Quality Director

Summary: The Director of Quality is responsible for developing, implementing, and leading the organization's quality management strategy across product development, supplier quality, manufacturing operations, and customer experience. This role ensures that quality is built into products and processes from concept through production while driving continuous improvement, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction.

The Director of Quality partners closely with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Product Development, and Customer Service to establish robust quality systems, improve manufacturing performance, reduce warranty costs, and support successful product launches.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Quality Leadership

• Develop and execute the company's quality strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Lead all aspects of the Quality Management System (QMS).
• Establish quality goals, KPIs, and performance metrics.
• Promote a culture of quality, accountability, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
• Mentor and develop quality colleagues - team/inspectors/technicians

Product Development & Pre-Production Quality

• Ensure quality requirements are integrated into product design and development processes.
• Lead Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) activities.
• Support any advanced application into Design and Process FMEA reviews.
• Approve production quality readiness and manufacturing quality launch criteria.
• Develop Quality Control Plans and quality targets for new products.
• Partner with Engineering to ensure Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Quality (DFQ) principles are applied.

Manufacturing Quality

• Establish process controls that ensure consistent product quality and compliance.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective action activities.
• Implement SPC, process capability, and error-proofing methodologies.
• Cost of Poor Quality - Significantly reduce scrap, rework, defects, and warranty claims.
• Lead quality containment and escalation activities when required.

Supplier Quality Management

• Establish supplier qualification, monitoring, and development programs.
• Drive supplier quality improvements through audits, corrective actions, and performance reviews.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain to manage supplier risk and ensure incoming material quality.
• Monitor supplier quality metrics and corrective action effectiveness.

Customer & Warranty Quality

• Lead customer complaint investigations and resolution processes.
• Analyze warranty data and field quality trends.
• Develop corrective and preventive action programs to eliminate recurring issues.
• Support dealer and customer quality initiatives.

Compliance & Audits

• Ensure compliance with applicable marine industry standards, customer requirements, and regulatory requirements.
• Manage internal and external audits.
• Maintain organizational readiness for certification and compliance reviews.
• Ensure documentation and quality records are maintained in accordance with standards.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead Lean Manufacturing concept creation and deployment
• Utilize data analytics to identify opportunities for quality and process improvement.
• Establish best practices in problem solving and process standardization.
• Drive cost-of-poor-quality reduction initiatives.