Quality Manager

An established manufacturing organization in the Greater Rockford Illinois area is seeking an experienced Quality Manager to lead quality assurance strengthen manufacturing processes and drive continuous improvement.

This opportunity suits a hands-on quality professional who enjoys working closely with production teams solving complex technical challenges and ensuring products consistently meet customer expectations.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise with practical leadership skills and a commitment to building a culture of quality accountability and operational excellence.

Quality Leadership and Management

• Lead and continuously improve quality management systems policies and procedures.
• Establish and monitor quality performance metrics including customer complaints scrap rework and cost of poor quality.
• Provide leadership coaching and development to quality personnel.
• Partner closely with operations engineering and plant leadership to improve product quality and manufacturing performance.
• Promote a proactive prevention-focused quality culture throughout the organization.

Quality Systems and Compliance

• Maintain compliance with applicable ISO 9001 standards and customer-specific quality requirements.
• Support automotive quality requirements and methodologies including APQP PPAP FMEA MSA and SPC as applicable.
• Coordinate internal customer and third-party quality audits.
• Oversee quality documentation inspection procedures process controls and corrective action systems.
• Ensure timely resolution of audit findings and nonconformances.

Manufacturing and Process Quality

• Work directly with manufacturing teams to identify and resolve process variation defects and product nonconformances.
• Oversee incoming in-process and final quality inspection activities.
• Lead root cause investigations and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Analyze manufacturing quality data to identify trends reduce defects and improve process capability.
• Support quality requirements for specialized industrial manufacturing processes.

Customer Quality and Continuous Improvement

• Serve as a primary resource for customer quality concerns technical inquiries and corrective action requests.
• Lead structured problem-solving activities including 8D investigations and root cause analysis.
• Collaborate with customers and internal departments to ensure consistent product quality and delivery performance.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve first-pass yield manufacturing efficiency and overall quality performance.

Required

• Demonstrated experience in quality management quality engineering or quality assurance leadership within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of ISO 9001 quality management systems and manufacturing quality practices.
• Experience managing corrective actions root cause investigations and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings specifications and customer quality requirements.
• Experience with manufacturing inspections quality documentation and audit processes.
• Strong communication problem-solving organizational and leadership skills.
• Comfortable maintaining a visible hands-on presence in the manufacturing environment.

Preferred

• Experience in automotive metalworking precision manufacturing industrial components or related manufacturing operations.
• Familiarity with IATF 16949 and automotive quality tools including APQP PPAP FMEA MSA and SPC.
• Knowledge of special-process quality requirements and assessments.
• Experience working with Tier 1 automotive customers.
• ASQ certifications such as Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma experience.
• Bachelors degree in Engineering Manufacturing Quality Management or a related technical field.

• Opportunity to influence quality performance and manufacturing operations.
• Hands-on leadership role with visibility across multiple functions.
• Collaborative environment with direct interaction among operations engineering and leadership.
• Opportunity to strengthen processes develop employees and implement meaningful improvements.
• Established manufacturing environment with opportunities for continued professional development.

Deanna Nesbit & Associates is conducting this confidential search on behalf of our client.

Qualified professionals interested in learning more about this opportunity are encouraged to connect with our recruiting team for a confidential conversation.