Quality Engineer

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Quality Engineer will lead the quality, compliance, and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) approval/certification process for our manufactured products. This role will serve as the primary technical owner for regulatory approvals and will work cross-functionally with engineering, manufacturing, testing laboratories, suppliers, and state DOT agencies to bring products from development through approval and into sustained production.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own the DOT approval process from initial requirements through testing, submission, agency review, approval, and ongoing compliance.
• Interpret applicable DOT, federal, state, and industry standards/specifications and translate them into product and manufacturing requirements.
• Develop and manage the overall regulatory approval and certification roadmap, including schedules, milestones, testing requirements, documentation, and deliverables.
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact with DOT agencies, certification bodies, testing laboratories, and other regulatory stakeholders.
• Coordinate qualification, validation, performance, durability, environmental, and other required product testing.
• Prepare and/or oversee technical documentation, compliance reports, test plans, engineering reports, specifications, and approval submissions.
• Partner with product and manufacturing engineering to ensure the design is manufacturable and consistently meets approved specifications.
• Develop and implement quality plans, inspection criteria, control plans, process validation, and acceptance criteria for production.
• Lead root-cause analysis, corrective actions, nonconformance investigations, and continuous improvement related to product quality and regulatory compliance.
• Establish systems for change control and configuration management so that manufacturing or design changes do not inadvertently invalidate regulatory approvals.
• Develop supplier quality requirements and work with suppliers to ensure incoming materials and components meet applicable specifications.
• Support audits, regulatory inspections, customer quality reviews, and product certification renewals.
• Maintain the technical records and evidence necessary to demonstrate ongoing compliance.
• Identify regulatory and quality risks early and develop mitigation plans.
• Establish KPIs for quality, compliance, approval cycle time, defects, corrective actions, and manufacturing process capability.
• Drive cross-functional teams toward approval and production-readiness milestones.

REQUIRED SKILLS / ATTITUDES:

• Must be reliable and ability to remain confidential.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft programs.
• Must be thorough and detailed orientated.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to read blueprints, bill of materials, purchase orders, and other documents submitted by customers.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor''s degree in Quality Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related discipline
• 3-5+ years of experience in quality engineering, regulatory compliance, product certification, manufacturing quality, or related field
• Demonstrated experience managing DOT/Federal/state regulatory approval or certification processes
• Experience working with government agencies, third-party testing laboratories, certification organizations, or regulatory bodies
• Strong understanding of quality systems, root-cause analysis, CAPA, FMEA, control plans, process validation, and statistical/process controls
• Experience translating engineering and regulatory requirements into manufacturing processes and quality controls
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, test standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Strong project-management skills and the ability to drive multiple stakeholders toward a regulatory deadline.
• Excellent technical writing and communication skills
• Experience with infrastructure, transportation, construction products, engineered materials, or other regulated manufactured products is highly desirable
• Knowledge of AutoCAD, Solidworks, and ERP (Epicor preferred) systems.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Periods of walking.
• Working in environment with extreme temperatures.
• Must be able to lift 20 pounds.

Union Metal Industries Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in recruiting, hiring or promotion based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status), national origin, age, disability, medical condition, marital or protected veteran status or any other basis or characteristic prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law.