Quality Manager

What we do- Aspen•East Providence, RI

45d•Onsite

About The Position

Aspen Aerogels is seeking a strong, hands-on, and technically capable Quality Manager to lead and strengthen the Quality function in support of automotive manufacturing growth, customer satisfaction, and operational stability. Reporting to the Sr. Director Operations & Quality Director, this role will be responsible for driving quality system discipline, customer compliance, supplier quality readiness, and cross-functional execution across manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, operations, R&D, and EHS. This position is critical to support Aspen’s transition toward a more independent, standardized, and automotive-ready quality organization. The Quality Manager will ensure that quality processes are not only documented but effectively implemented on the manufacturing floor including control plans, quality gates, incoming inspection, process controls, layered audits, nonconformance management, APQP, PPAP, supplier qualification, and customer-specific requirements. The ideal candidate must be able to lead through ambiguity, stabilize quality performance during supplier/process changes, support customer escalations, and develop a high-performing Quality Engineering team capable of sustaining IATF 16949 expectations, automotive core tools, product validation, traceability, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

Minimum 8–10 years of progressive Quality experience in automotive manufacturing, preferably Tier 1 or Tier 2.
Minimum 3–5 years of people leadership experience managing Quality Engineers, Supplier Quality, Process Quality or Quality Systems teams.
Strong experience with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Control Plan, MSA, SPC and 8D problem solving.
Demonstrated experience managing customer escalations, supplier changes, production stabilization, and major quality recovery plans.
Experience interacting directly with OEM customers is strongly preferred.
Ability to lead in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with incomplete information, competing priorities and high customer visibility.
Strong technical judgment and ability to challenge weak root causes, incomplete corrective actions, and undocumented process changes.
Experience building quality systems, not only maintaining them.
Ability to protect the customer while supporting operational continuity.
Strong floor presence and hands-on leadership.
Capability to drive discipline in control plans, quality gates, and process adherence.
Ability to build independence from supplier-driven knowledge gaps.
Strong escalation management and communication with leadership.
Ability to develop people while holding accountability.
Strong automotive mindset: prevention, traceability, validation, documentation, and customer approval before execution.

Responsibilities

Lead the Quality organization to support manufacturing stabilization, supplier transitions, and customer protection activities.
Establish and maintain strong quality governance across incoming material, in-process controls, final inspection, product release, and customer shipment readiness.
Ensure supplier changes, material changes, process changes, and product qualifications are managed through proper change control, risk assessment, validation, APQP and PPAP processes.
Lead supplier qualification and supplier development activities, including audits, performance monitoring, corrective actions, and PPAP readiness.
Ensure incoming materials from critical suppliers are properly controlled, inspected, traceable, and approved before use in customer products.
Drive containment, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness for internal and external nonconformities.
Lead customer complaint response, 8D execution, customer communication support, and closure of quality issues.
Ensure customer-specific requirements are reviewed, understood, flowed down, and implemented across the applicable functions.
Ensure product and process traceability systems are robust enough to support customer inquiries, containment, suspect material identification, and recall risk mitigation.
Maintain PFMEA, Control Plan, inspection standards and quality gates as living documents aligned with actual process risks and lessons learned.
Ensure manufacturing process controls are effective, measurable, and consistently followed by Operations and Quality teams.
Partner with Operations and Engineering to reduce scrap, rework, COPQ, recurring defects and process variation.
Develop a strong Quality Engineering team with clear ownership for APQP/PPAP, process quality, supplier quality, incoming inspection, lab activities, calibration, testing, MSA, SPC and quality systems.
Provide technical leadership during customer audits, certification audits, supplier audits and internal assessments.
Escalate quality risks proactively when customer satisfaction, product conformity, supply continuity, and regulatory compliance may be impacted.
Establish dashboards and routines to monitor customer complaints, supplier performance, internal defects, FTQ/FTY, audit findings, PPAP status, validation status, overdue corrective actions, scrap, and COPQ.
Support organizational independence from legacy supplier/process dependencies by building internal capability, documented standards, and sustainable quality controls.
Ensure the Quality Management System (QMS) aligns with customer, regulatory, and certification requirements.
Promote a culture of quality by engaging and influencing key stakeholders across Aspen sites.
Manage and implement quality programs that ensure consistent production aligned with established standards.
Lead the implementation of the Problem-Solving and Corrective Action process across the organization.
Lead or support root cause investigations and implement corrective actions for nonconformities.
Maintain documentation and ensure compliance with document control policies.
Ensuring all the process owners follow and execute the document control policy.
Lead and support activities related to PPAP, FMEA, SPC, Gage R&R, Supplier Qualification, Calibration, and Corrective & Preventive Actions in automotive assembly lines.
Track and measure performing employee performance reviews.
Develop and execute strategic plans to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) and enhance customer satisfaction year over year.
Prepare and present technical, program, and operational quality reports as needed.
Manage the Quality department budget and CAPEX projects.
Review and audit SOPs, validations, and other documents.
Train employees in QMS and ISO / IATF requirements.
Supervise and manage all aspects of the Quality Lab and equipment.
Support and lead other special projects as assigned.
Adopt and follow Aspen’s core values.