Quality Engineer - Optical Fiber Cable Manufacturing

Onsite in Newton, NC – Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Pay: $65–$60/hour. Duration: 1 year.

About the Role

This position supports process engineering, data-driven process qualification, and manufacturing optimization within a major optical-fiber-cable production facility. The engineer leads or supports qualifications of new products, equipment, materials, tooling, and process changes while using analytical methods to improve process capability, yield, throughput, and overall manufacturing performance.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day and strategic process engineering support for optical-fiber-cable manufacturing operations (loose tube, ribbon, buffering, SZ stranding, jacketing, armoring, printing, and final cable processing).
• Develop, optimize, and sustain manufacturing processes to improve product quality, process capability, throughput, uptime, and cost performance.
• Define and maintain process windows, operating specifications, setup targets, and reaction plans for critical cable manufacturing steps.
• Support startup, scale-up, and line-readiness activities for new cable constructions and process changes in a high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Evaluate interactions between materials, equipment, tooling, and operating conditions to ensure robust process performance.
• Lead or support qualification of new manufacturing processes, line modifications, equipment installations, tooling changes, alternate materials, and new product introductions.
• Develop and execute qualification plans, protocols, sample strategies, acceptance criteria, and final reports for engineering trials, process characterization, capability demonstrations, and process release.
• Apply structured qualification methods, including risk-based process validation, process capability analysis, and equipment/process readiness assessments.
• Ensure qualifications address both short-term performance and long-term production stability; partner with Quality and Reliability teams to align with product requirements, test methods, and customer or industry standards.
• Analyze large manufacturing, test, scrap, and quality datasets to identify process trends, variation drivers, chronic loss mechanisms, and improvement opportunities.
• Use statistical tools (control charts, Pareto analysis, regression, ANOVA, hypothesis testing, capability indices) to evaluate process stability, centering, and capability.
• Support designed experiments and structured process characterization studies to determine critical process parameters and interactions.
• Develop technical data summaries, reports, and presentations to communicate findings and recommendations to engineering and operations leadership.
• Investigate process deviations, product nonconformances, startup losses, yield issues, and customer-impacting defects associated with cable manufacturing processes.
• Lead or support root-cause analysis using structured problem-solving methods and statistical evidence.
• Implement corrective and preventive actions for issues such as dimensional variation, attenuation changes after cabling, excess fiber length instability, strip-force variation, extrusion defects, adhesion problems, print defects, and mechanical handling damage.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on defect reduction, process robustness, waste reduction, OEE improvement, and manufacturing consistency.
• Support standardization of best-known methods across shifts, products, and production lines.
• Create and maintain controlled engineering documentation (process flow diagrams, setup sheets, work instructions, SOPs, PFMEAs, control plans, qualification records, and change documentation).
• Support formal change control and determine requalification requirements for process, equipment, tooling, and material changes.
• Ensure process documentation accurately reflects current operating practices and qualified conditions.
• Participate in audit support and provide technical evidence for internal, customer, and certification reviews.
• Work closely with Manufacturing, Product Engineering, Materials Engineering, Quality, Reliability, Maintenance, Tooling, Automation, and Supply Chain teams to resolve technical issues and implement process improvements.
• Support new product introduction by ensuring manufacturing readiness, process capability, and qualification completeness.
• Communicate technical risks, qualification status, and process performance clearly to stakeholders.
• Mentor junior engineers, technicians, and operations personnel on process qualification and data-driven problem solving.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, Optical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in process engineering, manufacturing engineering, process qualification, or validation in optical-fiber-cable, wire and cable, polymer extrusion, or other continuous manufacturing environments.
• Significant experience working in a major optical-fiber-cable operation facility or similarly complex, high-volume cable manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of optical-fiber-cable manufacturing processes and associated product quality requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in process qualification, process characterization, and process capability improvement.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience using manufacturing data to drive engineering decisions.
• Experience with statistical analysis tools and methods for process development, qualification, and control.
• Advanced level of data analytics utilizing JMP software.
• Strong technical writing skills for protocols, reports, specifications, and controlled manufacturing documentation.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced production environment.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or doctorate degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Data Analytics, or related field.
• Direct experience with ribbon manufacturing, SZ stranding, jacketing extrusion, armoring, or high-fiber-count cable production.
• Experience with statistical software such as JMP, Minitab, or equivalent analytical platforms.
• Knowledge of Telcordia, ICEA, IEC, TIA, or customer-specific fiber-optic-cable qualification requirements.
• Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma certification.
• Experience with MES, historian systems, automated process data collection, or manufacturing dashboards.
• Background in measurement systems analysis, DOE, SPC, and advanced process control.

Skills

• Process engineering expertise
• Process qualification and manufacturing validation
• Data analytics and statistical reasoning
• Root-cause analysis and technical troubleshooting
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Technical communication and documentation
• Cross-functional teamwork
• Execution in a high-volume manufacturing environment

Work Environment

Primarily based in a large-scale optical-fiber-cable manufacturing plant with routine time on the production floor. Requires hands-on involvement during process trials, qualifications, startup, and troubleshooting. May involve exposure to extrusion lines, rotating equipment, reels, hot surfaces, polymers, inks, and moving mechanical systems. PPE and strict adherence to plant safety requirements are mandatory. Occasional travel may be required for supplier visits, equipment acceptance, or support at other manufacturing sites.