Quality Release Engineer

Richardson Electronics Ltd•Blackberry Township, IL

3d•$100,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Quality Release Engineer provides independent oversight of new product and process releases, ensuring appropriate quality controls are established before production and maintained during changes. The role reviews product, process, and documentation changes to maintain alignment with quality requirements and risk controls. The position also monitors production quality and ensures lessons learned are incorporated into future releases and controls.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, with 5+ years relevant experience in manufacturing, process or quality engineering.
Strong knowledge of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) principles, including PFMEA, Control Plans, process capability, measurement systems, risk assessment, and product/process qualification.

Nice To Haves

Experience with NPI, manufacturing process release, or production quality is preferred
ASQ CQE, Six Sigma, or related quality certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

Schedule, coordinate, and lead Release Kaizen Events, providing direction to multidisciplinary teams to stress test production readiness, including documentation, operator instructions, tooling, equipment, material flow, inspection methods, process controls, and reliance on undocumented knowledge or workarounds.
Provide independent Quality review and approval of new product and process releases, verifying that Production can consistently build conforming product using the released processes and documentation.
Review PFMEAs, Control Plans, inspection sheets, and related quality documentation for adequacy, consistency, and effectiveness in controlling identified product and process risks.
Review drawings, specifications, BOMs, routings, work instructions, and other production documentation for completeness, alignment, usability, and Quality impact.
Review and approve applicable product, process, supplier, and documentation changes to ensure established quality controls remain effective.
Verify completion of required validation and qualification activities, including first-piece inspections, process capability, measurement and test requirements, and other objective evidence necessary for production release.
Verify supply chain readiness, including approved supplier status, component qualification, outsourced processes, and applicable incoming quality controls.
Document and drive closure of Release Kaizen findings, ensuring identified gaps and risks are assigned to the appropriate functional owners and adequately resolved or formally accepted prior to release.
Monitor post-release production performance to verify the effectiveness of established controls and identify release-related gaps.
Review Production and Supplier Quality trends and ensure lessons learned are incorporated into Quality Planning, Release Kaizens, and future releases.
Exercise independent Quality release authority, escalating unresolved risks and withholding approval when release requirements are not met; present open risks and incomplete Kaizen actions to management for documented conditional approval.
Serve as a trained internal auditor and participate in QMS audits.
Support customer, regulatory, and external audits as needed.
Participate in continuous improvement and cross-functional problem-solving activities.
Support Quality procedures, training, and QMS improvement initiatives.
Provide backup support to other Quality functions as needed.