Principal Field Quality Engineer

GE Appliances•LaFayette, GA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Principal Field Quality Engineer (FQE) is responsible for identifying, investigating, and resolving product quality issues experienced by customers in the field. This role serves as a key liaison between the factory and Field Service, Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Product Management, and other cross-functional partners. The Principal Field Quality Engineer analyzes field performance, service, warranty, customer complaint, and returned-product data to identify emerging and systemic quality issues. The position leads structured problem-solving and root cause investigations and partners with the appropriate teams to develop, implement, and verify corrective and preventive actions. The FQE plays a critical role in reducing Cost of Quality (COQ), improving product reliability, and enhancing the overall ownership experience for GE Appliances customers. This role supports plant operations in LaFayette, GA.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline; equivalent combination of education and relevant technical experience may be considered.
Experience in Quality Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Design Engineering, Reliability, Product Service, or a related technical function.
Demonstrated experience with root cause analysis and structured problem-solving methodologies.
Ability to analyze technical and quality data and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively across multiple functions and organizational levels.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and technical investigations simultaneously.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel and PowerPoint.

Nice To Haves

Experience in appliance, consumer product, automotive, or high-volume manufacturing.
Experience analyzing warranty, service, field failure, or customer complaint data.
Experience with product teardown, failure analysis, and returned-product evaluation.
Knowledge of Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or other quality certification.
Knowledge of PFMEA, Control Plans, CAPA, SPC, and other quality systems and tools.
Experience interpreting engineering drawings and specifications.
Knowledge of statistical analysis tools such as Minitab, SAS, or similar applications.
Experience supporting New Product Introduction and product reliability initiatives.

Responsibilities

Monitor and analyze field quality performance, warranty claims, service data, customer complaints, product returns, and other available field information to identify quality trends and emerging issues.
Investigate product failures and customer quality concerns to determine failure modes and root causes.
Coordinate evaluation and analysis of returned products and components.
Translate field and customer feedback into actionable quality improvement opportunities.
Serve as a factory quality liaison for Field Service, Technical Assistance, Consumer Relations, and other customer-facing organizations.
Lead or support structured problem-solving activities using methodologies such as 5 Why, Fishbone, 8D, A3, DMAIC, or other appropriate quality tools.
Partner with Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supplier Quality, Operations, and other functions to determine root cause and implement corrective actions.
Develop and coordinate containment actions when necessary to minimize additional customer exposure.
Track corrective actions through completion and verify effectiveness using post-implementation field and service data.
Ensure lessons learned from field failures are communicated and incorporated into future product and process improvements.
Analyze field failure rates, service call rates, warranty performance, Cost of Quality (COQ), customer complaints, and other key quality indicators.
Identify trends and prioritize issues based on customer impact, frequency, severity, cost, and business risk.
Develop reports, dashboards, and presentations communicating field quality performance and significant issues.
Provide clear technical summaries of investigations, root causes, corrective actions, and results to technical and leadership audiences.
Partner with Design Engineering to recommend product improvements based on field performance and failure analysis.
Work with Manufacturing Engineering and Operations to identify manufacturing-related contributors to field failures and implement sustainable corrective actions.
Partner with Supplier Quality when field failures are associated with purchased components or supplier processes.
Participate in product and design reviews to ensure historical field issues and lessons learned are considered.
Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities by identifying potential field quality and reliability risks prior to product launch.
Support PFMEA, control plan, risk assessment, and other quality planning activities as appropriate.
Identify opportunities to improve field quality investigation, returned-product analysis, data collection, reporting, and corrective action processes.
Lead or participate in Lean and continuous improvement initiatives focused on reducing defects, service calls, warranty costs, and customer dissatisfaction.
Provide technical guidance and quality support to manufacturing and cross-functional teams.