Operations Quality Manager

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Operations Quality Manager owns day-to-day quality performance across Ramco's manufacturing operations. This leader converts customer, regulatory, and quality-system requirements into disciplined production controls; develops the quality organization; and drives rapid containment, root-cause correction, and permanent prevention when performance falls short.

The role requires practical expertise in automotive and commercial-truck fasteners and related processes. The Operations Quality Manager must be equally effective on the manufacturing floor, in customer reviews, and during quality-system audits.

REPORTING STRUCTURE & ORGANIZATIONAL SCOPE

The Operations Quality Manager reports to the Director, Engineering & Quality and provides day-to-day leadership to assigned quality engineers, technicians, inspectors, and laboratory personnel. The role partners closely with Operations, Engineering, Purchasing, Sales, customers, suppliers, and outside processors.

- Daily quality execution across incoming, in-process, and final inspection.

- Plant execution of IATF 16949, ISO 9001, customer-specific requirements, and Ramco quality-system requirements.

- Customer complaints, containment, corrective action, scorecards, portals, controlled shipping, and customer visits.

- Quality planning and launch readiness, including APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Control Plans, MSA, and SPC.

- Fastener and special-process quality controls across forming, threading, machining, heat treatment, plating/coating, sorting, assembly, and packaging.

- Supplier and outside-processor quality in partnership with Purchasing.

- Quality-team capability, shift coverage, performance management, and succession planning.

ESSTENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Operational Quality Leadership

- Lead daily quality execution across incoming, in-process, and final inspection; establish clear priorities, escalation paths, and shift coverage.

- Partner with Operations and Engineering to stop defects at the source, strengthen standard work and process discipline, and close gaps between documented controls and actual execution.

- Exercise stop-process and stop-shipment authority when product conformity or customer protection is at risk; lead containment and controlled-release decisions.

- Own quality-performance reporting, daily management, and corrective-action follow-through using fact-based problem-solving and visible accountability.

Automotive Quality System and Customer Compliance

- Maintain effective plant execution of IATF 16949, ISO 9001, applicable customer-specific requirements, and Ramco quality-management-system requirements.

- Lead internal, layered-process, product, customer, and certification audit readiness; ensure findings are contained, root causes are verified, and corrective actions remain effective.

- Deploy and sustain AIAG Core Tools, including APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Control Plans, MSA, and SPC, throughout production and launch activity.

- Ensure document control, calibration, training, traceability, nonconforming-material control, and change-management processes are consistently followed.

Fastener and Special-Process Quality

- Establish effective controls for threaded and non-threaded fasteners produced through cold forming/heading, thread rolling, machining, grinding, heat treatment, plating/coating, sorting, assembly, and packaging.

- Ensure verification addresses applicable print, material, and fastener requirements, including thread form/gaging, mechanical properties, hardness, metallurgical integrity, decarburization, surface condition, coating performance, hydrogen-embrittlement controls, and lot traceability.

- Partner with Engineering, Operations, and outside processors to control high-risk and special processes, including applicable CQI-9, CQI-11, and CQI-12 requirements.

- Strengthen laboratory and inspection methods, sampling plans, gage capability, test reliability, and reaction plans; eliminate inspection as a substitute for capable processes.

Customer, Launch, and Supplier Quality

- Own customer complaint response from immediate containment through verified permanent corrective action using disciplined 8D and root-cause methods.

- Manage customer portals, scorecards, PPAP submissions, corrective-action deadlines, controlled-shipping activity, and customer visits with speed and accuracy.

- Manage Quality related new-product launch deliverables by ensuring manufacturing feasibility, risk identification, control-plan readiness, measurement capability, run-at-rate quality, and safe-launch execution.

- Partner with Purchasing to improve supplier and outside-processor quality, approve changes, resolve repeat nonconformance, and reduce incoming risk.

People Leadership and Continuous Improvement

- Build a capable, accountable quality team through clear standards, coaching, technical development, performance management, and succession planning.

- Develop quality engineers, technicians, and inspectors to solve problems at the process rather than rely on sorting or repeated containment.

- Drive measurable reduction in customer PPM, internal scrap/rework, cost of poor quality, repeat defects, audit findings, and response cycle time.

- Model urgency, candor, and cross-functional ownership; communicate difficult quality facts early and without dilution.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Quality leadership experience: Seven or more years of progressive quality experience in automotive or commercial-truck manufacturing. Fastener experience is preferred. Three or more years leading technical teams.

2. Fastener or precision-component expertise: Direct quality experience with high-volume threaded/non-threaded fasteners or cold-formed precision components.

3. Automotive quality-system mastery: Demonstrated working knowledge of IATF 16949, customer-specific requirements, AIAG Core Tools, and experience leading customer or certification audits.

4. Technical quality capability: Strong command of 8D, root-cause analysis, PFMEA, Control Plans, PPAP, MSA, SPC, process capability, layered process audits, drawing interpretation, GD&T, material specifications, and applicable fastener/thread requirements.

5. Customer protection and execution discipline: Proven ability to lead urgent containment, exercise sound stop-process or stop-shipment judgment, and simultaneously drive verified permanent systemic correction.

Required

- Bachelor's degree in engineering, quality, manufacturing, or a related technical field, or equivalent directly relevant experience.

- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, material specifications, applicable ASME/SAE/ISO fastener and thread requirements, and inspection/test results.

- Ability to work regularly in office and active manufacturing environments and travel approximately 10-20%, including customer and supplier visits.

Preferred

- Experience with automotive OEMs and Tier 1 customers serving light-vehicle and commercial-truck platforms.

- Experience managing heat-treat, plating/coating, and other outside processors under applicable CQI assessments.

- ASQ Certified Quality Engineer or Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, IATF internal or lead auditor, VDA 6.3 auditor, or Six Sigma certification.

- Experience strengthening an underperforming quality organization in a high-mix, high-volume manufacturing environment.

CAPABILITIES

Plant-Floor Quality Leadership - Treats quality as an operating system, not solely an inspection function, and engages directly where work is performed.

Decisive Customer Protection - Acts promptly under pressure to protect the customer while maintaining commercial and operational perspective.

Technical Credibility and Judgment - Uses standards, evidence, data, and process knowledge to make sound decisions and translate complex requirements into practical controls.

People Development and Accountability - Sets clear standards, coaches technical personnel, addresses gaps, and builds ownership throughout the quality organization.

Cross-Functional Influence - Works constructively with Operations, Engineering, Purchasing, customers, suppliers, and outside processors to resolve issues at the source.

Candor, Urgency, and Integrity - Communicates quality risks early, protects confidential information, and follows through without diluting difficult facts.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the individual must be able to sit and talk or hear, walk, and climb stairs. Also, the employee must be able to stand, use hands to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; Reach with hands, arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Must be able to occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and peripheral vision.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee while performing the essential duties of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be available to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The Engineer Manager will frequently spend time on the manufacturing floor as well as in the office. While on the manufacturing floor, the employee must wear eye and hearing protection. It is highly recommended to wear safety-toed-shoes while around manufacturing equipment.

This job description is not a complete list of all responsibilities, duties or skills required for the job and is subject to review and change at any time, with or without notice, in accordance with the needs of Ramco Specialties, Inc. Since no job description can detail all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time in the performance of a job, duties and responsibilities that may be inherent in a job, reasonably required for its performance, or required due to the changing nature of the job shall also be considered part of the job holders responsibility.