Quality Manager

Job Title: Quality Manager – Automotive Manufacturing Job Description
The Quality Manager plays a critical leadership role within the Milan plant and is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving the site’s Quality Management System. This position ensures that customer requirements, quality objectives, and plant performance goals are consistently achieved in a high-volume automotive manufacturing environment. The Quality Manager provides both strategic direction and day-to-day leadership for all quality functions, including customer quality, quality engineering, quality systems, inspection, testing, problem-solving, corrective actions, and continuous improvement. Acting as the primary quality leader and liaison, this role connects customers, operations, manufacturing, engineering, and executive leadership while driving a strong quality culture and ensuring compliance with ISO standards, customer requirements, and internal procedures.
Responsibilities
- Lead all plant quality activities within a high-volume automotive manufacturing environment and ensure alignment with plant performance goals.
- Manage, mentor, and develop quality engineers, quality technicians, inspectors, and other quality personnel to build a high-performing team.
- Serve as the site’s Quality Management Representative and ensure compliance with ISO 9001 and customer-specific quality standards.
- Own overall customer quality performance, including handling customer complaints, warranty concerns, corrective actions, containment activities, and customer audits.
- Drive structured root cause investigations and implement effective corrective actions using formal problem-solving methodologies.
- Develop, monitor, and report plant quality metrics, KPIs, and customer scorecards to track performance and identify improvement opportunities.
- Partner with production, maintenance, engineering, and operations teams to identify and implement process improvements, waste reduction, and defect prevention initiatives.
- Lead internal audits, customer audits, and third-party audits, maintaining a state of continuous audit readiness.
- Ensure quality requirements are integrated into new product launches, process changes, and ongoing continuous improvement initiatives.
- Establish, maintain, and improve quality plans, control plans, inspection standards, and quality documentation.
- Coordinate the maintenance and continuous improvement of the Quality Manual and the overall Quality Management System.
- Analyze statistical process data, quality trends, and manufacturing performance to enhance product quality and reliability.
- Develop and execute strategies to improve first-pass yield, reduce scrap, minimize warranty exposure, and increase customer satisfaction.
- Participate actively in plant leadership meetings and contribute to business strategy, staffing plans, and operational objectives from a quality perspective.
- Support APQP, PPAP, control plan development, FMEA activities, and customer launch requirements as needed.
- Drive a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence across the facility.
Essential Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related field strongly preferred; an equivalent combination of education and progressive quality leadership experience will also be considered.
- At least 5 years of leadership or management experience within a manufacturing environment.
- At least 7 years of experience in Quality, Quality Engineering, Quality Systems, or Quality Assurance.
- Automotive manufacturing experience strongly preferred, ideally within a Tier 1 supplier environment.
- Proven experience leading and developing quality teams, including Quality Engineers, Technicians, Inspectors, and/or Supervisors.
- Experience working within ISO-certified manufacturing environments, including ISO 9001 compliance.
- Strong problem-solving skills with demonstrated root cause analysis and corrective action experience.
- Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with Operations, Engineering, and Production leadership to drive quality performance and continuous improvement.
- Experience managing customer quality concerns, corrective actions, and customer-facing quality communications.
- Hands-on experience with quality engineering tools and practices, including PPAP, APQP, FMEA, control plans, and quality assurance methodologies.
- Proficiency in quality engineering, quality assurance, supplier quality, and audit practices.
- Ability to interpret and analyze statistical process data and quality trends to drive decisions.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills to influence stakeholders at all levels and represent the site with customers and auditors.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Experience in a high-volume automotive manufacturing environment, particularly within a Tier 1 supplier context.
- Background in supplier quality management and collaboration with suppliers on corrective actions and quality improvements.
- Familiarity with customer scorecards and customer-specific quality systems and expectations.
- Experience leading internal, customer, and third-party audits and maintaining ongoing audit readiness.
- Demonstrated success in driving continuous improvement initiatives focused on scrap reduction, yield improvement, and warranty risk reduction.
- Ability to build, coach, and sustain a culture of accountability, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
- Comfort working in a highly visible role that interacts regularly with plant leadership and external customers.
Work Environment
This is a leadership-level position within a fast-paced automotive manufacturing facility in Milan. The role offers high visibility and regular interaction with plant management, operations, engineering, production, and customers. The work involves a balanced mix of office-based activities, time on the production floor, customer-facing engagements, and participation in internal and external audits. The environment emphasizes driving plant quality performance, enhancing customer satisfaction, and leading continuous improvement initiatives. The position provides the opportunity to influence site strategy, shape the overall quality culture of the organization, and work closely with cross-functional teams in a dynamic manufacturing setting.
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Milan, MI.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $105000.00 - $125000.00/yr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Benefits
Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
401(k) with Company Match
Up to 15 Paid Holidays
Tuition Reimbursement
On-the-Job Training
Career Advancement Opportunities
Long-term career growth opportunities
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Milan,MI.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 2, 2026. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

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Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
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It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a
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