Supplier Quality Engineer - Technical Specialist

Job Summary:

The Supplier Quality Engineer - Technical Specialist concentrates his/her product specific quality and technical skills to develop complex suppliers and products that can meet customer requirements; requires strong partnerships with the external supply base, with supply chain teams and with engineering to achieve results

Key Responsibilities:

Build strong relationships with all critical partners to improve quality and business outcomes, including: external suppliers, external customers, and internal customers and stakeholders, such as Purchasing, Manufacturing and Engineering; coach and mentor Cummins professionals on how to strengthen the soft skills required to develop effective relationships. Support the cross-functional development of external supply base strategies and the cross-functional supplier selection process for any given component; experience and skills will be utilized to support increasingly complex products. Provide manufacturing consultation to external suppliers in order to design a Right First Time manufacturing process that enables conformance to the engineering print, engineering standards and customer specific requirements; experience and skills will be utilized to support increasingly complex products. Apply industry common Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) processes, Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) tools, and Cummins specialty tools to develop zero defect components within the external supply base; coach and mentor Supplier and Cummins professionals on how to improve effectiveness of APQP execution; experience and skills will be utilized to support increasingly complex products. Embrace continuous improvement in the external supply base by leading complex product and process focused projects that utilize industry proven methodologies, such as lean and six-sigma. Conduct external supplier audits in support of supplier risk mitigation, supplier readiness, and supplier performance improvement; coach and mentor Cummins professionals on how to improve auditing effectiveness. Lead increasingly complex quality improvement plans within the external supply base in order to improve supplier performance. Ensure resolution of increasingly complex external supplier related quality challenges, by leading root cause analysis, by supporting development of corrective actions and by verifying the effectiveness of corrective actions; coach and mentor Supplier and Cummins professionals on how to improve effectiveness of problem resolution.

Responsibilities

Competencies: 
Communicates effectively - Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. 
Customer focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions. 
Auditing - Applying auditing skills and techniques and Quality Management Systems knowledge to effectively appraise a manufacturing process for quality and safety risks and non-conformances. 
Interpreting Technical Requirements - Applying knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing principles and Engineering Standards to correctly interpret the technical requirements of an engineering drawing; Applying knowledge to improve a product’s design for manufacturability and measurability. 
Manufacturing Process Design - Applying knowledge of manufacturing technology (methods, techniques, tools, equipment, etc) to design a Zero Defect manufacturing process that can consistently meet technical and customer requirements. 
Manufacturing Process Validation - Applying core Automotive tools (i.e. DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plan, SPC, MSA, Source Release and PPAP) to validate that a manufacturing process can consistently meet technical and customer requirements. 
Measurement Process Design - Applying knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing principles and knowledge of measurement technology (standards, techniques, equipment, etc) to design a measurement system that can consistently meet industry and customer requirements. 
Problem Solving - Solves problems and may mentor others on effective problem solving by using a systematic analysis process by leveraging industry standard methodologies to create problem traceability and protect the customer; determines the assignable cause; implements robust, data-based solutions; identifies the systemic root causes and ensures actions to prevent problem reoccurrence are implemented. 
Quality Influence - Ability to recognize stakeholders, create a forum to professionally extract stakeholder perspectives, drive and engage in constructive conflict, and to influence outcomes in order to ensure Cummins makes a balanced decision inclusive of Quality priorities. 
Quality Standards - Applying knowledge of quality standards, such as ISO9001:2015 and IATF16949, to develop procedures, processes, and external suppliers in a manner that aligns with regulatory requirements. 
Statistical Foundations - Applies statistical tools and technique to influence decision making; leverages understanding of data collection methods, key statistics, graphical and analytical methods to describe process performance, gain insights and drive improvement action 
Supplier Performance Improvement - Improving supplier performance by developing and executing an effective quality improvement strategy that consists of a project team, glidepath, reduction of manufacturing issues and improvement of systemic deficiencies. 
Supplier Quality Project Planning and Execution - Applying Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) skills to develop and execute a quality plan that enables external suppliers to meet customer expectations; Requires facilitating communication and collaboration across cross-functional activities, when a program, initiative, or project concerns external suppliers. 
Values differences - Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization. 
Supplier Product Reliability - Ability to evaluate the supplier's product design, supplier's manufacturing process design and product validation process to ensure the supplier is capable to meet reliability expectations. 
Education, Licenses, Certifications: 
B.Tech/B.E in Mettalurgy/Material science engineering
Experience: 
12 years experience in a Manufacturing or Engineering role in the automotive industry, or a similarly regulated industry.

Qualifications

Core responsibilities

1. Manage Non - Ferrous & Ferrous Foundries - Specialized in Aluminium Foundry processes such as GDC, HPDC, LPDC & Sand Casting processes etc. with allied heat treatment processes. 
2. Manage forward-integrated machine shops. (The position shall handle some of the most critical castings and machined castings suppliers to many BUs from the region)
3. Hands-on in Select - Develop – Monitor & Control of suppliers' tasks. Run APQP/PPAP/Source Release as per the program timing requirement.
4. Lead a focused, proactive supplier engagement improvement program, driving Supplier KPIs aligned with the Quality goal tree, establishing Supplier quality Improvement plans, conducting audits, and developing ZDM among the responsible supply base.
5. Lead Supplier quality Performance Management tasks. Drive Supplier Corrective Actions effectively, ensuring the timeliness and effectiveness of CAPAs for Cummins customers and plants—drive plant quality disruption reduction projects at the supplier.
6. Hands-on in SQ development toolbox & Statistical tools to support SQEs and suppliers.

Core Skills, Experience, and Education requirements needed for the role

1. Engineering Graduate, preferably in Metallurgy/Mechanical/Production Engineering domain. 
2. 10 to 15 years of hands-on experience in developing Aluminum/ Iron Casting and machined parts.
3. Foundry hands on experience on casting end to end process manufacturing & controls for 5 years
4. Good skills in troubleshooting the Aluminum Foundry manufacturing / Casting machining process, Jigs/Fixtures concepts.
5. Know-how about casting simulations, Tooling (Die / Pattern & Core box) manufacturing processes & trouble shooting. 
6. Hands-on Supplier development toolbox elements such as APQP/PPAP/MSA/PFMEA/SPC-Capability Studies
7. Strong written and verbal communication skills.
8. Situational and Business awareness  

Core Education/Experiences Preference  

1. GD&T skills
2. Ability to handle Metrology equipment, read & analyse component's radiography reports, metallurgical reports, CMM reports, 3D scanning reports etc. to take manufacturing process corrections as necessary
3. IATF 16949 Lead auditor Certification, VDA 6.3 Auditor Certification. 
4. Ability to train suppliers on Cummins requirements

About UsCummins is an equal opportunity employer. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, sex, color, disability, national origin, age, religion, union affiliation, sexual orientation, veteran status, citizenship, gender identity, or other status protected by law.