Quality Engineer

Posted Yesterday
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Austin, TX, USA
In-Office
Senior level
Energy • Renewable Energy
The Role
Owns supplier, incoming, in-process, and final quality for hardware manufacturing operations. Responsibilities include supplier qualification, audits, FAI and PPAP reviews, inspection and control plans, root-cause investigations, CAPA, NCR and SCAR management, quality metrics, NPI support, metrology, documentation, and QMS development. Partners with engineering, supply chain, reliability, suppliers, and manufacturing teams to improve yield and scale production.
Summary Generated by Built In

Exowatt is revolutionizing the energy landscape for the AI era with our groundbreaking P3 system that captures solar energy, stores it as heat, and generates electricity on demand. Founded in 2023 and backed by leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, and Felicis, we're committed to providing clean, modular, and scalable power that meets the rapidly growing demands of AI infrastructure. Our mission is to make sustainable renewable energy always available and almost free, enabling technological advancement while protecting our planet.

We're hiring a Quality Engineer to own the quality of our supply chain and manufacturing operations. You'll qualify suppliers, drive root-cause investigations, and build the quality systems that let us scale from pilot builds to volume production. This is a hands-on, high-impact role for someone equally at home on a factory floor, at a supplier site, and deep in inspection and yield data.

This role is based in our Austin, TX facility. Relocation is required, and relocation assistance will be provided if necessary.

What You'll Do

  • Own incoming inspection, in-process, and final quality for assigned commodities, sub-assemblies, and finished product

  • Partner with the supply chain team to qualify new suppliers — on-site audits, first-article inspections (FAI), PPAP-style submissions, and process capability reviews

  • Develop inspection plans, control plans, and acceptance criteria for purchased parts and in-house manufactured components

  • Lead root-cause investigations (8D, 5-Why, Ishikawa) on supplier defects and internal manufacturing non-conformances; drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to closure

  • Manage the non-conformance (NCR) and supplier corrective action request (SCAR) processes end-to-end

  • Partner with design engineering on DFM/DFA reviews and help translate design intent into manufacturable, inspectable specifications (GD&T, critical-to-quality features)

  • Track and report quality metrics — PPM, first-pass yield, cost of poor quality, supplier scorecards — and use them to drive improvement

  • Support new product introduction (NPI) from prototype through production ramp, including process validation and pilot builds

  • Build and maintain quality documentation: inspection procedures, work instructions, quality records, and calibration programs

  • Help stand up and evolve Exowatt's quality management system (QMS) — we're early enough that you'll shape it, not just operate inside it

  • Partner closely with the Reliability Engineering team to feed manufacturing and supplier quality data into failure analysis and design improvements

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Aerospace, or a related engineering field

  • 5+ years of quality engineering experience in a hardware manufacturing environment

  • Hands-on experience with supplier quality — audits, FAI, PPAP, SCARs, and supplier development

  • Working knowledge of root-cause methodologies (8D, 5-Why, fishbone) and statistical tools (SPC, Cpk, MSA, DOE basics)

  • Fluency with GD&T and the ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings

  • Experience with metrology and inspection tools (CMM, calipers, micrometers, optical comparators, etc.)

  • Deep experience with ISO 9001 and the fundamentals of building or operating a QMS

  • Clear technical writing and the ability to communicate findings to suppliers, engineers, and leadership

  • Willingness to travel to supplier facilities domestically and occasionally internationally

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience in energy, aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, or other regulated/high-reliability hardware industries

  • Exposure to welded or brazed assemblies, pressure vessels, high-temperature materials, thermal storage systems, or rotating machinery relevant to the P3 system

  • ASQ certification (CQE, CQA, or CSSBB)

  • Deep Experience standing up a QMS at an early-stage company, or taking one from ISO 9001 toward AS9100, ISO 14001, or similar

  • Six Sigma Green or Black Belt

  • Experience with ERP/MES/QMS platforms (NetSuite, Arena, Propel, or similar)

  • Experience building a quality function from scratch at an early-stage hardware company

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Aerospace, or related engineering field
  • 5+ years of quality engineering experience in a hardware manufacturing environment
  • Hands-on supplier quality experience, including audits, FAI, PPAP, SCARs, and supplier development
  • Knowledge of 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, SPC, Cpk, MSA, and basic DOE
  • Fluency with GD&T and mechanical drawing interpretation
  • Experience with CMMs, calipers, micrometers, optical comparators, and other inspection tools
  • Deep experience with ISO 9001 and QMS operation or development
  • Clear technical writing and communication skills
  • Willingness to travel to domestic and occasional international supplier facilities
  • Experience in energy, aerospace, automotive, industrial equipment, or other regulated or high-reliability hardware industries
  • Experience with welded or brazed assemblies, pressure vessels, high-temperature materials, thermal storage systems, or rotating machinery
  • ASQ certification such as CQE, CQA, or CSSBB
  • Experience advancing ISO 9001 toward AS9100, ISO 14001, or similar standards
  • Six Sigma Green or Black Belt
  • Experience with ERP, MES, or QMS platforms such as NetSuite, Arena, or Propel
  • Experience building a quality function from scratch at an early-stage hardware company
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The Company
42 Employees

What We Do

Exowatt is a next generation renewable energy company offering commercial and industrial customers a modular full-stack energy solution that can provide dispatchable power and heat for up to 24 hours per day, specifically designed to meet the needs of energy-intensive applications such as data centers. Our mission is clear, to make sustainable renewable energy always available and almost free.

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