DFSS Engineer

About the role

This position offers a HYBRID work schedule Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm at our Greenwood SC Eaton facility. Relocation assistance will be provided, if needed.

Responsibilities

• NPD Quality Planning & DFSS: Participate in early design reviews and risk assessments for new products, ensuring critical requirements and Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) characteristics are identified. Lead creation of quality plans for NPD projects, incorporating DFSS tools such as DFMEA, statistical test plans, and reliability testing to optimize design robustness.
• Support design teams in DFM/DFA considerations and co-review designs to meet quality objectives, injecting lessons learned from prior projects.
• Production Readiness & First Articles: Coordinate and execute First Article Inspections (FAI) or initial PPAP submissions for new parts and assemblies. Develop pre-launch Control Plans and Process FMEAs (PFMEA) to ensure quality controls are in place from the first build through volume ramp-up.
• Drive completion of all APQP deliverables (e.g. control plans, MSA studies, capability analysis) before full production release.
• Manufacturing Quality & Continuous Improvement: Monitor initial production runs and pilot builds to identify quality issues or process variability. Lead root cause analysis on any assembly fit-up problems, high scrap, or test failures. Implement corrective actions and pragmatic in-process controls suited for manual operations – such as targeted inspections, standardized work, and operator training – to reduce variability and improve First Pass Yield (FTQ).
• Track key quality metrics (e.g. scrap rate, PPM defects, rework) and drive improvements to meet project and plant targets. Ensure proper documentation (work instructions, updated control plans, quality alerts) as design or process changes occur.
• Supplier Quality Management: Serve as the quality interface for key suppliers during new product introduction. Lead supplier APQP activities – from process feasibility reviews and design-for-quality discussions through supplier PPAP/FAI approval. Collaborate with sourcing and suppliers to verify that vendor processes can consistently meet specifications without dedicated tooling, assisting them in defining adequate process controls and inspection methods. When needed, conduct supplier site visits or audits to ensure readiness and follow up on any supplier-caused quality issues during launch.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Work closely with design engineering, manufacturing teams, and supply chain throughout the project lifecycle to embed quality at each stage. Facilitate cross-functional design and manufacturing reviews (including DFM, PFMEA workshops) to incorporate quality input and mitigate risks. Coordinate the transition to sustaining production, confirming that all quality criteria are met for Gate/Stage approvals (e.g. PROLaunch gates) and that receiving plant teams are fully prepared (training, gauges, documentation) for stable production. Handoff any open quality issues or ongoing controls to plant quality personnel once the product is in steady-state production, ensuring a smooth post-launch support plan is in place.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, or related field) from an accredited university.
• Three (3)+ years of experience in quality engineering or manufacturing engineering environment.
• Solid understanding of quality systems and methodologies (ISO 9001 or similar) and core quality tools: FMEA, Control Plans, MSA, SPC, and 8D problem solving.
• Familiarity with APQP/PPAP processes (or equivalent first-article processes) is important.
• Working knowledge of sheet metal fabrication, welding, and assembly processes is required, including an appreciation for the variability inherent in manual operations.
• Six Sigma Green Belt (or higher) certification or training in Design for Six Sigma is a plus.
• Able to apply statistical thinking and DFSS methodology to product development (e.g. CTQ flow down, DoE, reliability growth).
• Proven strength in data-driven problem solving and implementing continuous improvement initiatives to reduce defects and process variability.
• Must be willing to relocate to Greenwood SC.

Skills

• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.
• Ability to lead quality initiatives within project teams and with external suppliers.
• Hands-on approach with strong attention to detail, balanced by a pragmatic mindset to implement effective controls in a manual production environment.
• A zero-defect mentality and proactive drive to ensure flawless launches and sustained quality performance.