Director of Quality - PFR NA
Andritz · Raleigh
Every day, ANDRITZ continues to deliver successful innovative solutions to our customers globally. Why are we so successful? Because we are passionate and love what we do! We are at the forefront of future engineering technologies, with solutions that ensure the success of our clients in key industries that are shaping the future of the world we live in.
Position Summary
The Director of Quality is responsible for developing, implementing, and leading the organization's quality strategy to ensure products, processes, and systems consistently meet customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and business objectives. This role drives a culture of quality excellence throughout manufacturing operations, supply chain, product development, and customer-facing functions while leading continuous improvement initiatives that improve quality performance, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction.
The Director of Quality serves as the senior quality leader, working cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Sales, and Product Development to establish robust quality systems and drive operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Quality Leadership & Strategy
- Develop and execute a multi-year quality strategy, annual operating plan, and measurable objectives aligned with business priorities and customer commitments.
- Establish enterprise quality governance, policies, KPIs, review routines, and accountability across sites and functions.
- Translate customer, regulatory, certification, and contractual requirements into effective operational controls.
- Champion risk-based thinking, prevention, ethical decision-making, and a culture in which quality concerns are raised and resolved promptly.
- Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Product Development, Sales, and Customer Service to embed quality throughout the product and process lifecycle.
- Serve as the principal quality representative with executive leadership, customers, suppliers, certification bodies, and regulatory agencies.
Quality Management Systems
- Maintain and continually improve an ISO 9001-compliant QMS and any additional customer, industry, or regulatory systems applicable to the business.
- Ensure effective control of documented information, records, nonconformities, deviations, corrective actions, preventive risk controls, and change management.
- Lead and/or participate internal, customer and third party audits.
- Verify root-cause quality and corrective-action effectiveness, including timely closure and prevention of recurrence.
- Maintain required certifications and ensure ongoing compliance with applicable legal, contractual, and customer-specific requirements.
Manufacturing Quality
- Monitor plant quality assurance, quality control, laboratory, inspection, and product-release activities, as applicable.
- Establish and maintain process controls, control plans, inspection and test methods, validation programs, traceability, and acceptance criteria.
- Ensure plant measurement systems, calibration, test equipment, and laboratory methods are suitable, controlled, and capable.
- Monitor customer complaints, internal defects, scrap and rework, first-pass yield, COPQ, and supplier quality performance; ensure adverse trends trigger timely action.
- Lead containment, root-cause investigation, corrective action, and lessons learned for significant quality events.
Continuous Improvement
- Sponsor and govern Lean, Six Sigma, and operational-excellence initiatives that deliver verified improvements in quality, flow, cost, and customer outcomes.
- Ensure consistent use of structured problem-solving, risk analysis, statistical methods, and mistake-proofing for priority issues.
- Build prevention and continuous-improvement capability across functions through standards, coaching, project selection, and benefit validation.
- Use reliable data and leading indicators to identify systemic risk, prioritize resources, and sustain gains.
Customer Quality & Supplier Quality
- Act as the executive point of contact for critical customer quality issues and ensure coordinated containment, communication, resolution, and follow-up.
- Translate complaint, return, warranty, and customer-scorecard data into systemic improvement priorities.
- Partner in supplier selection and sourcing decisions based on risk, capability, compliance, and total cost.
- Ensure supplier audits and improvement plans are risk-based and that supplier corrective actions are verified for effectiveness.
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop quality managers, engineers, technicians, inspectors, and other quality professionals.
- Build organizational capability in quality planning, auditing, risk management, data analysis, and structured problem-solving.
- Set clear performance expectations, provide timely feedback, and maintain succession and development plans for critical roles.
- Foster effective collaboration while preserving the quality function’s independence and obligation to escalate unacceptable risk.
Reporting & Governance
- Provide executive leadership with concise, accurate reporting on quality performance, customer impact, systemic risks, compliance status, and improvement results.
- Maintain a quality risk and opportunity portfolio with defined owners, actions, due dates, and escalation thresholds.
- Develop and manage the quality budget, capital needs, technology roadmap, and resource plan.
- Ensure quality data, dashboards, and records are accurate, timely, traceable, and suitable for decision-making.
- Escalate significant product, process, customer, supplier, or compliance risks promptly and track them through verified closure.
Authority & Accountability
- Has authority to stop production, testing, release, or shipment when product conformity, customer requirements, or compliance may be compromised.
- Approves quality policies, standards, acceptance criteria, and disposition governance within delegated authority.
- Escalates unresolved quality risk directly to executive leadership and ensures business decisions involving accepted risk are documented at the appropriate level.
- Is accountable for the effectiveness of the QMS and for transparent reporting of quality performance and risk.
Required Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Quality Management, or related technical discipline.
- Master's degree preferred (MBA, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field).
Experience
- 10+ years of progressive quality experience in manufacturing, including at least 5 years leading quality managers or multi-disciplinary quality teams.
- Demonstrated success leading quality across multiple facilities, business units, or comparably complex operations.
- Experience establishing, implementing, and materially improving an ISO 9001-based QMS.
- Proven results improving customer satisfaction, reducing defects and COPQ, strengthening supplier performance, and sustaining corrective actions.
- Experience supporting new-product introduction, process or equipment changes, and customer-facing quality resolution in an industrial environment.
Technical Expertise
Strong knowledge and practical application of:
- ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and risk-based auditing
- Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies
- Statistical Process Control (SPC), process capability, and measurement system analysis
- Root Cause Analysis, CAPA, and effectiveness verification
- Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), control plans, and mistake-proofing
- APQP and PPAP, where applicable
- Calibration, metrology, inspection, testing, validation, and product-release controls
- Supplier quality management and customer complaint resolution
- Change control, new-product introduction, and process-transfer quality planning
- Quality data systems, trend analysis, and executive performance reporting
- Applicable regulatory, contractual, and customer-specific requirements
Certifications (Preferred)
- ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
- ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
- Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt
- Lead Auditor Certification
Leadership Competencies
Strategic Leadership
- Ability to align quality objectives with business strategy.
- Strong business acumen and financial understanding.
Customer Focus
- Passion for delivering exceptional customer quality and service.
- Ability to build strong relationships with key customers.
Change Management
- Experience driving cultural transformation and process improvement.
- Ability to influence without authority across multiple functions.
Communication & Collaboration
- Excellent executive-level communication and presentation skills.
- Strong facilitation, coaching, and stakeholder management abilities.
Problem Solving
- Demonstrated analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities.
- Ability to manage complex quality issues under pressure.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The Director of Quality will be measured on:
- Customer complaint reduction
- Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)
- Internal defect rate
- Supplier defect rate
- First-pass yield
- Scrap and rework costs
- Audit findings and closure rates
- Corrective action effectiveness
- Customer satisfaction scores
- On-time resolution of quality issues
- Quality system compliance
- Employee engagement and development within the quality organization
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability.