Global Manager/Global Director, Design Assurance in Product Development

Stellenbeschreibung:

Global Manager/Global Director, Design Assurance in Product Development

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Overview

Are you someone who is passionate, motivated, and driven to make a difference? If so, MSA Safety is the perfect fit for your career.

At MSA, SAFETY is who we are and what we do. We are a purpose-driven company committed to deploying innovation and technology to protect people and assets worldwide. We relentlessly pursue solutions to our customers’ greatest problems so they can return home safe each day. Read on for more details about this role.

Responsibilities

Engineering Quality Leadership & Training
- Develop and execute the Engineering Design Quality strategy, including staffing proposals, aligned with business objectives and customer expectations, including close collaboration with the Verification & Validation and Product Compliance Engineering leaders
- Lead, coach, and develop direct reports in applicable subject matter expertise, as well as build necessary skillset and capabilities throughout the engineering function through training and similar programs
- Allocate resources, set performance goals, and conduct evaluations to build organizational capability and bench strength.
- Champion a culture of quality, reliability, and continuous improvement across the R&D function
- Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on product risk, reliability, and quality performance related to New Product Development and Engineering Changes
Design Quality & Lifecycle Oversight
- Establish and maintain quality standards, processes, and procedures in compliance with ISO 9001, regulatory, and MSA Quality Management System requirements
- Ensure robust design controls and risk management in New Product Development (NPD) and throughout the product lifecycle, including the Engineering Change Management (ECM) process
- Identify and deploy training where needed on the NPD, ECM and other critical to quality processes and its tools such as deliverable guidance, FMEA, creating robust qualification plans and other opportunities
- Provide oversight for design inputs, reviews, verification/validation, and design transfer to manufacturing
- Establish and monitor effectiveness of processes that ensure product designs incorporate manufacturability, reliability, voice of the customer, and compliance with critical-to-quality (CTQ) requirements
- Establish methods to evaluate effectiveness and ensure adherence to process such as audit, governance and gate reviews
- Collaborate with other areas of quality to ensure robust Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and feedback loop from customer, supplier and manufacturing, is incorporated into designs during new development and on-going lifecycle changes
- Identify and incorporate modern methodologies for quality function deployment on complex architectures, including the capture of requirements across system and sub systems and their deployment through the development and industrialization process (product specification-FMEA-verification, etc.)
Continuous Improvement & Corrective Action
- Utilize Lean Six Sigma fundamental principles to continuously improve NPD and ECM processes
- Drive a structured problem-solving culture using methodologies such as 8D, A3, Six Sigma, and DMAIC.
- Lead initiatives to identify and close process gaps, reduce inefficiencies, and enhance design robustness.
- Apply quality and reliability tools (DFMEA, Design Reviews) to prevent defects and improve product performance.
- Oversee engineering change management and APQP processes to ensure risk mitigation and continuous improvement.
- Capture and deploy lessons learned and best practices to strengthen product and process quality.
- Develop a strategy and implementation plan for continuously improving the NPD process and related tools and sub-processes to improve NPD timeliness while improving quality
Metrics & Performance Management
- Define and monitor key quality and reliability indicators (e.g., defect rates, field performance, CAPA effectiveness) as feedback into design improvements
- Promote a proactive, prevention-based approach to quality management supported by measurable performance metrics.
- Develop dashboards and reports to monitor engineering quality performance where applicable and drive accountability.
- Working closely with Customer Quality function, analyze customer feedback, warranty data, and service findings to identify improvement opportunities to incorporate into new or improved product designs
- Ensure warranty performance targets are developed and reviewed collaboratively with Engineering, Compliance, Marketing, and Warranty teams.
- Provide executive-level reporting on quality trends, risks, and improvement initiatives
Required Technical Expertise & Core Competencies
- Deep understanding of design assurance, risk management, and manufacturing quality principles.
- Proficiency with statistical analysis, SPC tools, and verification/validation methodologies.
- Experience with integrated mechanical, electrical, and software-based systems
- Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
- Excellent project management and organizational abilities.
- High attention to detail, analytical rigor, and data-driven decision-making
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Engineering or related technical discipline.
- 8-10+ years of leadership experience in Design Assurance, Six Sigma, Reliability, Quality, Manufacturing, or R&D Engineering within a complex product development or manufacturing environment.