Head of Quality & Continuous Improvement

INFICON•Syracuse, NY

9h•$120,000 - $180,000•Hybrid

About The Position

INFICON is seeking a transformational Head of Quality & Continuous Improvement to serve as a strategic change agent for our ISS Business Unit. Reporting to the Vice President of Operations, ISS Division, you will unite Quality Excellence and Lean Continuous Improvement under a single, integrated vision. This is a build role: you will create the systems, standards, culture, and operating discipline that elevate product and process quality, eliminate waste, strengthen industrial engineering capabilities, and establish a model that can scale across INFICON globally. Leading a team of approximately 15–20 professionals across Quality Systems, Process Quality, Sustainability & Compliance, and Lean Continuous Improvement and Industrial Engineering, you will create alignment across historically separate functions while driving improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, productivity, and customer experience. Success in this role will require building a culture of continuous improvement, strengthening root-cause-based quality problem solving, advancing Lean Daily Management and industrial engineering practices, accelerating AI-enabled quality and operational capabilities, and developing leaders and operating standards that drive sustainable performance improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Quality, Operations, or a related technical discipline.
10+ years of progressive Quality and/or Operational Excellence leadership in complex manufacturing, including 5+ years leading managers.
Demonstrated track record across both Quality (ISO 9001/14001/27001, supplier/customer quality, 8D, CAPA, SPC) and Lean / CI (VSM, Kaizen, 6S, LDM, SMED, TPM).
Demonstrated experience advanced manufacturing operations.
Proven success leading and influencing in a global, multi-site, multi-cultural environment; willingness to travel as initiatives scale globally.
Executive communication skills, with the ability to influence effectively from the shop floor to the boardroom across regions and cultures.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt strongly preferred.
ISO Lead Auditor / Management Representative experience required.
Hands-on experience leading or enabling AI / digital transformation in operations, such as predictive analytics, machine vision, smart inspection, and/or AI-assisted process and quality systems.
Experience in semiconductor equipment, vacuum technology, instrumentation, analytical technology, or related industries.

Responsibilities

Lead the ISS Division's Quality Systems, Process Quality, Sustainability & Compliance, and Lean Continuous Improvement and Industrial Engineering functions, driving a unified vision that advances quality, productivity, and customer experience.
Oversee Quality Systems including QMS, BPMS, ISO 9001/14001, CAPA, audits, supplier and customer quality processes, and regulatory compliance, driving improvements in product quality and process performance.
Build and embed a culture of continuous improvement through Lean Daily Management, visual factory principles, and disciplined problem solving, driving waste elimination, productivity improvement, and operational excellence.
Lead CI and Industrial Engineering initiatives including process flow improvement, time studies, material flow optimization, and facility layout planning.
Provide leadership for sustainability, ESG reporting, environmental management systems, and compliance programs.
Drive the adoption of AI-enabled Quality and Continuous Improvement capabilities, including predictive quality analytics, computer vision and automated inspection, intelligent SPC, and AI-assisted root cause and CAPA.
Develop scalable standards, methods, training, tools, and playbooks while building future Lean and Quality leaders capable of supporting improvements across global sites and future business growth initiatives.