Plant Technical/Quality Manager

PURPOSE OF THE JOB
This role reports to the Site Leader and oversees the Quality Technical Team of up to 5 direct reports. The Technical Leader partners closely with the Operations Leader and Maintenance Leader on a daily basis; this role partners closely with division Engineering, Supply Chain, and Sales on a weekly basis.
The Technical Leader is accountable for: ensuring the finished goods meet or exceed customer and industry expectations; improving quality control, process control, structured problem solving, and product composition; leading product & process stability in a 24/7 manufacturing facility; and reporting on relevant quality and plant metrics to business leadership.
Primary metrics include customer complaints, product downgrades and scrap, quality and process control KPIs, material productivity, and team development and engagement KPIs.
The Technical Leader may support the corporate engineering leadership development program, acting as a coach for new part-time or full-time engineering hires as the need arises for the site.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
The employee should hold the following abilities:
Must be a proven leader within a relevant discipline, able to engage and develop their team members
Must be quick learner who is adaptive to and embraces change, as well as someone who uses data to make business decisions and challenge the status quo; all while minimizing the risk of producing off-quality material
Must have data management and statistical analysis skills
Must have structured problem-solving and continuous improvement skills in line with Six Sigma concepts
Must work well in team environments and be adept at influencing and motivating peers and employees on other teams
Must have solid verbal and written communication skills, able to communicate technical information to peers and employees
Must be self-motivated, capable of operating towards goals without daily intervention
Able to grasp and gather new information from a variety of sources quickly
Some travel required (up to 10%)
RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead and sustain efforts in quality control, process control, material composition, and focused improvement by performing the duties outlined below.
Safety & Environmental Leadership – 5%
Model Safer Together standards and lead or support key safety initiatives or programs including behavior based safety, PPE standards, and job hazard assessments
Lead or support investigations related to technical safety or environmental incidents
Ensure quality testing and practices are designed and executed safely
Ensure equipment and process changes are aligned with or improve upon safety and environmental requirements
Certify on Ladder and Roof-Access Safety to perform customer claim investigations in a safe manner
Quality Maintenance: Process Control and Improvement, Cost Reduction – 45%
Lead process control improvement based on performance metrics to reduce product or process variation, producing the maximum amount of first-quality material at the lowest unit cost
Accountable for training new and existing employees on process and equipment theory of operation and setpoints, and Quality Management (QM) and Focused Improvement (FI) pillar work
Lead the QM & FI pillars to perform structured problem solving and improvement efforts addressing process losses and material losses
Partner with Operations and Finance to deliver material construction/composition that optimizes product quality, process control, and material cost
Partner with division SMEs to research and trial new raw materials, process controls, or equipment components to improve quality and/or process control, and/or minimize cost