About this role
Job Title: Quality Assurance Specialist / Customer Quality Lead
Location: Joliet, IL
Job Type: Full-Time
Industry: Electronics & Wire Harness Contract Manufacturing
About Us
PrideStaff is partnering with a premier electronics and wire harness contract manufacturer in Joliet, IL to recruit a skilled Quality Assurance Specialist. Our client is dedicated to delivering high-quality custom wire harnesses, cable assemblies, and electronic connections. Operating in a fast-paced, agile, and professional manufacturing environment, their focus on precision and reliability drives everything they build.
Position Overview
We are seeking a high-level Quality Assurance Specialist to serve as a pivotal bridge between the manufacturing floor, third-party auditors, and external customers. In this multi-faceted role, you will oversee compliance with the ISO 9001 quality management system, lead root-cause quality analysis, and act as the primary point of contact for customer quality inquiries, non-conformance reviews, and corrective action reporting.
Key Responsibilities
Customer Quality Management: Serve as the primary quality point of contact for clients. Investigate customer feedback, lead root-cause analysis for returned material (RMA), and author formal Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) reports (e.g., 8D reports) to ensure long-term customer satisfaction.
ISO 9001 System Analysis & Audit Leadership: Maintain, analyze, and continuously improve the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS). Lead internal audit schedules, prepare documentation and processes for third-party registrar audits, and present quality performance metrics to leadership.
Quality Data Analysis & Continuous Improvement: Aggregate and analyze defect trends, scrap rates, and first-pass yield metrics across incoming, in-process, and finished goods stages. Translate data insights into actionable continuous improvement projects on the shop floor.
In-Process & Final Compliance Verification: Oversee visual, mechanical, and wiring verification for wire harnesses and cable assemblies to ensure absolute adherence to customer blueprints, build lists, and regulatory standards.
Cross-Functional Team Collaboration: Partner with production managers, engineering teams, and floor technicians to standardize quality procedures, conduct first-piece sign-offs, and mentor assembly personnel on visual acceptance criteria.
Qualifications & Requirements
Experience: 3–5+ years of quality assurance, quality engineering, or lead quality inspection experience in a manufacturing environment (wire harness, cable assembly, or electronics manufacturing experience required).
ISO 9001 & Audit Expertise: Strong knowledge of ISO 9001 standards, with the ability to conduct internal audits and maintain QMS documentation.
Customer-Facing Track Record: Proven experience interfacing directly with customer quality engineers and purchasing teams to resolve non-conformances, conduct formal root-cause analysis, and deliver professional CAPA submissions.
Technical Standards & Blueprint Literacy: Familiarity with IPC/WHMA-A-620 visual acceptance standards required (certification preferred). Strong capability to read and interpret complex engineering drawings, schematics, wire lists, and bill of materials (BOMs).
Data & Software Proficiency: Skill in tracking quality metrics, analyzing defect patterns, and managing quality records within an ERP or QMS platform.
Professional Competencies: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, executive presence when working with external auditors/clients, and strong analytical problem-solving abilities.
Compensation / Pay Rate (Up to): $28.00 - $35.00 Per Hour