Manager, Manufacturing Quality Engineering

Manager, Manufacturing Quality Engineering

This position is responsible for leading shop-floor quality and driving a prevention-based quality approach within CelLink’s Georgetown manufacturing operations. The Manufacturing Quality Engineering Manager owns inline quality control, inspection strategy, defect prevention, process capability, metrology, and manufacturing quality performance. This hands-on leader works closely with Operations, Process Engineering, Equipment Engineering, and Quality Engineering to reduce variation and defects, strengthen process controls, and build quality into the manufacturing process rather than relying primarily on inspection and containment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Lead day-to-day shop-floor quality across manufacturing, including Quality Inspectors and assigned quality personnel; maintain a strong floor presence, establish clear inspection and escalation expectations, and ensure product and process quality requirements are consistently executed across shifts.
• Develop and continuously improve inline quality controls, inspection strategies, control plans, and reaction plans that prevent defects and identify process variation before nonconforming product is produced or escapes the manufacturing process.
• Own manufacturing quality performance, including defect containment, nonconforming material, yield and first-pass-yield improvement, SPC implementation and monitoring, process capability (Cp/Cpk), metrology, MSA/GR&R, and corrective-action effectiveness.
• Lead structured root-cause and corrective-action activities for manufacturing quality issues using data and appropriate problem-solving methodologies; partner with Operations and Process Engineering to eliminate recurrence and improve process stability and capability.
• Partner with Quality Engineering on APQP/PPAP, customer complaints, SCARs, customer audits, product/process changes, and quality escapes by providing manufacturing quality data, containment, root-cause investigation, corrective actions, and shop-floor implementation as required.
• Maintain a clean and orderly work area, follow safety and environmental requirements, and demonstrate CelLink’s culture of integrity, teamwork, self-discipline, and professional competence; other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Experience/Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing quality, process quality, or quality engineering in a high-volume manufacturing environment, including 2+ years leading or supervising quality engineers, technicians, inspectors, or similar manufacturing quality personnel.
• Demonstrated experience with SPC, process capability, control plans, MSA/GR&R, root-cause analysis, corrective action, nonconforming material, and continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, or managing visual inspection standards and acceptance criteria in a high-volume manufacturing environment, including defect classification, inspection methods, inspector training/qualification, and inspection consistency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in automotive, electronics, semiconductor, battery, flexible circuits, or other high-volume advanced manufacturing environments.
• Working knowledge of IATF 16949, ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, and Control Plans.
• Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt, ASQ CQE, or similar quality certification; experience with automated or inline inspection systems preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of statistical process control, process capability, measurement systems, inspection methods, defect prevention, structured problem solving, and manufacturing quality systems.
• Strong leadership, analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to use manufacturing data to prioritize risk, drive decisions, and sustain corrective actions.
• Strong knowledge of visual inspection methods, defect standards and classification, inspection sampling, measurement systems, inspection repeatability, and methods for ensuring consistent application of acceptance criteria across inspectors and shifts.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Working Conditions/Hours: 

Salaried Exempt

Physical Demands - Office and Manufacturing Environment

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms and pull/push; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment - 

Includes both a typical office environment, with minimal exposure to excessive noise or adverse environmental issues, and a shop environment, with exposure to high noise levels from operating machines, physical hazards from moving equipment and machine parts, nuisance dust, and skin exposure to chemicals used to run/maintain machines

PPE-

May be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment, including but not limited to safety glasses, safety shoes, bump-caps, gloves, hair nets, masks, & clean-room frocks while adhering to the prescribed safety procedures

We believe diversity and inclusion among our teammates are essential to our success. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees while building teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are an equal opportunity employer. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. CelLink participates in the E-Verify program in specific locations as required by law.

CelLink was founded in 2012 and entered volume production in 2018. CelLink provides electrical systems to the world's leading automotive OEMs & EV manufacturers, data center developers, and stationary power companies. The company has raised approximately $315M in funding through private investment and multiple grants from the US Department of Energy. CelLink’s investors include 3M, Atreides, BMW, BorgWarner, Bosch, D1 Capital, Fidelity, Fontinalis Partners, Ford, Franklin Templeton, Lear, Park West, SK Telecom, Standard Investments, T. Rowe Price, Tinicum, and Whale Rock.