Corporate Process Quality Manager - Metals Manufacturing

An employee-owned metals manufacturer in Spring Grove, Illinois is hiring a Corporate Process Quality Manager to lead the process side of its quality function in a high-mix, low-volume environment serving Nuclear, Military, Aerospace, NADCAP, and AS9100-regulated customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of a best-in-class process control and problem-solving culture across manufacturing operations.
• Drive company-wide continuous improvement with a strong emphasis on structured problem-solving and process control.
• Support and enhance the Corrective Action Request (CAR) system, non-conformance control, and deviation processes.
• Champion high-visibility quality problem-solving events and lead root cause investigations on the shop floor.
• Partner with the Director of Quality and Corporate Quality Assurance Manager on broader quality strategy.
• Coordinate with Sales, Process Engineering, and subject matter experts to review manufacturability of customer designs and recommend specification or tolerance modifications where appropriate.
• Participate in FMEA development, control plans, and APQP activities for key processes and customer projects.
• Lead daily collaboration meetings and develop company-wide quality metrics.
• Support internal, external, and supplier quality audits, as well as layered process audits, in coordination with the Corporate Quality Assurance team.

The role manages 6 direct reports, all quality engineers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree.
• 7+ years of quality leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, with hands-on shop floor continuous improvement experience.
• Six Sigma training (Black Belt strongly preferred), with multiple completed projects.
• Strong working knowledge of structured problem-solving tools including fishbone, DMAIC, 5 Whys, A3, and 8D.
• Experience with APQP, FMEA, control plans, root cause analysis, GD&T, and lean tools (6S, VSM, TPM).
• Experience leading teams, or strong project management background in lieu of direct report management.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and Minitab.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Metallurgy, or a related technical discipline.
• Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) from ASQ.
• Lead Auditor certification in ISO 9001 or AS9100.
• High-mix, low-volume manufacturing experience (high-speed assembly experience is not a fit for this role).
• Metals industry experience or metallurgy knowledge.
• Experience with Nuclear, Military, Aerospace, or NADCAP-regulated environments.

Schedule

Full-time, on-site in Spring Grove, IL. Some overnight travel may be required.

Pay

• $100,000 to $120,000 base salary, based on experience.
• Annual target bonus.
• 15% ESOP contribution (employee-owned company).
• All-in first-year compensation guaranteed up to $140,000 until ESOP and bonus programs fully kick in.