General Manager - Quality - Automotive Industry

Job Description:

We are looking for an experienced General Manager - Quality to lead the organization's quality strategy and governance across multiple manufacturing plants. The role will be responsible for standardizing quality systems, improving customer and supplier quality, driving zero-defect manufacturing, reducing COPQ, and leading quality transformation initiatives across the organization.

- Develop and execute the organization-wide quality strategy aligned with business and customer requirements.

- Establish standardized quality systems, processes, KPIs, and best practices across all manufacturing plants.

- Lead quality transformation initiatives focused on prevention, zero-defect manufacturing, operational excellence, and Quality 4.0.

- Drive customer quality performance by reducing customer PPM, complaints, warranty costs, and COPQ.

- Lead customer audits, assessments, escalations, and complaint resolution using structured methodologies such as 8D and root-cause analysis.

- Partner with customers during new business development and new product introduction to ensure quality requirements and launch readiness.

- Standardize manufacturing quality controls across plants, including process capability, Cp/Cpk, FPY, control plans, SPC, MSA, LPA, and Poka-Yoke.

- Lead supplier quality strategy, including supplier audits, qualification, development, incoming quality improvement, and supplier PPM reduction.

- Govern APQP and PPAP activities for new product development, including review and approval of PFMEA, DFMEA, control plans, and launch readiness.

- Ensure compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and applicable Customer Specific Requirements (CSR).

- Lead certification, surveillance, customer, internal, process, product, and supplier audits and ensure timely closure of findings.

- Drive continuous improvement through Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, DOE, SPC, MSA, and other quality improvement methodologies.

- Lead COPQ reduction, warranty improvement, rejection and rework reduction, and optimization of inspection and quality-related costs.

- Establish plant-level quality governance through regular performance reviews, benchmarking, cross-plant best-practice sharing, and corrective action tracking.

- Implement digital QMS, real-time quality dashboards, analytics, and predictive quality initiatives to improve visibility and decision-making.

- Build, mentor, and develop Plant Quality Heads and quality teams while strengthening technical and leadership capabilities across the organization.

- Establish succession planning and capability development programs for the quality function.

Required Candidate Profile:

- 20 - 25 years of progressive experience in Quality, with 5 - 7+ years in a senior quality leadership role managing multiple manufacturing plants.

- Mandatory experience in the Indian automotive component manufacturing industry.

- Experience with leading Indian or multinational auto-component manufacturers supplying to passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or off-highway OEMs.

- Strong hands-on experience in precision machining, including CNC machining, turning, milling, grinding, honing, and assembly. Exposure to forging/casting followed by machining is an added advantage.

- Deep expertise in IATF 16949, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA/DFMEA, SPC, MSA, 8D, CAPA, Root Cause Analysis, Customer Quality, Supplier Quality, and Plant Quality Management.

- Proven track record of reducing customer PPM, COPQ, warranty costs, rejection, and rework.

- Strong experience in customer and supplier audits, OEM/Tier-1 quality requirements, and customer-specific standards.

- Experience in standardizing quality systems and driving quality transformation across multiple manufacturing locations.

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Production, Industrial, Automobile, or related Engineering discipline. Master's degree is an advantage.

- Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt and IATF 16949 Lead Auditor certification are preferred.

- Strong leadership, analytical, problem-solving, communication, stakeholder management, and change-management skills.