Location: Vancouver, BC
Travel: Frequent travel to China, including regular visits to manufacturers, vendors, and test labs
Employment type: Full-time
Department: Hardware / Engineering
About the roleMetaOptima is looking for a Vancouver-based Supplier Quality & Manufacturing Engineer to support the production and prototyping of our hardware products with manufacturing partners in China.
This role exists to improve production quality, reduce batch-to-batch and unit-to-unit variation, strengthen technical communication with Chinese manufacturers and vendors, and ensure production follows MetaOptima's approved specifications, BOMs, drawings, work instructions, test procedures, and change-control processes.
The ideal candidate has strong supplier-quality discipline, practical manufacturing experience, fluent Mandarin, strong professional English, and the ability to work closely with both a Canadian engineering team and Chinese manufacturing partners.
ResponsibilitiesSupplier quality and factory oversight- Travel to China to support prototype builds, pilot builds, production runs, factory reviews, and shipment inspections.
- Verify that production follows approved BOMs, drawings, work instructions, fixtures, software/firmware versions, and inspection criteria.
- Identify and document quality issues affecting mechanical assembly, moving assemblies, device mounting, cable routing, power/charging, cosmetic quality, calibration, packaging, and end-of-line testing.
- Detect and escalate unauthorized part substitutions, process changes, rework methods, or configuration changes.
- Support supplier qualification, component sample review, and local vendor communication.
Incoming inspection, first-article inspection, and production test- Create, maintain, and execute incoming inspection and production inspection checklists.
- Lead or witness first-article inspection for new builds, changed components, changed processes, or new suppliers.
- Verify end-of-line testing is completed and documented for each unit.
- Review test logs, calibration records, serial numbers, photos/videos, and inspection evidence.
- Recommend shipment hold/release based on objective acceptance criteria.
Nonconformance, CAPA, and root cause- Document defects by batch, serial number, severity, suspected root cause, and corrective action.
- Support factory-side root-cause analysis using 8D, CAPA, or equivalent methods.
- Verify corrective actions in later builds.
- Track repeat defects and escalate unresolved or recurring issues.
- Provide clear evidence to MetaOptima's hardware and quality teams.
Configuration and change control- Maintain build-configuration summaries for production batches.
- Confirm that units are built to the approved revision of hardware, firmware, work instructions, packaging, and test procedures.
- Track proposed supplier, BOM, fixture, tooling, firmware, software, or process changes.
- Escalate any undocumented change or deviation before it affects production quality.
Bilingual communication- Communicate directly with Chinese manufacturers, vendors, and test labs in Mandarin.
- Translate technical requirements and issues between English and Mandarin.
- Produce concise English reports for MetaOptima.
- Produce Mandarin technical summaries for manufacturers or vendors when needed.
- Join meetings with MetaOptima, manufacturers, vendors, and labs.
- Help turn factory-side issues into clear engineering actions and business risks.
Requirements- Based in the Vancouver area and able to travel frequently to China.
- Fluent Mandarin and strong professional English.
- 5+ years of experience in supplier quality, manufacturing engineering, quality engineering, or production engineering.
- Experience with electromechanical products.
- Experience working with contract manufacturers.
- Able to read BOMs, drawings, assembly instructions, inspection plans, and test procedures.
- Experience with incoming inspection, first-article inspection, production testing, nonconformance reporting, root-cause analysis, and CAPA/8D.
- Strong documentation discipline.
- Comfortable challenging manufacturers professionally and documenting issues clearly.
- Able to work independently during overseas supplier visits.
- Eligible to travel internationally, including frequent travel to China.
Nice to have- Prior experience working with manufacturers in China, especially Shenzhen, Dongguan, or Guangzhou.
- Experience with clinical hardware, medical devices, imaging hardware, robotics, automation, consumer electronics, or precision assembly.
- ISO 9001 or ISO 13485 exposure.
- Experience with test fixtures, calibration procedures, and end-of-line test systems.
- Experience coordinating external test labs.
- Familiarity with IEC 60601, EMC, photobiological safety, radio certification, or product safety testing workflows.
- Experience with packaging inspection and shipment-readiness checks.
