Quality Engineer - Suits Value Stream

Job Title: Quality Engineer – Suits Value Stream Location: Cadillac, Michigan Purpose of Position The SVS Quality Engineer serves as the quality authority for the suits value stream and is responsible for ensuring product compliance, improving supplier quality performance, and maintaining effective quality control across a geographically dispersed network of suppliers and Cut-Make-Trim (CMT) manufacturers. This position provides leadership in quality planning, supplier quality management, defect investigation, inspection development, and corrective action implementation for military, law enforcement, and other specialized sewn-product programs. The Quality Engineer acts as the primary subject matter expert regarding raw material defects, manufacturing defects, transportation-related quality concerns, and quality system compliance. The role is responsible for developing scalable quality systems capable of controlling and monitoring quality remotely across multiple suppliers while ensuring products meet customer, regulatory, contractual, and company requirements. Responsibilities Supplier Audits and Quality Assessments (35%) Conduct supplier audits, process audits, product audits, and quality system assessments. Evaluate supplier quality performance, process controls, inspection methods, and compliance requirements. Identify quality risks and recommend corrective actions. Support supplier qualification and ongoing supplier approval activities. Verify effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions during follow-up audits. Assess supplier readiness for new products, production increases, and program launches. Travel to supplier and CMT facilities to perform quality oversight and monitoring activities. Supplier Quality Management (20%) Serve as the primary quality representative for assigned suppliers and CMT partners. Establish quality expectations and monitoring methods for supplier performance. Review supplier quality metrics, trends, and corrective action effectiveness. Manage supplier nonconformance activities and quality improvement initiatives. Support development and implementation of supplier quality requirements and inspection standards. Collaborate with Procurement, Supply Chain, and Engineering to address supplier-related quality concerns. Inspection Criteria and Quality Planning (20%) Develop and maintain inspection criteria, acceptance standards, sampling methods, and quality control plans. Establish inspection requirements for raw materials, work-in-process components, and finished goods. Create and maintain inspection documentation and quality records. Define defect classifications and acceptance criteria for military, law enforcement, and tactical sewn products. Support implementation of quality assurance processes throughout the value stream. Develop methods for remote quality monitoring and supplier quality oversight. Participate in new product introduction and industrialization activities. Develop quality requirements for new products and programs. Support creation and review of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, DFMEA, Control Plans, and related quality documentation as appropriate. Conduct risk assessments during product development and production launch activities. Support first article inspections, sample approvals, and production readiness reviews. Collaborate with Engineering and Operations to ensure manufacturability and quality requirements are effectively incorporated into production processes. Corrective Actions and Root Cause Investigation (10%) Investigate customer complaints, supplier quality issues, production defects, and nonconformances. Lead root cause analysis activities utilizing structured problem-solving methodologies. Drive implementation and verification of corrective and preventive actions. Analyze quality trends and recurring defect patterns. Coordinate containment actions and disposition decisions. Support continuous improvement activities focused on defect reduction and process stability. Qu…

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