Manager, Customer Service and Contamination

ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC.Quality Management

Job Description:

Summary:    The Regional Quality Head – Customer Service & Contamination is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving best-in-class quality performance, with a primary focus on Ford as a critical customer. This role leads AM regional efforts to improve customer satisfaction, strengthen contamination control systems, and ensure alignment with Ford’s Supplier Technical Assistance (STA) expectations.

The position serves as the central liaison between Astemo and Ford, providing technical leadership, driving proactive issue resolution, and ensuring sustainable improvements in product quality, manufacturing processes, and customer engagement across all AM region sites.

Essential Functions: Includes the following:

Customer Quality Leadership

• Lead initiatives to improve Ford Q1 MSA performance and overall customer scorecards across the Americas.
• Act as the primary regional quality interface with Ford, ensuring strong relationships and effective communication at all levels.
• Drive rapid and effective resolution of customer issues, ensuring robust root cause analysis and systemic corrective actions.
• Monitor and reduce customer complaints, warranty claims, and cost of poor quality (CoPQ).

Contamination Control Strategy

• Develop and implement a standardized regional contamination prevention strategy across all manufacturing locations.
• Ensure contamination strategy is in alignment with Ford Customer Requirements.
• Establish best practices, controls, and validation methods for contamination-sensitive products and processes.
• Drive continuous improvement in contamination detection, prevention, and response systems.
• Ensure consistent deployment of lessons learned and global standards across plants.

Technical & Operational Excellence

• Provide technical leadership and coaching to plant quality teams to strengthen problem-solving capabilities and quality discipline.
• Ensure alignment with Ford STA requirements, including audit readiness, compliance, and execution excellence.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to improve process capability, product integrity, and manufacturing robustness.

Plant Support & Governance

• Support regional plants with escalated quality issues, ensuring timely containment and resolution.
• Establish governance routines to track performance, risks, and improvement actions.
• Drive accountability through KPIs, dashboards, and structured reviews.

Strategic Alignment & Continuous Improvement

• Develop and execute a regional roadmap for customer service and contamination excellence.
• Identify systemic gaps and implement sustainable solutions to protect future business opportunities.
• Collaborate with global quality, engineering, and operations teams to ensure alignment and consistency.

Qualifications:

Knowledge, skills & abilities:

• Strong knowledge of Ford Q1 requirements and STA (Supplier Technical Assistance) processes
• Expertise in contamination control principles, clean manufacturing, and defect prevention systems
• Strategic leadership: Ability to define and deploy regional quality strategies aligned to customer expectations
• Customer management: Strong ability to build, influence, and maintain executive-level OEM relationships (especially Ford)
• Ability to lead regional change and drive cultural transformation toward prevention and zero-defect mindset
• Ability to translate customer requirements into actionable plant-level standards and behaviors
• Travel -- Must be willing to travel to support internal company needs (frequency up to 30%)

Additionally, the ability to work independently with minimal direction is required as are strong verbal and written communication skills. Experience with PCs and application software, such as MS Office tools is also required.

Education:  Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field (Master’s preferred).

Experience: Minimum of 3-5 years’ experience in automotive industry problem solving

• 10+ years of experience in quality, manufacturing, or engineering leadership roles.
• Strong experience working with OEM customers, preferably Ford and familiarity with Q1 and STA requirements.
• Proven expertise in contamination control, root cause analysis, and problem-solving methodologies (e.g., 8D, Six Sigma).
• Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional teams and driving regional initiatives.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills.
• Willingness to travel extensively within the region.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Leading and mentoring the efforts of Astemo Engineers and manufacturing site leadership who are responsible for sub-project activities. 

Working conditions:

Physical Demands: Required to sit or stand for long periods of time. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds.

Travel: Up to 30% domestic and international travel may be required. Travel may include visiting customers, suppliers, and Astemo manufacturing sites in the Americas region.

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) – Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, identity, disability, protected veteran status and national origin.

At Astemo, we’re challenging the status quo with the power of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration. Our goal is to build an inclusive work environment that celebrates the differences of our employees. We want to ensure that every employee feels valued, respected and empowered. We don’t just accept difference—we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Astemo is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Astemo, please send the nature of the request and contact information to am-jobs@hitachiastemo.com when applying for the position.