Manufacturing Technical Program Manager / Quality Engineer (Heat Pumps FATP)

Manufacturing Technical Program Manager / Quality Engineer (Heat Pumps FATP)

As the Manufacturing Technical Program Manager / Quality Engineer in the Hardware Operations team, you will be responsible for ensuring the highest quality standards for mid to high-volume production of our heat pump units. This role focuses on the Final Assembly, Test, and Pack (FATP) stages, overseeing in-process quality and the transition from the assembly line to the customer.

The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on experience in high-volume electromechanical assembly, rigorous yield management, and a proactive approach to driving quality improvements within a Contract Manufacturing (CM) environment. You will be driving the technical aspect of production and the primary gatekeeper for fully assembled units, ensuring that every heat pump meeting our customers’ hands is defect-free. 

Key Responsibilities

Production & Yield Management

• Drive production yield: Monitor daily production yield and lead the "Top Yield Hitters" forum with the CM factory team to identify, contain, and resolve the primary drivers of fallout. You have the authority to pause production on high fallout and convene the team for resolution before restarting. Own first pass yield, the failure Pareto, and reporting.
• In-process quality control (IPQC): Oversee the effectiveness of in-process stations, ensuring assembly and test processes adhere to established standards.
• Yield reporting: Maintain real-time quality dashboards and provide detailed yield analysis to leadership, highlighting trends and risks.

Production Test

• Station bring-up and qualification: Lead bring up and qualification of end-of-line test stations at the CM, including capability studies and golden unit correlation before a station is released to production.
• Test limits and coverage: Own pass/fail limits and their traceability to product specification.  Confirm the test suite detects the failure modes identified in the PFMEA and close coverage gaps when defects escape.
• Failure triage and station health: Triage test failures, separating true failures from false rejects and retest passes. Maintain calibration and preventive maintenance schedules, and ensure test results are traceable to each unit's serial number.

Process Control & Documentation

• Control Plans & PFMEA: Develop, maintain, and audit Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA) and Control Plans so that all critical-to-quality (CTQ) parameters are mitigated.
• Documentation: Keep final product inspection standards and SOPs current. Ensure SOPs capture all corrective actions arising from production, supplier, and field quality issues, and update PFMEAs and Control Plans accordingly.
• Continuous improvement: Lead improvement initiatives on the factory floor using Lean and Six Sigma methods to reduce variability and scrap.

Quality Assurance & Out-of-Box Audit

• OBA & sampling: Manage the Out-of-Box Audit process and sampling inspections for fully assembled units to validate the customer view of quality.
• Root cause analysis: Investigate assembly-level failures and drive corrective actions (8D, CAPA) with CM production and engineering teams.
• Cross-functional liaison: Act as the primary feedback loop to Design Engineering and Supplier Quality Engineering (SQE), reporting issues found during assembly that stem from design flaws or incoming material (IQC) defects. Where needed, support supplier development and work directly with vendors.
• Shop Floor and Traceability:  Work closely with process engineers to make sure CM has proper traceability for the product as it flows through the production line. Good documentation of serialization.

Field Returns & Failure Analysis

• RMA lead: Drive failure analysis of field-returned product with the CM. Determine root cause and drive corrective actions at the factory, or work with SQE to drive improvements at the supplier facility.
• Containment: Manage containment at the CM for any finished goods requiring re-inspection prior to shipment.

NPI & Line Readiness

• NPI transition: Own the quality side of the transition from NPI to mass production, working with process and test engineering counterparts to confirm line readiness - validated assembly fixtures, test stations, and operator instructions.
• Fixture assessment: Review and approve assembly fixtures and measurement tools for repeatability and reproducibility (Gage R&R).
• Shop floor traceability: Work with the process engineer to confirm the CM maintains proper traceability and serialization documentation as product flows through the line.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience: 5-10 years in manufacturing quality or process engineering, specifically in mid- to high-volume electromechanical assembly.
• Technical Skills:
• Proficiency in PFMEA, Control Plans, and SPC.
• Strong understanding of assembly processes, including leak testing, electrical safety testing, and functional performance testing.
• Experience managing Contract Manufacturers (CM) and driving accountability within their factory teams.
• Measurements: Experience using tools like calipers, feeler gages, CMM, OMM, colorimeter, etc.
• Good knowledge of cosmetics requirements and color matching
• Hands-on experience qualifying end-of-line test stations and owning test limits, including capability studies and distinguishing genuine failures from test escapes and false rejects.
• Analytical Skills: Expert-level root cause analysis skills and the ability to interpret complex data sets to drive prioritized action plans.
• Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to bridge the gap between factory floor operations and supplier quality/design teams. Certifications: Six Sigma Green/Black Belt or ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) is a plus
• Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to bridge factory floor operations and supplier quality/design teams. Fluent English for overseas meetings and report-outs.
• Travel: Will mainly be at CM factory during builds but maybe be tasked to visit supplier facilities to drive quality improvement of issues

Preferred

• Language: Chinese language skills strongly preferred, to enable direct communication with CM factory staff.
• HVAC or consumer electronics manufacturing experience.
• Six Sigma Green or Black Belt, or ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE).
• Experience standing up a quality program at a new CM or on a new line.