QUALITY & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MANAGER

About the role

The Quality & Continuous Improvement Manager leads and matures the quality function and owns continuous improvement for Tricon Wear Solutions, with responsibility spanning its manufacturing sites (fabrication, welding and hardfacing, and machining).

Responsibilities

• Own and mature the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, building on the existing certification rather than starting over.

• Serve as the independent quality authority — hold release authority on quality holds and make the ship / no-ship decision when standards are at risk, without being overridden by schedule pressure.

• Own all continuous improvement — using Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen — to deliver measurable reductions in defects, rework, lead time, and cost of quality.

• Drive consistent quality standards and acceptance criteria across Tricon sites, reducing plant-to-plant variation in how work is inspected, documented, and released.

• Own a consistent final inspection and release standard so conformance and product presentation are reliable regardless of which site produced the work.

• Improve promise-date reliability so production and engineering can prioritize against accurate, dependable dates.

• Drive root-cause problem solving on internal and escaped nonconformances, closing corrective actions to true root cause.

• Verify adherence to the common standard through periodic site audits, and qualify inspection personnel to consistent criteria so acceptance decisions are reliable.

• Manage supplier and incoming quality, including supplier corrective actions and conformance to specification.

• Drive customer quality communication and resolution; support key customer accounts.

• Partner with Engineering to improve first-pass drawing and design accuracy and the drawing-to-production handoff; work with Operations on throughput and prioritization.

• Track cost of quality and report improvement results to leadership on a regular cadence.

• Manage, mentor, and develop the quality team, fostering a culture where quality is owned on the floor.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a quality role within a manufacturing environment, with progression into quality leadership.

• Hands-on background in welding, fabrication, or machining — able to walk the floor, read drawings, and speak the language of the shop.

• Demonstrated continuous-improvement track record with specific, measurable results from Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen.

• Demonstrated ability to drive change at pace across functions without direct authority.

• Strong knowledge and hands-on experience with ISO 9001 standards and audits.

• Strong root-cause and corrective-action discipline (8D, 5-Why, PFMEA, control plans).

• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, and material / weld specifications.

• Certifications such as Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, CQE, or CMQ/OE are a plus.

• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor training is a plus.

• Experience with wear steel, hardfacing / overlay, heavy fabrication, or metallurgical / wear applications is a plus.

• Experience standardizing quality practice across multiple manufacturing sites is a plus.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, quality, manufacturing, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.

• Willingness to travel periodically to other Tricon manufacturing sites, with meaningful floor presence at each.

• Ability to work effectively under pressure and adapt to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.