Director Supplier Quality

About the Opportunity

Our client is a rapidly growing advanced manufacturing company developing and producing complex engineered systems for demanding applications.

The company is seeking a Director of Supplier Quality to build, scale, and lead its Supplier Quality organization. This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership role for someone who can operate effectively in a fast-growth environment while building the processes, systems, and team required to support future scale.

The ideal candidate combines strong strategic leadership with the willingness to personally engage in supplier issues, audits, qualification, root-cause investigations, and operational problem solving.

Key Responsibilities

Supplier Quality Strategy & Systems

• Develop and execute a scalable Supplier Quality strategy and operating model.
• Build processes, policies, standard work, and governance to support growth from prototype and low-volume production through higher-volume manufacturing.
• Develop a multi-year roadmap for Supplier Quality maturity and organizational growth.
• Drive continuous improvement and digitization of Supplier Quality processes, tools, dashboards, and reporting.

Supplier Qualification & Development

• Partner with Supply Chain and Engineering to evaluate and qualify new suppliers.
• Assess supplier technical capability, manufacturing maturity, capacity, scalability, and quality systems.
• Lead supplier audits, risk assessments, capability studies, and manufacturing-readiness evaluations.
• Establish supplier development plans and drive improvement with strategic or underperforming suppliers.

Supplier Performance & Quality

• Establish and manage supplier performance metrics and scorecards.
• Lead resolution of supplier quality issues using structured problem-solving methodologies including 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone, and root-cause analysis.
• Drive containment, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness.
• Develop risk-based incoming inspection strategies and continuously improve supplier quality performance.
• Support supplier qualification and manufacturing process validation.

NPI & Manufacturing Support

• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program Management during new product introduction.
• Identify and mitigate supplier risks early in product development.
• Support the transition from prototype → pilot → production.
• Ensure supplier manufacturing processes and capabilities align with engineering and production requirements.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing Supplier Quality Engineering (SQE) organization.
• Define organizational structure, roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
• Recruit, coach, and develop Supplier Quality Engineers as the organization scales.
• Create a culture of accountability, urgency, technical rigor, and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality, or related functions.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing Supplier Quality or Quality Engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling Supplier Quality teams, processes, or systems.
• Strong supplier qualification, auditing, development, and performance-management experience.
• Hands-on experience with supplier issue resolution, corrective actions, and root-cause methodologies.
• Experience supporting complex manufactured products and global supply chains.
• Background in aerospace, semiconductor equipment, industrial equipment, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex hardware environments.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with complex electromechanical products or capital equipment.
• Experience supporting both low-volume/high-complexity and scaled production environments.
• Knowledge of APQP, PPAP, SPC, FMEA, 8D, and supplier quality systems.
• Experience implementing or improving digital Supplier Quality/QMS tools.
• ASQ, CQE, CQA, Six Sigma, or similar certifications are a plus.

Work Environment

This is an on-site leadership position in Southern California and will require regular interaction with suppliers, including supplier visits, audits, launch support, and issue resolution.