Quality Manager Customer Quality

Role & responsibilities

1. Customer Quality Management

• Serve as the primary quality contact for Japanese customers.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with customer quality, engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing teams.
• Ensure customer requirements are understood, communicated, and implemented within the organization.
• Lead customer review meetings and quality performance discussions.
• Manage quality-related escalations and ensure timely resolution.

2. Customer Complaint Handling

• Lead customer complaint investigations and resolution activities.
• Drive containment actions, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Apply structured problem-solving methodologies such as:
• 8D
• A3 Problem Solving
• Why-Why Analysis
• Fishbone Diagram
• QRQC
• Monitor effectiveness of implemented corrective actions.
• Ensure closure of customer complaints within agreed timelines.

3. APQP and New Product Development Support

• Support customer programs during new product development.
• Review and approve quality deliverables including:
• APQP
• PPAP
• PFMEA
• DFMEA
• Control Plans
• SPC Plans
• MSA Studies
• Ensure successful PPAP approval and customer sign-off.

4. Customer Audit Management

• Coordinate and lead customer quality audits.
• Ensure readiness for customer assessments and surveillance visits.
• Address audit observations and drive timely closure of corrective actions.
• Monitor audit compliance and effectiveness.

5. Quality System Compliance

• Ensure compliance with:
• IATF 16949
• ISO 9001
• Customer Specific Requirements (CSR)
• Internal Quality Management System requirements
• Support internal and external audits.
• Drive continual improvement of quality management systems.

6. Quality Performance Improvement

• Monitor and improve key quality metrics including:
• Customer PPM
• Customer Complaints
• Warranty Claims
• Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)
• First Pass Yield (FPY)
• Defect Reduction
• Analyze trends and implement improvement actions.

7. Supplier Quality Interface

• Coordinate supplier corrective actions for customer quality issues.
• Support supplier development activities.
• Participate in supplier audits and performance reviews.
• Drive supplier quality improvement initiatives.

8. Japanese Customer Relationship Management

• Prepare and present quality reports to Japanese customer management teams.
• Support customer plant visits and technical reviews.
• Ensure communication aligns with Japanese business culture and expectations.
• Facilitate effective communication between customers and internal teams.

9. Continuous Improvement

• Lead Kaizen and Lean initiatives.
• Drive quality improvement projects.
• Promote prevention-based quality culture across the organization.
• Support Six Sigma and operational excellence initiatives.

Preferred candidate profile

Bachelors Degree in Mechanical, Production, Industrial, Automotive, Metallurgical, or related Engineering discipline

• 10 to 15 years of experience in Quality Assurance within automotive or manufacturing industries.
• Minimum 5 years of experience handling customer quality activities.

Preferred

• Experience managing Japanese OEM or Tier-1 customers.
• Experience in automotive manufacturing environment.
• Exposure to international customer quality systems and audits.