Quality Engineer

About us:

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, ACS is a full-service, specialty HVAC solutions provider. The company offers design, installation, maintenance, and repair of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for specialized solutions across a diverse set of end markets, including telecommunications, data centers, energy storage, rental, educational, aviation, mobile cooling, industrial, and commercial markets. The company has a workforce of ~800 people with locations in Frederick, MD; Houston, TX; Tulsa, OK; Cordele, GA; and Rochester, NY. For more information on AirX Climate Solutions, please visit: https://airxcs.com/. 

This position is part of our AboveAir Technologies team in Frederick, MD. AboveAir Technologies is a market leader in providing highly configured HVAC solutions that span the data center market (on-prem, colocation, and hyperscale).

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Quality Systems & Process Control

1. Develop and maintain quality procedures, inspection plans, Control Plans, PFMEAs, and standardized quality documentation.

• Establish and monitor First Pass Yield (FPY) measurement and improvement activities.
• Establish, implement, and monitor Layered Process Audits (LPA) to ensure adherence to standardized work and critical process controls.
• Support ISO 9001 / ISO 9000-series compliance, internal audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System.
• Identify critical-to-quality characteristics and implement appropriate process controls and mistake-proofing.
• Establish and maintain appropriate measurement systems and perform Gage R&R / Measurement System Analysis (MSA) to verify the reliability and capability of inspection and measurement processes.
• Develop and maintain quality metrics and visual dashboards to monitor performance.

Problem Solving & Corrective Action

• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions for manufacturing, customer, and warranty quality issues.
• Utilize structured problem-solving methods including 5 Why, Fishbone, Pareto, 8D, PDCA and DMAIC.
• Lead containment activities and verify corrective-action effectiveness.
• Analyze defect, scrap, repair, rework, FPY, and warranty data to identify and eliminate recurring issues.

Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

• Participate in daily Gemba walks with plant leadership and be able to address the quality issues.
• Partner with Production and Engineering to improve process capability, reduce variation, and eliminate sources of defects.
• Support VSM, Kaizen, line balancing, standardized work, and other Operational Excellence initiatives.
• Support new process, tooling, fixture, and equipment validation.
• Participate in New Product Introduction (NPI) and production ramp-up activities.
• Train and coach production personnel on quality requirements and problem-solving methods.

Supplier Quality & NPI

• Manage supplier quality issues and corrective actions, including CAPA and 8D.
• Monitor supplier performance and drive resolution of recurring supplier defects.
• Establish and manage PPAP requirements for NPI and significant engineering/process changes.
• Review supplier PPAP submissions and ensure quality requirements are met prior to production release.
• Partner with Supply Chain and suppliers to prevent supplier-related quality issues from reaching production or customers.

Customer & Warranty Quality

• Support investigation and resolution of customer complaints and field failures.
• Monitor first-year and extended warranty performance and identify recurring failure modes.
• Lead or support corrective actions with Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, and suppliers.
• Use warranty and field-quality data to drive permanent improvements.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Quality Engineer will be measured primarily on:

1. Scrap, Repair & Rework

• Reduction in Scrap, Repair & Rework cost
• Reduction in recurring manufacturing defects
• Improvement in FPY

2. First-Year / Extended Warranty

• Reduction in warranty claims and warranty cost
• Reduction in recurring field failures

3. Supplier Quality / CAPA / 8D / PPAP

• Supplier defect rate / PPM
• CAPA / 8D on-time closure and effectiveness
• Reduction in repeat supplier issues
• PPAP on time completion and NPI quality performance

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• 3–5 years of quality/manufacturing experience preferred.
• Manufacturing experience with strong knowledge of root-cause analysis and corrective action.
• Experience with ISO 9001 / ISO 9000-series quality systems.
• Experience establishing or managing Layered Process Audits (LPA).
• Experience with CAPA, 8D, and structured problem solving.
• Experience with Gage R&R / Measurement System Analysis (MSA).
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and BOMs.
• Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and quality data analysis.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Commercial HVAC, sheet metal, electrical, mechanical, or engineered-to-order manufacturing experience.
• Experience with PPAP and NPI.
• Lean/Six Sigma experience or certification.
• ASQ CQE or similar quality certification.
• Experience with PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, and MSA.
• Experience with ERP/MRP and quality management systems.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Root-Cause Problem Solving
• Quality Systems / ISO 9001
• Supplier Quality
• Measurement Systems / Gage R&R
• Data Analysis
• Process Improvement
• Manufacturing Knowledge
• CAPA / 8D
• PPAP / NPI
• Communication & Teamwork
• Continuous Improvement