Quality Engineer (guangzhou, China) - Remote Eligible

Quality Engineer

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Quality Engineer to join our team in China as we continue to expand our internal capabilities. This role will work in close conjunction with the Product Development team to lead efforts in improving existing products and further expand our market offerings through new product introductions. You will play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and reliability of these products as well as developing the processes and procedures to standardize output across our network of contract manufacturing partners. Additionally, as the main in-region quality team member, you must work directly with our manufacturing partners to ensure quality and compliance requirements are enforced and maintained.

This position is crucial in maintaining our high quality standards and consumer expectations as we continue to bring new product lines to market. You will be at the forefront of leading the quality effort and have the opportunity to set new standards, parameters, and goals within the organization. This role will report to our Asia Quality Lead based in Guangzhou.

The ideal candidate is a motivated, results-oriented professional with a passion for ensuring the highest quality standards in consumer products. The individual must possess strong organizational and time management skills needed to ensure multiple concurrent products have been properly tested, validated, and qualified prior to market launch. Additionally, the candidate must be able to communicate and direct suppliers based on their quality expertise in order to meet both Caraway design, performance, and quality requirements.

To be successful in this role, the candidate must be self-motivated, a hands-on executer, a strong creative problem solver, and thrive working autonomously yet collaboratively. They can interpret raw data to establish quality data tracking, use inputs from multiple sources, and draw concise conclusions to guide suppliers. They are comfortable establishing their own framework and guidelines from scratch rather than working off of established standards and metrics. The ideal candidate will also be skilled and comfortable liaising with external vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers, as well as internal stakeholders, to drive quality initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for end-to-end supplier quality to enable the transition of R&D products to production
• Conduct analyses of current product design, manufacturing processes, and supplier capabilities often to identify potential quality issues and risks. Ensure manufacturing/quality needs are considered in the design phase and proper quality expectations are defined.
• Implement quality control processes and plans, design test methods and gauges, identify potential failure modes, and ensure adherence to international standards and regulations. Collaborate with third-party testing laboratories to ensure compliance with product safety and regulatory requirements.
• Support tooling release and production builds by defining incoming part inspection procedures, tracking build issues, setting containment actions for non-conformances, and monitoring corrective actions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product development, customer support, and supply chain to drive continuous improvement in product quality. Use data from customer support to evaluate top defect drivers, identify root cause, and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) to prevent recurrence with the supplier(s).
• Lead and participate in product quality audits, both internally and at supplier facilities, to assess and address compliance with quality standards and specifications. Stay up to date on regulatory changes related to consumer product quality and recommend appropriate actions to maintain compliance.
• Monitor and assess supplier performance and drive supplier development initiatives to ensure consistent quality of incoming materials and components. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and evaluate metrics across the organization.
• Deliver training programs to educate employees and suppliers on quality standards, processes, and best practices.
• Stay up to date on industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes related to consumer product quality, and recommend appropriate actions to maintain compliance and efficiencies.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Bilingual proficiency in Chinese and English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills in both languages, is a must.
• 3+ years of experience in a supplier quality, quality engineering, or manufacturing engineering role in a high-volume manufacturing environment. Work experience with highly cosmetic products is a plus.
• Thrives in a startup environment where standards and best practices are being established rather than the status quo.
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings. Strong knowledge of quality management systems, methodologies, and tools, such as Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, and Statistical Process Control (SPC) as well as GD&T, measurement systems, and testing.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in driving quality improvements and implementing best practices in a manufacturing or product development environment.
• Deep understanding of international quality standards and regulations applicable to consumer products.
• Excellent analytical, technical writing, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and implement effective corrective actions with creative solutions.
• Experience in supplier management, including conducting supplier audits and driving supplier performance improvements.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with internal teams, suppliers, and external stakeholders.
• Have the ability to travel 25-50% of the time to our manufacturing partner facilities on a short and/or long term (up to 2 weeks at a time) basis, sometimes on short notice.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, advanced degree preferred or equivalent experience.