Role: Design Quality Engineer

Location: Fairport, NY

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and hands-on Design Quality Engineer to join our Industrialization team at Qualitrol. Reporting to the Global Industrialization Director, this role will partner with R&D, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Global Quality, Supply Chain, and other teams to ensure products are designed for quality, manufacturability, reliability, testability, and long-term performance.

This is a multidisciplinary engineering role with a strong emphasis on mechanical designquality and manufacturing, complemented by working knowledge of electronic hardware, PCB/PCBA manufacturing, and software/firmware quality.

The Design Quality Engineer will engage early in the product development lifecycle to identify Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) requirements, assess design and manufacturing risks, establish verification and production test strategies, and ensure robust transition of products from development into production. The successful candidate will combine strong engineering fundamentals, practical problem solving, and a continuous-improvement mindset with a willingness to adopt AI, automation, and data-driven engineering tools.

Here9;s Where You9ll Demonstrate Your Proficiency

• Design Quality & Manufacturability: Partner with product development teams from concept through production to ensure products are designed for quality, manufacturability, assembly, testability, serviceability, and reliability. Translate customer and product requirements into measurable CTQs and apply DFM/DFA principles to reduce manufacturing complexity, variation, defects, and cost.

• Mechanical Design Quality: Provide quality engineering leadership for mechanical components, assemblies, enclosures, interfaces, and electromechanical products. Review engineering drawings, specifications, materials, tolerances, and manufacturing requirements. Apply knowledge of GD&T, tolerance analysis, dimensional inspection, and mechanical fit/function to identify and mitigate design and manufacturing risks.

• Manufacturing Processes: Evaluate processes such as machining, sheet metal fabrication, molding, casting, fastening, sealing, bonding, and mechanical assembly. Identify potential failure mechanisms involving tolerance stack-up, vibration, shock, thermal effects, environmental exposure, wear, material selection, and assembly variation.

• Electronics & PCB Quality: Participate in electronic hardware and PCB/PCBA design reviews with emphasis on manufacturability, assembly, testability, component/process risks, and reliability. Apply working knowledge of schematics, PCB assemblies, electronic components, connectors, soldering, and electronic manufacturing processes.

• Software & System Quality: Collaborate with firmware and software teams on requirements, verification strategies, defect management, and release readiness. Support system-level validation and root-cause investigations involving interactions between mechanical hardware, electronics, firmware, and software.

• FMEA & Risk Management: Lead and maintain DFMEAs and PFMEAs, ensuring identified risks are translated into appropriate design controls, process controls, verification activities, and corrective actions. Incorporate learning from prototypes, validation, manufacturing, suppliers, and field performance.

• Verification, Reliability & Production Testing: Define inspection methods, production tests, acceptance criteria, and validation approaches for mechanical, electrical, and system-level requirements. Develop or oversee test fixtures, gauges, and production test systems. Establish appropriate environmental, thermal, vibration, mechanical stress, life-cycle, and accelerated reliability testing.

• New Product Introduction: Support products through prototype, design verification, pilot production, qualification, and transition to full-scale manufacturing. Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Operations to establish manufacturing processes, quality controls, test requirements, and production-readiness criteria.

• Problem Solving & Continuous Improvement: Lead structured root-cause investigations using methodologies such as 5-Why, Fishbone, 8D, DMAIC, statistical analysis, and DOE. Use manufacturing and quality data to identify trends, reduce variation, improve process capability and yield, and drive sustainable corrective and preventive actions.

• AI, Automation & Digital Engineering: Demonstrate curiosity and willingness to responsibly adopt AI-enabled tools, automation, and data analytics. Identify opportunities to improve failure analysis, quality data analysis, test development, FMEA preparation, technical documentation, and engineering productivity while maintaining appropriate data security, validation, and engineering judgment.

The Successful Candidate Will Demonstrate the Following Skills and Experience

• Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Quality Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• Proven experience in design quality, quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, product development, or a related engineering role.

• Strong understanding of mechanical design and manufacturing principles, including engineering drawings, GD&T, tolerances, materials, assembly methods, dimensional inspection, and manufacturing processes.

• Strong understanding of quality engineering principles including CTQs, DFMEA/PFMEA, root-cause analysis, verification and validation, reliability testing, and process controls.

• Practical knowledge of Six Sigma statistical methods, including process capability analysis, control charts, measurement system analysis (MSA), hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and design of experiments (DOE).

• Experience developing inspection methods, production tests, test fixtures, gauges, or validation methods.

• Working knowledge of electronic products and PCB/PCBA manufacturing sufficient to participate effectively in multidisciplinary design and quality reviews.

• Exposure to software and/or firmware development and testing practices.

• Experience supporting products through development and transition into manufacturing.

• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and cross-functional problem-solving skills.

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