Supplier Quality & Readiness Engineer
About The Position
Parallel Systems is developing autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles to help shift freight transportation from trucking to rail. The Supplier Quality & Readiness Engineer owns purchased parts from sourcing award through steady-state production, working with Procurement, Design Engineering, and Manufacturing to qualify and launch suppliers and ensure parts are ready for production. The role also maintains supplier quality performance by identifying problems at their source, leading root-cause and corrective-action efforts, and improving supply-base capability. As an early employee at a fast-moving startup, this person will help shape the company’s supplier-management practices. The position covers supplier readiness and quality across an assigned commodity portfolio, which may include machined and fabricated structures, castings, electrical harnesses, battery and power electronics, motors, and drivetrain components. Success includes establishing part-level readiness tracking, obtaining timely PPAP approvals, verifying supplier production capacity, managing corrective actions, and preventing supplier-related line stoppages.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or Materials Engineering, or equivalent experience.
- At least 5 years of experience in supplier quality, supplier development, or new-product introduction in automotive, rail, aerospace, heavy equipment, or a similar regulated industry.
- Hands-on experience running APQP and approving PPAP or FAI packages.
- Experience with structured problem-solving methods, including 8D, 5-Why, Ishikawa, and fault-tree analysis.
- Working knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, MSA, SPC, and process capability studies.
- Proficiency in reading engineering drawings and GD&T and evaluating manufacturability.
- Experience leading supplier audits against ISO 9001 or IATF 16949.
- Strong program-management skills, including timing plans, risk tracking, and cross-functional reviews.
- Willingness to travel to supplier sites roughly 30–50% of the time, with heavier travel during launches.
Nice To Haves
- ASQ CQE or CQA certification, Six Sigma Green or Black Belt, or PMP.
- Experience launching a new factory or vehicle program, or working through a rapid production ramp.
- Process knowledge in one or more of machining, fabrication and welding, castings, injection molding, wire harnesses, or battery cells and modules.
- Experience with rail standards such as ISO/TS 22163 / IRIS or AAR M-1003, or with EV high-voltage components.
- Familiarity with a QMS or ERP system for NCR and SCAR tracking.
Responsibilities
- Assess and qualify new suppliers with Procurement, including capability, quality systems, capacity, and operational and financial risk.
- Lead APQP with suppliers, including timing plans, design and process FMEAs, control plans, and gated readiness reviews.
- Drive PPAP or, where applicable, FAI to AS9102 approval by reviewing submissions, witnessing first-article builds, and resolving gaps.
- Lead supplier-site run-at-rate and capacity verification to confirm suppliers can meet the production ramp.
- Track tooling, gauges, and fixtures through build and buy-off, and confirm tooling ownership and identification.
- Provide supplier design-for-manufacturing and tolerance feedback to Design Engineering before design release.
- Maintain a part-level readiness tracker and report status and risk at program build gates.
- Own supplier quality performance for an assigned commodity portfolio.
- Lead responses to nonconforming material, including containment, MRB disposition, 8D and root-cause work, and verification of corrective-action effectiveness.
- Issue and manage Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs) and drive them to timely closure.
- Conduct on-site supplier process and quality-system audits and close out findings.
- Define incoming inspection plans, sampling levels, and acceptance criteria with receiving inspection.
- Track and report supplier scorecards, including PPM, SCAR cycle time, and cost of poor quality, and escalate at-risk suppliers.
- Approve supplier change requests involving process, material, site, or sub-tier suppliers, and require re-validation when needed.
- Lead supplier-development projects to improve process capability (Cpk), error-proofing, and control plans.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
