Career Area:

Job Description:

Job Summary
Lead the systems that drive quality, compliance, and continuous improvement. As the Lead Internal ISO Auditor, you will own and lead the internal audit program, ensuring effective implementation of ISO standards and quality management system requirements. You will coordinate audit activities, mentor internal auditors, drive corrective actions, and support external audit readiness. Through collaboration with quality, manufacturing, and operational teams, you will help strengthen compliance, improve process effectiveness, and foster a culture of operational excellence.

What You Will Do

• Lead the organization's Internal Audit Program, ensuring compliance with ISO 9001 requirements and applicable quality management system standards.

• Plan, coordinate, and maintain the annual internal audit schedule to ensure all required processes, functions, and quality system elements are assessed within established timeframes.

• Lead internal audits and guide auditors through planning, execution, reporting, and follow-up activities.

• Coach and develop internal auditors by providing training, mentorship, and guidance on audit methodologies, compliance requirements, and best practices.

• Evaluate processes, documentation, and quality system effectiveness to identify risks, nonconformances, and opportunities for improvement.

• Facilitate root cause analysis and corrective action activities to address audit findings and prevent recurrence of quality system issues.

• Monitor corrective actions through completion and verify effectiveness to ensure sustainable improvements.

• Partner with manufacturing, quality, engineering, and operations teams to drive compliance and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Support external certification and surveillance audit readiness activities by assisting with audit preparation, documentation reviews, and compliance verification efforts.

• Support interactions with external auditors, certification bodies, and regulatory representatives as required.

• Analyze audit results, identify trends, and communicate findings and recommendations to leadership and key stakeholders.

• Promote a culture of quality, compliance, and continuous improvement across the organization.

Degree Requirement

Bachelor's degree in Quality, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience in internal auditing, quality systems, compliance, or quality management.

What You Will Have

• Accuracy and Attention to Detail: Basic understanding the necessity and value of accuracy; ability to complete tasks with high levels of precision.

  • Explains the importance of accuracy in own function or unit.

  • Identifies tasks or outputs that require accuracy and detail-level attention.

  • Identifies the procedures for making sure that results are mistake-free.

• Collaborating: Working knowledge of collaborative techniques; ability to work with a variety of individuals and groups in a constructive and collaborative manner.

  • Demonstrates experience participating in productive collaborative processes.

  • Assists in communicating shared goals with relevant groups and parties.

  • Helps promote collaboration across generations, functions, regions, and levels.

• Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Basic understanding and knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.

  • Identifies issues and communicates with others when a decision needs to be made.

  • Names decision makers in own environment and cites examples of past decisions.

  • Describes types of decisions incumbent may and may not make in own job or function.

• Flexibility and Adaptability: Basic understanding and knowledge of successful approaches and techniques for dealing with change; ability to adapt to a changing environment and be comfortable with change.

  • Seeks value in new ways of doing things.

  • Easily copes with day-to-day frustrations, adversities and uncertainties.

• Problem Solving: Working knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.

  • Identifies and documents specific problems and resolution alternatives.

  • Develops alternative techniques for assessing accuracy and relevance of information.

  • Helps to analyze risks and benefits of alternative approaches and obtain decision on resolution.

• Quality Management System (QMS): Basic understanding and knowledge of Quality Management System's (QMS) functions, features, and capabilities; ability to design, implement, test, and maintain Quality Management Systems to consistently meet customer requirements and regulatory compliances.

  • Explains the main features, functions, and capabilities of QMS.

  • Understands the role of QMS in implementing a formalized system for documenting manufacturing processes and procedures to meet customer requirements and regulatory compliances.

Additional Requirements

• Experience leading or conducting internal audits within a manufacturing, quality, or regulated environment.

• Working knowledge of Quality Management Systems (QMS), ISO 9001 requirements, and compliance auditing principles.

• Experience facilitating root cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple priorities, influence cross-functional teams, and communicate audit findings effectively.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Experience leading an internal audit program, including audit planning, scheduling, execution, and follow-up activities.

• Lead Auditor or Lead Assessor training/certification and experience auditing against ISO 9001 and/or IATF 16949 requirements.

• Knowledge of quality tools and methodologies such as PPAP, PFMEA, FMEA, and risk-based auditing approaches.

• Experience coaching auditors, supporting external certification audits, and partnering with certification bodies or regulatory organizations.

Additional Information

• This position requires the candidate to work a 5-day-a-week schedule in the office.

• Travel less than 10% is possible.

• Relocation is available for this position.

• Visa sponsorship is NOT available for this position.

This Job Description is intended as a general guide to the job duties for this position and is intended for the purpose of establishing the specific salary grade. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as an exhaustive summary of all responsibilities, duties and effort required of employees assigned to this job.

At the discretion of management, this description may be changed at any time to address the evolving needs of the organization. It is expressly not intended to be a comprehensive list of “essential job functions” as that term is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Summary Pay Range:

Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar. 

Benefits:

Subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits*

• Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*

• 401(k) savings plans*

• Health Savings Account (HSA)*

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*

• Health Lifestyle Programs*

• Employee Assistance Program*

• Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*

• Career Development*

• Incentive bonus*

• Disability benefits

• Life Insurance

• Parental leave

• Adoption benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement

* These benefits also apply to part-time employees

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