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Hitachi Rail USA is seeking a Lead - Quality Control Engineer to lead and oversee all quality control and quality assurance activities within Rolling Stock operations, ensuring compliance with customer, contractual, regulatory, and company requirements. This role provides technical and people leadership by managing quality personnel, driving continuous improvement initiatives, establishing and enforcing quality standards, and ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality products and services. Working closely with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Management teams, the Lead - Quality Control Engineer develops and maintains effective quality systems, monitors performance against project and operational objectives, and supports Hitachi Rail's commitment to operational excellence, product reliability, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement. In addition, the role is responsible for ensuring that supplier-provided materials, components, and services meet Hitachi Rail's quality standards and contractual requirements. This position requires the handling of sensitive and confidential information with the highest degree of professionalism, discretion, and integrity.

Accountabilities

Main tasks & the responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Prepare and complete action plans, as needed to identify and resolve operational problems.
• Participate in internal and external quality audits, as needed or required, to determine system improvements necessary achieve Rolling Stock’s continuous improvement objectives.
• Lead and coordinate the Quality Control team across manufacturing, incoming, in-process, and final inspection activities, ensuring adequate resource allocation, effective communication, compliance with quality requirements and achievement of production and project milestones.
• Set quality control/assurance performance objectives by identifying contract requirements; estimating results; analysing variances; and initiating corrective actions.
• Develop quality control/assurance plans by conducting quality analyses; identifying critical control points and preventive measures; establishing critical limits, monitoring procedures for maximum effectiveness, and implementing corrective actions when operational or procedural nonconformities are identified.
• Validate quality processes by establishing or identifying customer and product specifications and quality attributes; measuring production; documenting evidence; determining operational and performance qualification; writing and updating quality assurance procedures.
• Develop and review quality inspection and test plans for new product development and legacy production parts.
• Coordinate the review and resolution of non-conformances, liaising with internal stakeholders and suppliers to develop, implement and monitor corrective and preventative action plans.
• Enhance company and organization’s reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Review and approve supplier quality documentation, including inspection/test reports, certificates of conformity, and process validations.
• Coordinate with suppliers to resolve quality issues, track corrective actions, and ensure timely delivery of conforming products.
• Travel as required to supplier facilities and customer sites to perform First Article Inspections (FAI), in-process inspections, and pre-shipment inspections, ensuring product quality and compliance prior to delivery.
• Ensuring that all inspection activities defined in the Manufacturing Inspection Plan (MIP) are fully executed by the responsible inspection teams, verifying that each required checkpoint is performed according to approved procedures and product specifications, ensuring that all inspection results, records, and evidence of conformity are properly linked to the product.
• Serve as the primary liaison with customer resident inspectors, coordinating schedules, ensuring inspection teams are prepared, and providing all necessary supporting documentation and technical explanations
• Work with internal teams to quickly address and resolve any issues or questions raised by customer resident inspectors, ensuring timely response, corrective documentation, and clear communication
• Monitor and support continuous improvement of internal inspection processes to enhance consistency, reliability, and compliance with evolving customer and regulatory requirements

Required Skills/ Knowledge

• 6 -10 years or more of experience in quality control / quality engineering, performing or supervising quality inspections or experience managing quality assurance, in a manufacturing organization in the aerospace, automotive or passenger transportation industries (passenger airplanes, passenger cars, passenger buses, or passenger rail vehicles). 
• Demonstrated experience leading quality teams, managing complex quality projects and driving cross-functional quality improvement initiatives. 
• Experience or training in Process Controls and/or Improvement, Analysing Information, Strategic Planning, Good Verbal and Written Communication Skills, Ability to analyse and interpret Engineering and Management Reports, ISO 9001:2015 Quality Requirements.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem‐solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
• Good supervisory and leadership skills.
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is required for reporting and data analysis.

Desired Skills/ Knowledge

• Experience in process control and improvement methodologies, data analysis, strategic planning, and the interpretation of engineering and management reports, with a strong understanding of ISO 9001:2015 quality requirements.
• Experience with database management and project tracking software, ERP systems such as SAP are preferred.
• Ability to conduct investigations, perform root cause analysis, and develop effective solutions.

Education/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Quality Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) certification is preferred.

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk. The employee occasionally is required to stand; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear.
• The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 40 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 75 pounds.

Work Environment:

• This position is in a warehouse/production environment. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.
• The performance of this position requires exposure to the manufacturing areas where certain areas require.
• Occasional travel is required for supplier visits and inspection activities.

Benefits:

Hitachi Rail employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package including Competitive Pay, Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance, Short & Long-Term Disability, Life & Accident Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, a Retirement Savings Plan, and Paid Vacation. We also offer a number of Work/Life Programs such as Flextime and a variety of Training and Development opportunities. 

The salary range for this position is $97,952 to $146,929 per year.  Final pay is determined by the candidate’s experience, skillset and ability level, internal equity and location.

In accordance with the DOT’s FRA and FTA programs, Hitachi’s substance screening program tests pre-employment candidates and current employees, as required for safety-sensitive positions.

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