Quality Manager

Waukesha Bearings Corporation • Antigo, WI

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Dover Precision Components is hiring a Quality Manager for its Waukesha Bearings brand at a manufacturing facility in Antigo, Wisconsin. Waukesha Bearings designs and manufactures hydrodynamic fluid film bearings, active magnetic bearing systems, and seals for turbomachinery and rotating equipment used in oil and gas, power generation, marine, military, and industrial markets. U.S. citizenship is required due to government-client, ITAR, and UNNPI requirements.

The Quality Manager oversees the quality function from receiving materials through product shipment at a precision-component, engineered-to-order manufacturing facility. The role leads a team of approximately 10 people, including a Quality Engineer, Quality Inspectors, and Quality Technicians. It is responsible for the site Quality Management System, compliance, customer and supplier quality, continuous improvement, team development, and quality performance reporting. The position is eligible for a discretionary performance-based bonus.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of related quality experience in manufacturing environments.
• Team management or supervisory experience.
• U.S. citizenship, required due to ITAR/UNNPI regulations and government-client requirements.
• Strong leadership and team-management skills, including the ability to motivate, coach, and develop employees.
• Experience maintaining an ISO Quality Management System.
• Experience coordinating audits.
• Experience with customer and supplier quality, root-cause analysis, and corrective action.
• Demonstrated initiative, drive, accountability, and follow-through.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across departments.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and drive projects to completion.
• Strong customer-service mindset and ability to handle difficult technical discussions professionally.
• Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives and implementing sustainable process improvements.
• Ability to influence others, address performance concerns, and hold team members accountable while maintaining a positive work environment.
• A bachelor's degree in engineering, quality, manufacturing, or a related field is preferred; directly related work experience may be considered instead of a degree.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in engineered-to-order precision-component manufacturing.
• Six Sigma Green Belt certification.
• Formal training in Lean Manufacturing or Continuous Improvement.
• Knowledge of machining processes, metrology, and metallurgy.
• Experience working with industrial and military applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead and maintain the site Quality Management System and ensure compliance with ISO certification requirements, customer standards, and applicable regulations.
• Establish and execute site quality goals aligned with corporate objectives and business needs.
• Manage internal and external quality issues, customer complaints, and quality-related customer communications.
• Lead, coach, and develop the quality team; set expectations, provide feedback, and hold team members accountable.
• Promote teamwork, employee engagement, and shared responsibility for quality throughout the organization.
• Maintain a visible presence on the production floor and support employees across all shifts.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to improve product quality, customer satisfaction, and manufacturing performance while reducing scrap, rework, and cost of poor quality.
• Identify recurring issues, lead root-cause investigations, and implement effective corrective actions.
• Use structured problem-solving methods such as 8D, PDCA, Kepner-Tregoe, and Six Sigma.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to improve processes, reduce variation, and prevent defects.
• Promote Built-in Quality practices, including mistake-proofing, quality gates, and process controls; monitor results to ensure improvements are effective and sustained.
• Develop and maintain quality standards, inspection methods, testing procedures, and process controls.
• Ensure materials, components, and finished products meet established specifications and customer requirements.
• Coordinate internal and external audits, ISO certification activities, and corrective actions.
• Ensure production and testing equipment is properly calibrated and measurement systems are reliable.
• Coordinate customer and government inspections, audits, and product acceptance activities.
• Maintain accurate quality records and required documentation.
• Serve as the primary site contact for customer quality concerns, complaints, and corrective actions; investigate issues, communicate findings, and resolve concerns with customers.
• Audit, evaluate, and qualify suppliers as required; work with suppliers and internal departments to resolve supplier quality issues and prevent recurrence.
• Investigate returned products and warranty claims to determine root causes and appropriate corrective actions.
• Communicate changes in customer quality requirements to appropriate internal stakeholders.
• Develop and deliver training on quality standards, inspection procedures, and problem-solving techniques.
• Work with Team Leaders, supervisors, and production employees across all shifts to strengthen quality awareness and ownership.
• Build cross-departmental relationships, encourage open communication, and promote shared accountability.
• Lead quality improvement projects and ensure actions are assigned, completed, and communicated effectively.
• Support a culture in which employees identify problems, raise concerns, and participate in solutions.
• Track and report quality metrics, including customer complaints, scrap, rework, audit findings, and corrective-action effectiveness.
• Analyze quality trends and use data to identify risks and improvement opportunities.
• Communicate performance, priorities, and significant quality concerns to site leadership.
• Address problems, prioritize competing demands, and ensure commitments are met.

Benefits

• Discretionary bonus based on performance metrics and other criteria in the applicable bonus plan.
• Competitive health and welfare offerings.
• Professional developmental opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager