Head of Supplier Quality

What You'll Do

• Lead and develop a high-performing Supplier Quality team, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish and maintain robust supplier quality management processes, including incoming inspection, non-conformance management, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead the qualification and onboarding process for new suppliers, conducting comprehensive audits and assessments. Drive supplier development programs to improve performance and capabilities.
• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for supplier quality, use these KPIs and risk-based decision making to prioritise supplier improvements.
• Act as the primary point of contact for complex supplier quality issues, driving root cause analysis and effective resolution.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with global suppliers, influencing their quality systems and ensuring optimal support for our operations.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure design for quality is incorporated at the design phase and product quality requirements are met by suppliers during mass production.
• Support team development through regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and structured personal development planning.
• Stay current on industry best practices, standards, and emerging technologies in manufacturing and supplier quality systems.

What we're looking for

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in managing supplier quality in a high-volume manufacturing environment, ideally with electro-mechanical systems.
• 3+ years in technical leadership and people management roles, with the ability to balance strategic thinking and hands-on support.
• Strong background in quality management systems (e.g., ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AS9100) and quality tools (e.g., FMEA, PPAP, APQP, SPC, 8D).
• Proven ability to conduct supplier audits, evaluate manufacturing processes, and implement continuous improvement programs.
• Familiarity with high-reliability products, ongoing product reliability testing and mechanical part manufacturing is a plus.
• Deep understanding of product lifecycle transitions, from NPI to mass production.
• Willingness to travel internationally and engage directly at manufacturing sites.
• A proactive, positive mindset and the drive to thrive in a dynamic, startup environment.