Skywater is seeking an accomplished Vice President of Quality to lead all aspects of quality strategy, systems, and customer engagement across its manufacturing operations. This executive will serve as the primary liaison to customers while driving quality performance, compliance, and continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate is a seasoned quality leader from the automotive industry who thrives in customer-facing environments and has a proven track record of elevating quality culture and operational excellence.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary quality contact for OEM customers, managing relationships, scorecards, and escalations.
- Lead customer audits, APQP reviews, and new program launch readiness activities.
- Develop and deploy a company-wide quality strategy aligned with business goals and customer expectations.
- Oversee Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Supplier Quality across all manufacturing facilities.
- Ensure compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, and other applicable automotive standards.
- Drive root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) for internal and external quality issues.
- Monitor and report quality performance metrics including customer satisfaction, PPM, and warranty trends.
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, and other problem-solving methodologies.
Desired Skills And Experience
- Bachelor’s or Master's degree in Engineering, Quality Management, or related field.
- 15+ years of automotive manufacturing experience, including 5+ years in a senior quality leadership role.
- Direct experience managing premier customer relationships directly and hands-on
- Deep understanding of automotive quality systems and tools (IATF 16949, APQP, PPAP, FMEA, SPC, MSA).
- Exceptional leadership, communication, and customer engagement skills.
- Six Sigma Black Belt certification, Green Belt certification, or equivalent experience preferred.
