Certain Advantage
Supplier Quality Engineer
Darlington – This is an almost fully remote role
6-12 Month Contract
Sector: Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing (Automotive / Heavy Industrial)
We are seeking a Supplier Quality Engineer to champion our supplier development, APQP/PPAP processes, and cross-functional engineering partnerships across our Europe region (focusing on Global 7 Activities). Sitting at the critical intersection of Purchasing, Manufacturing, and Engineering, you will play a vital role in preventing quality issues before they happen and solving them instantly when they do.
The Role:
As our Supplier Quality Engineer, you will combine your technical problem-solving skills with a partner-first mindset to elevate our supply base. Your day-to-day will split between proactive engineering planning and high-impact, hands-on quality resolution.
Key Responsibilities:
- Work seamlessly with VPI program leads to issue APQP projects to suppliers. Manage monthly metrics, update the tracker, and lead formal performance reviews.
- Act as the first line of defense for build quality issues. Collaborate with internal quality leads to investigate emerging issues, establish immediate containment/sorting fixes, and align with suppliers on long-term resolution.
- Own quality FIRGs (steps 3–7) and drive robust root-cause analyses to closure in the RV&S system.
- Conduct thorough supplier audits to mitigate supply chain risks, evaluate supplier readiness, and establish structured performance improvement plans.
- Partner with suppliers to validate that their manufacturing processes are structurally capable of perfectly aligning with engineering prints, industry standards, and customer specs.
Skillset & Experience Required
- Proven experience in a Supplier Quality Engineering or similar quality manufacturing environment.
- Deep, practical knowledge of industry-standard automotive/industrial quality frameworks: APQP, PPAP, and AIAG tools.
- Strong competency in leading structured problem-solving, root-cause analyses, and corrective action implementations.
- Ability to act as a trusted technical bridge between external suppliers and internal purchasing/engineering teams.
- Proficiency in tracking and generating technical quality reporting metrics.
Desirable:
- Experience working within global frameworks or supporting the European region.
- A background utilizing Lean and Six-Sigma continuous improvement methodologies.
- Familiarity with internal tracking tools like CQMS and RV&S systems.
To apply for this job please visit www.reed.co.uk.
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