Corporate Quality Systems Engineer

Aspen Aerogels, Inc.•Northborough, MA

10d•Remote

About The Position

Aspen is looking for an engaging, motivated, and inspirational Quality Systems Engineer to drive Aspen’s quality culture forward in the aerogel manufacturing business. The Quality Systems Engineer will report to the Corporate Quality Manager. The Quality Systems Engineer will lead / support activities related to ensuring conformance to customer requirements, internal business practices, regulatory requirements, and corrective actions, document control, and Internal/External audit coordination and management. The right individual will be a leader who establishes efficient, frequent, and collaborative communication with Operations, Process Engineering, Supply Chain, R&D, and EHS to facilitate collaboration and support of the Aspen Management System. In addition, the QSE will support a culture of continuous improvement throughout the company in alignment within the confines of the Aspen Management System for the Aspen Corporation and all manufacturing locations. This is a fully remote position that may be based in either the United States or Mexico. Candidates must be authorized to work in their country of residence and meet applicable employment requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, or another relevant technical discipline.
Minimum of five years of Quality Management System experience within the automotive, chemical, or manufacturing industry.
Demonstrated experience implementing, maintaining, or auditing an IATF 16949-certified Quality Management System.
Qualified IATF 16949 Quality Management System Lead Auditor, with documented knowledge of the automotive process approach, applicable Customer-Specific Requirements, Automotive Core Tools, and internal auditing requirements.
Demonstrated knowledge and practical application of Automotive Core Tools, including APQP, PPAP, FMEA, Control Plan, SPC, and MSA.
Experience coordinating Quality Management System, manufacturing process, and product audits.
Knowledge of Customer-Specific Requirements, document control, corrective action, risk management, Management Review, calibration, measurement systems, and continuous-improvement methodologies.
Working knowledge of structured problem-solving tools, including 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagrams, DMAIC, and root-cause analysis.
Demonstrated ability to create, maintain, and control detailed Quality Management System documentation and records.
High degree of discretion when handling confidential or sensitive information.
Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally, as required.

Nice To Haves

VDA 6.3 Process Auditor qualification preferred.
Experience working with automotive OEM or Tier 1/Tier 2 customers preferred.
Strong analytical, organizational, project-management, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work independently, prioritize changing business needs, coordinate cross-functional activities, and communicate risks or roadblocks promptly.

Responsibilities

Manage, maintain, and continuously improve the Aspen Quality Management System across all applicable Aspen locations.
Ensure all Aspen sites are aligned with the Global Aspen Quality Management System and applicable ISO 9001, IATF 16949, customer-specific, statutory, regulatory, and internal requirements.
Support the implementation, maintenance, and continued certification of ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 across applicable Aspen manufacturing and supporting locations.
Develop, maintain, and monitor a risk-based internal audit program covering Quality Management System audits, manufacturing process audits, and product audits in accordance with IATF 16949 and applicable Customer-Specific Requirements.
Coordinate internal and external ISO 9001, IATF 16949, VDA, customer, and certification audits, including audit preparation, scheduling, resource coordination, execution, reporting, and follow-up.
Determine audit frequency, scope, and priorities based on process performance, customer risk, organizational and process changes, previous audit results, customer complaints, and applicable regulatory and customer requirements.
Serve as the IATF 16949 Lead Auditor and lead the internal auditor team, ensuring auditor competency requirements are defined, achieved, evaluated, maintained, and supported by appropriate records.
Coordinate and maintain the internal and external audit calendar and ensure that the resources, infrastructure, documentation, and responsible functions required to execute the audit program are available.
Ensure audit nonconformities are addressed within the required timeframe, including containment, root-cause analysis, systemic corrective action, implementation, and documented verification of effectiveness.
Lead or support investigations of internal, external, supplier, and customer nonconformities using structured problem-solving methodologies such as 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagrams, DMAIC, and other applicable tools.
Coordinate and support Management Review activities in collaboration with the Corporate Quality Team, Quality Managers, and Site Leadership, ensuring that required inputs, outputs, actions, resources, risks, opportunities, and improvement priorities are reviewed and documented.
Use key product, process, system, and customer-performance metrics to evaluate process effectiveness, identify risks and improvement opportunities, promote best practices, and drive continuous improvement.
Collaborate with the Quality Manager and Site Director to establish methodologies for monitoring and improving Quality Management System KPIs and to ensure timely follow-up of results and actions through weekly, monthly, and Management Review meetings.
Manage the Customer-Specific Requirements process, including identification, applicability reviews, revision monitoring, assignment of ownership, communication, implementation, integration into the Quality Management System, and verification of compliance.
Ensure applicable statutory, regulatory, certification, and customer requirements are identified, reviewed, maintained current, communicated to the appropriate functions, and incorporated into the Aspen Quality Management System.
Ensure external documents, including customer manuals, standards, specifications, drawings, engineering requirements, and customer portal requirements, are identified, current, controlled, and available to the appropriate functions.
Manage the Aspen document and record-control system, including document creation, review, approval, revision, distribution, access, retention, protection, obsolete-document control, and disposal.
Ensure quality records are identified, protected, retrievable, retained, and disposed of in accordance with Aspen, customer, statutory, and regulatory retention requirements.
Serve as the master user for the Aspen Quality Management System software and provide system administration, training, technical support, maintenance, and user guidance as required.
Ensure company procedures, work instructions, forms, and records are properly implemented, executed, maintained, and periodically reviewed for effectiveness.
Coordinate the identification, evaluation, communication, implementation, and verification of changes affecting the Quality Management System, manufacturing processes, products, technology, customer requirements, or organizational responsibilities.
Support the identification, evaluation, mitigation, and monitoring of risks and opportunities affecting product conformity, process effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and Quality Management System performance.
Coordinate the review, testing, and periodic evaluation of contingency plans that may affect continuity of operations, product conformity, customer requirements, or delivery performance.
Support the application and effective use of Automotive Core Tools, including APQP, PPAP, FMEA, Control Plan, SPC, MSA, and applicable customer-specific methodologies.
Provide support in the application of manufacturing quality tools, including DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, process verification and validation plans, Cp, Cpk, SPC, DOE, process-data analysis, DMAIC, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
Ensure lessons learned from audits, customer complaints, nonconformities, corrective actions, product and process changes, and continuous-improvement activities are incorporated into applicable procedures, risk analyses, FMEAs, Control Plans, training materials, and other Quality Management System documentation.
Promote standardization of Quality Management System practices and facilitate the transfer of lessons learned and best practices across Aspen manufacturing and supporting locations.
Oversee measurement-system controls, including gauge calibration and verification, Measurement System Analysis, measurement traceability, internal and external laboratory requirements, calibration records, and corrective actions when measuring equipment is found to be out of calibration or unsuitable for use.
Serve as the Corporate Layered Process Audit Coordinator, ensuring LPA schedules, responsibilities, execution, findings, escalation, corrective actions, and effectiveness reviews are properly managed.
Support the Quality Manager in identifying and planning training required due to new or revised IATF 16949, Customer-Specific, statutory, regulatory, or internal Quality Management System requirements.
Evaluate the effectiveness of Quality Management System training and ensure associated competency, qualification, and training records are maintained.
Prepare and deliver written and oral reports, audit summaries, Quality Management System updates, KPI results, risks, improvement plans, and presentations to leadership and other applicable stakeholders.
Communicate Quality Management System risks, resource needs, nonconformities, customer concerns, and significant performance issues to the appropriate management level in a timely manner.
Promote a culture of quality, compliance, accountability, customer focus, risk-based thinking, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
Provide functional direction and oversight to the CSR and IMDS Analyst and Management Information Systems Analyst.
Lead and coordinate the Internal Quality Auditor Team and ensure the availability, qualification, competency, independence, and ongoing development of internal auditors.