous improvement and analyzing in-plant supplier quality metrics.

Must Have

• Act as first responder to supplier material quality issues on the assembly line.
• Implement containment activities (sort, rework, scrap, Stop Shipment) to prevent line disruptions.
• Own in-plant disposition of non-conforming materials and manage Non-Conformance Reports.
• Lead Corrective Actions for in-plant supplier quality issues with cross-functional teams.
• Analyze and report in-plant supplier quality metrics, including line fallout rates.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
• Minimum 8+ years in Plant Quality, Manufacturing Quality, or Supplier Quality in high-volume manufacturing.
• Expertise in structured problem-solving techniques like 8D, Fish Bone Analysis, 5 Whys, and statistical analysis.
• Strong knowledge of Core Quality Tools: Process Flow Diagrams, Process FMEAs, Control Plans, SPC, MSA.
• Solid knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) for rapid part assessment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft computer applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Good to Have

• Six-Sigma (Green/Black Belt preferred)
• Familiarity with supplier quality processes such as APQP and PPAP

Perks & Benefits

• Mentorship
• Career growth opportunities
• Comprehensive benefits

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

The Plant Supplier Quality Engineer will be a critical member of the Supplier Quality team, focused on protecting the assembly line and ensuring that all incoming supplier-provided components meet quality specifications at the point of use. This role is responsible for immediate containment, robust problem solving, and driving cross-functional corrective actions for non-conforming material within the assembly plant. The ideal candidate will be proactive, energetic, detail-oriented, and able to thrive in a fast-paced, high-volume manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Assembly Line Protection & Containment: Act as the first responder to all supplier material quality issues identified on the assembly line, in receiving, or in pre-assembly inspection areas. Immediately implement containment activities (e.g., sort, rework, scrap, Stop Shipment) to prevent line disruptions.
• Non-Conformance Management (NCM): Own the in-plant disposition of non-conforming materials. Raise and manage Non-Conformance Reports, ensuring proper segregation, identification, and disposition of affected parts.
• Problem Solving & Corrective Action: Lead Corrective Actions for in-plant supplier quality issues, partnering directly with the Manufacturing, Vehicle Engineering, and the Supplier Quality Engineer that manages the supplier site.
• Assembly Process Support: Work closely with Manufacturing and Vehicle Systems Engineering to assess the immediate impact of part quality issues on the assembly process. Identify and support changes to assembly operations/work instructions required due to temporary supplier deviations.
• Part Quality Metrics: Be responsible for analyzing and reporting the in-plant supplier quality metrics, including line fallout rates, non-conformance trends, and containment effectiveness to leadership.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify systemic quality risks based on in-plant failures and collaborate with the SQE team to improve upstream processes (APQP, PPAP) and prevent recurrence.

Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
• Minimum 8+ years of experience in a Plant Quality, Manufacturing Quality, or Supplier Quality role within a high-volume manufacturing environment (Automotive, Aviation, or similar industries are preferred).
• Demonstrated experience in a production plant environment with a strong understanding of assembly line operations and the impact of material quality on production flow.
• Expertise in Problem-Solving Techniques: Proven experience using structured methodologies such as 8D, Six-Sigma (Green/Black Belt preferred), Fish Bone Analysis, 5 Whys, and statistical analysis.
• Strong Core Quality Tool Knowledge: Working knowledge of Process Flow Diagrams, Process FMEAs, Control Plans, Statistical Process Control (SPC), and Measurement System Analysis (MSA).
• Familiarity with supplier quality processes such as APQP and PPAP is beneficial, with a focus on evaluating their effectiveness based on in-plant performance.
• Solid knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) for rapid part assessment.
• Fully literate in Microsoft computer applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.