Senior Supplier Quality Engineer

The Senior Supplier Quality Engineer (SSQE) owns quality outcomes, supplier risk posture, and recovery execution for Lincoln Electric’s strategic, high-impact suppliers. This role acts as the quality decision authority for suppliers that directly affect production continuity, customer experience, regulatory compliance, and total cost of ownership.

Supplier Mapping & Ownership

• Primary Ownership:
• Strategic / Tier-1 suppliers defined by one or more of the following:
• High annual spend (top ~20–25% of supplier spend)
• Direct impact to production continuity (line-down risk)
• Sole-source or constrained-capacity suppliers
• Safety-critical, regulatory-critical, or customer-visible components
• Secondary / Oversight Role:
• Regional or global suppliers with multi-plant exposure
• New suppliers through APQP and first production approval
• Explicit Exclusions:
• Commodity, low-risk, fully qualified suppliers with stable performance

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise & Risk Ownership:
• Act as quality decision authority for assigned suppliers, including:
• Stop-ship and controlled release decisions
• Deviation approval
• Supplier exit and resourcing recommendations
• Lead supplier risk assessments covering process capability, capacity, financial health, and geographic exposure
• Define and drive mitigation plans aligned with Global Sourcing strategy
• APQP Leadership & Launch-Gate Authority:
• Lead and govern APQP and PPAP for strategic suppliers and high-risk launches
• Approve or block launch readiness based on demonstrated capability, not intent
• Has authority to delay or stop launches when supplier risk is unacceptable
• Escalate unresolved launch risks to executive leadership with clear business impact
• Supplier Performance, Escalation & Recovery:
• Own supplier quality performance outcomes (PPM, COPQ, OTIF) for assigned suppliers
• Lead cross-functional escalation and recovery when performance degrades
• Validate root cause and corrective action effectiveness; reject superficial or non-systemic fixes
• Drive permanent countermeasures (process redesign, tooling changes, error-proofing, automation)
• Sourcing & Commercial Influence:
• Serve as primary quality advisor to Commodity Managers for:
• Supplier nomination and award decisions
• Dual-sourcing and exit strategies
• Translate quality risk into financial impact (downtime, warranty, COPQ, recovery cost)
• Influence sourcing decisions through total cost of ownership, not piece price
• Capability Building & Governance:
• Mentor Supplier Quality Engineers and define escalation thresholds
• Establish standard work for APQP rigor, audit depth, and supplier recovery
• Act as senior quality representative in cross-functional and executive reviews

Measures of Success (12-24 Months)

• Reduced severity and duration of supplier-driven production disruptions
• Sustained improvement in strategic supplier PPM, COPQ, and recovery cycle time
• Predictable, on-time APQP/PPAP approvals with minimal post-launch escapes
• Earlier, data-driven supplier exits or resourcing decisions

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical discipline
• 7-10+ years of experience in Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality, or Operations Engineering
• Demonstrated experience exercising judgment in supplier escalation and launch decisions
• Strong working knowledge of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, SPC, and structured problem solving
• Proven ability to influence sourcing and operations without direct authority