As a Customer Quality Engineer (CQE), you will be responsible for ensuring customer quality requirements are met and lead the resolution of customer quality issues across the product lifecycle. You will be the primary quality liaison between customers and internal cross functional teams, driving root cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives. The CQE plays a critical role in maintaining customer satisfaction, compliance with quality standards, and sustained product and process performance.
Key Responsibilities
Customer Quality & Issue Management
Lead resolution of customer quality issues, ensuring compliance with the QMS, effective use of ETQ, and ownership of final RCA response and closure.
Manage customer claims, concerns, and complaints through timely containment, RCA, permanent action verification, response, and closure.
Serve as the escalation point for high‑severity customer issues, supporting rapid resolution and customer satisfaction.
Ensure customer‑specific requirements are understood, documented, and embedded in internal processes, representing the voice of the customer during MOC activities.
Act as gatekeeper for the Customer Feedback (ETQ) process, with authority to review, prioritize, approve, and close requests; validate root cause effectiveness; authorize corrective actions; and ensure actions are implemented, verified, and sustained.
Root Cause Analysis & Corrective Action
Lead structured problem solving using recognized or customer‑required methodologies (e.g., 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone, Is/Is Not).
Coordinate cross‑functional teams to investigate internal and external nonconformances.
Ensure root causes are evidence‑based and corrective and preventive actions address systemic failure modes with urgency and sustainability, including applicability to similar technologies or processes.
Partner with regional quality leadership to share RCA learnings across PPG sites to mitigate risk of recurrence.
Customer Communication & Relationship Management
Serve as the primary contact for customer quality issues, representing PPG professionally during customer meetings, reviews, and audits.
Provide clear, timely communication on issue status, risks, investigations, escalations, and recovery plans to manage customer expectations.
Build and maintain strong working relationships with customer plant leadership and engineering teams.
Proactively identify quality risks and coordinate preventive actions aligned with the PPG plant quality management system.
Quality Systems, Standards & Audits
Promote compliance with customer‑specific requirements (CSRs), IATF standards, and PPG internal standards (APQP, FMEA, LPA).
Lead customer‑specific audits for customers in escalation status, in partnership with the QA Manager.
Drive data‑driven continuous improvement initiatives to reduce complaint rates and improve quality performance.
Collaborate with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Supply Chain, Sales, Planning, Technical Laboratories, and Customer Service to resolve issues and improve customer scorecard performance.
Support packaging, handling, storage, logistics, and transportation quality initiatives as needed.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Number and severity of customer complaints
Repeat complaint rate
Timeliness and effectiveness of root cause analysis and corrective actions
Open and past due customer action items
Customer satisfaction feedback and performance scorecards
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of experience in technical development, customer quality, manufacturing quality, or automotive engineering.
Demonstrated knowledge of problem solving methodologies and quality tools.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast paced, customer focused environment.
The person who will be successful in this role is comfortable driving cross-functional teams without direct authority while creating an atmosphere of collaboration, respect, and a continuous improvement.
Strong judgment and decision making skills, with the ability to evaluate data, assess risk, and make sound, timely decisions in a customer facing environment.
Preferred Qualifications
Automotive industry and coatings experience.
Working knowledge of IATF 16949.
Experience supporting customer and third party audits.
Working Conditions & Travel
The base salary range for this position is $90,000 to $120,000, with the possibility of an annual bonus up to 7% of base salary. PPG offers comprehensive benefits such as Health, Dental, Life, Retirement Plan, Paid Vacation & Holidays, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Disability/Leave, and other Voluntary benefit offerings. Actual benefit offerings confirmed at the time of hire.
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