Senior Quality Engineer - Industrial Manufacturing

Position Overview

We are seeking a Senior Quality Engineer with 5+ years of experience to join a leading industrial manufacturing client in the Greater Chicago area. This hands-on engineering role is responsible for driving product quality, developing process controls, and maintaining quality assurance standards across heavy metals fabrication, machining, and casting/forging processes. The ideal candidate brings deep familiarity with metallurgical standards, non-destructive testing (NDT), root cause analysis, and quality documentation.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and enforce Quality Control Plans (QCP), Inspection & Test Plans (ITP), and First Article Inspections (FAI) for complex metal products.
• Lead CAPA, 8D, 5-Why, and Fishbone investigations for internal non-conformances and customer returns to drive zero-defect outcomes.
• Oversee inspection procedures using traditional precision measurement tools, CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machines), optical comparators, and non-destructive testing methods (e.g., ultrasonic, magnetic particle, dye penetrant).
• Partner with plant metallurgists, manufacturing engineers, and production leads to apply Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Lean/Six Sigma principles to reduce scrap and rework.
• Conduct internal process audits and support external third-party/customer quality audits against ISO 9001 or AS9100 standards.
• Evaluate raw metal material certifications (MTRs/mill test reports), resolve vendor non-conformances, and verify material traceability.

Qualifications & Requirements

• 5+ years of quality engineering experience in an industrial manufacturing setting.
• Advanced understanding of GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing per ASME Y14.5), blueprint reading, and metallurgical testing requirements.
• Proven expertise in structured problem-solving (8D, Six Sigma, Ishikawa/Fishbone).
• Direct experience working within ISO 9001, AS9100, or IATF 16949 quality management systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering Field.
• ASQ-CQE (Certified Quality Engineer) or Six Sigma Green/Black Belt preferred.