Role: Senior SQA Engineer - Automotive or Marine 

Location: Van Buren Township, Michigan 

Role ID: 2025 -2801

Salary: $90,000 - $105,000 per annum plus benefits  

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

Key Purpose

As a Senior Supplier Quality Assurance Engineer, you will be responsible for the quality of purchase parts, from concept to series production for the suppliers and projects you are assigned. Working

alone, as part of a team or leading a small team on designated projects, traveling in the USA and overseas. 

Key Responsibilities

• Auditing and assessing suppliers and contributing to the nomination process.
• Supplier Quality Assurance activities within the supply chain including: APQP, PPAP, and surveillance visits leading to series launch.
• Creating and managing customer quality requirements that can be cascaded to the supply chain.
• Generating goods receiving inspection documents for pre-production and production phases.
• Series process and part approval at product launch.
• Working closely with procurement, design, and system engineers to achieve parts that are cost effective, fit for purpose and to the required quality standard.
• Proactive & reactive supplier improvement activities, including problem resolution of parts quality issues using 8D and other automotive industry tools.
• Management of supplier quality performance, including verification and implementation of corrective actions in the pre-series phase.
• Managing the parts quality implications of product and process changes.
• Reporting status against project targets internally and customer facing.
• Supervising and coaching of the SQA Engineering team also deployed on these projects.
• Actively participating in continuous improvement by developing and introducing new quality focused processes and procedures to Ricardo.

Key Competencies and Experience 

Essential

Experience of NPI and/or Supplier Quality Assurance or a similar role where skills can be transferred into the objectives described above. Preferably gained within the automotive sector but other industries would be considered.

• Knowledge of automotive technology and product development, APQP.
• Knowledge of IATF 16949.
• Hands-on experience of lean manufacturing and six sigma.
• Demonstrates the highest integrity and ethical values in dealing with clients, suppliers, and colleagues.
• Ability to self-manage and demonstrate resilience/robustness when working to challenging targets.

Desirable 

• Achieving PPAP.
• Data analysis skills would be advantageous.
• Lead Auditor trained to ISO 9001 and or IATF 16949.
• Experience with various manufacturing processes and components (e.g., casting, machining, moulding, assembly, fabrications) and measurement techniques.
• Experience and understanding of geometric design & tolerancing.
• Experience of quality systems, quality tools & techniques.
• Engineering degree or equivalent experience.

Skills and behaviours

• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• The ability to work as a team or on your own and be self-motivated.
• A good communicator with intercultural and interpersonal skills together with the ability to communicate and present effectively to suppliers and clients at all levels.
• Experienced user of Microsoft office.
• Tenacity, resilience, and focus.

Additional/special features of the role

• Flexibility to support regular travel to suppliers/customers domestic & internationally (including North & South Americas and EU) and holder of a driving licence.

Working here

You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.

We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on.  Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Work life balance 

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, creed, gender identity. sexual orientation, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, marital or parental status (IL only), height, weight, national origin, citizenship status, age, domestic violence victim status, arrest record  or conviction record (MI only), genetic information, military or veteran status or disability, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or municipal law. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via recruit@ricardo.com if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.

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