Senior Quality Engineer

Job Title: Senior Quality Engineer

Job Description

The Senior Quality Engineer plays a critical role in ensuring the quality, reliability, and safety of complex electronic and electromechanical products across the entire product lifecycle. This position requires strong analytical skills, deep technical expertise in electronics and mechanical systems, disciplined problem solving, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority. You will lead robust quality planning, drive verification and validation rigor, manage risk mitigation, and champion continual improvement initiatives so that products meet customer expectations, comply with regulatory and industry standards, and deliver world-class performance in the field.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, review, and execution of product lifecycle quality plans from concept through launch.
• Own and drive Design for Quality (DfQ) activities, including DFMEA and design control deliverables, ensuring full traceability from requirements to verification and validation.
• Champion risk management throughout the product lifecycle by owning control plans and maintaining risk files.
• Define acceptance criteria, test strategies, measurement system analyses (MSA/GR&R), and Critical-to-Quality (CtQ) parameters.
• Partner closely with Design Engineering, Product Management, and Operations to align on design specifications, manufacturability, reliability, and risk.
• Plan and execute Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) or equivalent processes, including PFMEA, control plans, PPAP, process capability analysis, rolled throughput yield (RTY), and production readiness assessments for new product introduction.
• Validate production test systems, calibration methods, and in-process inspection strategies to ensure robust manufacturing quality.
• Ensure smooth transition from development to production through cross-functional reviews and readiness gates.
• Track and own launch quality metrics, including DPPM, escapes, and warranty early life failures, and drive corrective actions.
• Monitor product health by analyzing returns, complaints, yields, warranty data, and reliability metrics, and lead problem solving to drive continual improvement.
• Identify, measure, monitor, and reduce product rework and scrap that contribute to Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ).
• Lead root-cause investigations using structured methods such as 8D, 5-Whys, Ishikawa diagrams, and statistical techniques.
• Lead stop-ship and containment activities, investigations, communications, and other quality-related actions when significant issues arise.
• Optimize in-process and end-of-line inspection and testing strategies to reduce variation and improve consistency.
• Support change control evaluations, including engineering change orders (ECOs), process changes, and component changes, to ensure continued product quality.
• Collaborate with Service and Customer Support teams to address customer issues, implement containment actions, and drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Lead cross-functional quality reviews and drive consensus on quality-critical decisions using data-driven insights.
• Communicate risks, issues, and performance trends to leadership clearly and concisely, backed by robust data analysis.
• Serve as lead auditor for ISO 9001:2015 by planning, executing, and reporting internal audits, and support external audits as needed.
• Ensure quality procedures, work instructions, and records comply with quality management system (QMS) requirements.
• Support supplier and customer audits, including verification of effective closure of nonconformities.
• Promote a culture of quality, data integrity, and continual improvement across the organization, leveraging quality engineering and continuous improvement methodologies.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering.
• 5+ years of experience as a Quality Engineer and 8+ years of experience as a Senior Quality Engineer across hardware, electromechanical, or embedded system products.
• Strong knowledge of verification and validation (V&V) methodologies, statistical tools, and core quality engineering principles.
• Hands-on experience with DFMEA, PFMEA, measurement system analysis (MSA), GR&R, control plans, and structured problem-solving methods.
• Internal auditor or lead auditor certification for quality management systems (preferred).
• Practical experience with failure analysis and reliability concepts.
• Proficiency with data analysis tools such as Minitab, Power BI, or similar analytics software.
• Experience in Lean, Kaizen, or Six Sigma methodologies, with Green Belt or higher preferred.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or equivalent professional certification.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC or similar quality and industry standards.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) processes, electronics manufacturing, or test system development.
• Familiarity with PLM, ERP, MES, or digital quality systems.
• Familiarity with reliability engineering concepts and methods such as Weibull analysis and FRACAS.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• High sense of ownership, urgency, and a strong continuous improvement mindset.

Work Environment

This role is based in Everett, WA, within a modern engineering and manufacturing park environment. The position offers a hybrid work schedule, with three days in the office (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and two days remote (Monday and Friday). The standard workweek is approximately 40 hours, with some overtime as needed to support product launches, audits, and critical quality initiatives. You will collaborate closely with engineering, operations, service, and customer support teams, leveraging advanced test systems, data analysis tools, and digital quality platforms in a professional, quality-focused environment.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Everett, WA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $60.00 - $75.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Everett,WA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Aug 27, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.