Onsite: The successful candidate will be expected to report to Orion Assembly in Orion, Michigan, five times per week, at a minimum.
Level: People Leader
Role Overview
The Lead Quality Engineer is responsible for the overall planning, direction, and performance of the Quality Engineering team supporting vehicle on Orion-built vehicles.
This leader dynamically prioritizes team focus between Vehicle Quality (VOC, warranty, DRR, FTQ) and production floor issues, ensuring timely resolution of plant, supplier, and VAA-driven concerns. The role acts as the primary liaison between Engineering, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, VAA partners, and Product Engineering, while building a high-performing Quality Engineering organization aligned to BIQ/GMS and GM quality strategies.
Scope of Responsibilities
- Own the strategic direction and day-to-day execution for the Quality Engineering team.
- Develop and manage a commodity coverage strategy across exterior, interior, and chassis systems to ensure robust support for current production and launch programs.
- Dynamically allocate workload and priorities across the team to respond quickly to urgent plant issues and emerging vehicle quality trends.
What You’ll Do
Safety
- Follow and enforce all site safety guidelines and GM safety policies.
- Urgently drive resolution of identified safety and ergonomic issues impacting team members and production operators.
People & Leadership
- Lead and manage a team of salaried Quality Engineers covering exterior, interior, or chassis commodities (including VAA/module interfaces where applicable).
- Set clear expectations, provide coaching and feedback, and support individual development plans.
- Develop and maintain the team’s commodity coverage strategy; manage vacation and absence planning to ensure coverage.
- Build technical capability through Red X Technical Problem Solving, Design For Six Sigma (DFSS), BIQ & GMS compliance, quality skills assessments, and other professional certifications/training.
- Lead and coach structured problem solving (Red X, 7 Diamonds, SPPS, 5‑Why, Fishbone) on high-impact issues; ensure methods are applied consistently by the team.
- Develop and implement Workplace of Choice initiatives to strengthen engagement, inclusion, and retention.
- Ensure workplace organization standards (5S, visual management) are defined and maintained for the Quality Engineering team.
Quality & Technical Execution
- Act as primary Quality liaison between Engineering, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, and VAA for propulsion, chassis, and ATM content to ensure vehicle quality and reliability.
- Champion advanced problem solving and drive closure of commodity-related Voice of Customer (VOC), DRR, FTQ, and warranty issues.
- Ensure issues are documented in Problem Resolution Tracking System (PRTS) and driven through the Current Product Improvement Team (CPIT) process to robust root cause and irreversible corrective action.
- Ensure supplier-responsible issues are captured and managed in Supplier Practical Problem Solving (SPPS) and coordinate with Manufacturing, Suppliers, and GM Supplier Quality for resolution.
- Support and govern the Assembly Plant Change Management process for assigned commodities (ECRs, PTRs, tooling and process changes), including risk assessment, validation strategies, breakpoints, and documentation updates.
- Communicate Emerging Issues summaries for responsible systems and ensure clear read-across and Lessons Learned to Engineering, Validation, and Quality organizations.
- Oversee team support for yard sweeps, development of inspection methods and standards, and Repair/Rework/Containment activities for identified spills.
- Ensure timely, high-quality responses to Supplier Action Center (SAC) requests and manufacturing floor concerns for assigned commodities.
- Oversee validation of suspect/reject part disposition, ensuring robust criteria and traceability.
- Govern team participation in the Production Trial Run (PTR) process, ensuring thorough documentation of product concerns and clear pass/fail feedback.
- Support implementation and closure of supplier Controlled Shipping activities, ensuring risk is contained and lessons are embedded into PFMEA/PCP/standardized work.
- Facilitate supplier visits to the manufacturing facility and ensure effective technical discussions and follow-up.
Responsiveness & Governance
- Lead or ensure representation in Quality Engineering standard meetings, plant quality reviews, and Fast Response sessions for interior, exterior, or chassis issues.
- Drive timely resolution of ergonomics and quality issues tied to supplier and engineering changes impacting the plant floor.
- Ensure Quality Engineering presence at manufacturing quality issue review meetings for relevant commodities.
- Support First Time Quality (FTQ) improvement initiatives and BIQ roadmap execution.
- Ensure all assigned PRTS issues are completed through root cause and irreversible corrective action within agreed timing.
Cost & Business Impact
- Ensure effective management of salary attendance and overtime within the team, aligning resources to business priorities.
- Champion warranty reduction initiatives related to interior, exterior or chassis content, using field data and plant metrics to prioritize actions.
- Oversee Supplier Cost Recovery for financial impact associated with supplier quality issues, ensuring accurate documentation and timely execution.
Required Qualifications
- Four-year degree in Engineering or other related technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
- 5+ years of experience in manufacturing, quality, or engineering.
- Demonstrated technical and professional skills in job-related areas (e.g., quality, manufacturing, product engineering).
- Strong knowledge of manufacturing processes, ideally in automotive assembly and/or propulsion/chassis systems.
- Highly developed oral and written communication skills, including executive-ready summaries.
- High level of analytical and decision-making ability where problems are unusual and complex.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively across functions and levels.
- Proven Managerial Courage and Customer Focus.
- Demonstrated ability to build effective teams and develop direct reports.
Preferred Qualifications
- Graduate-level degree in Engineering or related technical discipline.
- Prior people leadership / team management experience.
- Quality Engineering and/or Supplier Quality experience.
- Manufacturing production floor experience in an automotive environment.
- Experience with automotive product design, particularly propulsion or chassis systems.
- Red X Technical Problem Solving and Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) certifications.
- Capability in body dimensional analysis, GD&T, and part data analysis.
