Quality Leader - IGT
About The Position
Howmet Aerospace is seeking an experienced professional to join Howmet Engine Systems in Hampton, Virginia. The Quality Engineering Team Lead leads the Quality team to support customer satisfaction, product conformity, and compliance with customer, industry, and company requirements. The role acts as a key interface with customers, resolving quality concerns and strengthening customer relationships through proactive communication, technical support, and disciplined problem-solving. The position leads efforts to reduce internal and external nonconformances, improve customer quality performance, ensure timely concession disposition and shipment release, and continuously improve product and process quality. It also develops Quality Engineering capabilities, supports employee training, and promotes accountability and continuous improvement across the organization. The role includes environmental, health, and safety responsibilities: supporting Howmet’s EHS policies and principles; complying with applicable requirements; wearing required personal protective equipment; reporting job-related illnesses, injuries, and EHS concerns; and attending EHS training.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering, science, or a related field, or at least 5 years of hands-on quality engineering experience with a strong manufacturing background.
- U.S. person status as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident).
- Legal authorization to work in the United States; employment eligibility verification is required at hire. Visa sponsorship is unavailable.
- Knowledge of AS9100.
- Experience with quality tools such as CAPA, Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, PPAP, FMEA, problem-solving techniques, and root-cause analysis.
- Ability to pass a vision exam using the Tumbling E Chart per ISO 18490.
- Experience in the investment casting industry.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including preparing instructions and business reports or correspondence and clearly presenting information.
- Good understanding of business practices and the organizational impact of quality.
- Interpersonal and supervisory skills, including emotional competency, coaching, feedback, performance evaluation, and motivating employees.
- Leadership, organizational, and project-management skills to lead cross-functional teams and improvement efforts.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in the investment casting industry.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including preparing instructions and business reports or correspondence and clearly presenting information.
- Good understanding of business practices and the organizational impact of quality.
- Interpersonal and supervisory skills, including emotional competency, coaching, feedback, performance evaluation, and motivating employees.
- Leadership, organizational, and project-management skills to lead cross-functional teams and improvement efforts.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary quality interface for assigned customers and maintain effective working relationships and communications.
- Lead timely investigation, response, and resolution of customer complaints, quality escapes, nonconformances, and other quality concerns.
- Coordinate customer communications about quality issues, containment, root-cause investigations, corrective actions, and effectiveness verification.
- Lead customer quality reviews, performance discussions, and improvement initiatives.
- Monitor customer feedback, scorecards, quality metrics, and performance trends.
- Ensure customer-specific quality requirements and expectations are understood and communicated internally.
- Lead investigation of internal and external nonconformances using structured problem-solving methods, including root cause analysis, 8D, 5 Why, and corrective and preventive action processes.
- Provide technical guidance to Quality, Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, and Sales on product quality, process capability, and customer requirements.
- Maintain and continuously improve the quality management system.
- Support customer, internal, and external audits and ensure findings receive timely corrective action.
- Participate in management reviews and quality planning, providing insight into customer performance, quality risks, and improvement priorities.
- Oversee product quality review and disposition to ensure conformity before release.
- Coordinate with Manufacturing, Planning, Shipping, and other functions to ensure timely review and clearance of customer shipments.
- Support timely resolution of quality holds and shipment-related issues while maintaining compliance with customer requirements and acceptance criteria.
- Escalate quality risks that could affect shipment commitments, product conformity, or customer satisfaction.
- Lead, coach, and develop Quality Engineers.
- Monitor, analyze, and report customer and internal quality metrics, including complaints, defect rates, scrap, rework, MRB, cost of poor quality, and corrective-action closure.
- Lead improvement initiatives based on customer feedback, performance trends, risk assessments, and business priorities.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Support implementation of Howmet’s EHS value and policy statement and its principles; comply with EHS regulations; wear required protective equipment; report job-related illnesses, injuries, and EHS concerns; and attend EHS training.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
