Director of Quality

The Position

Reporting to Chief Operations Officer, the Director of Quality is responsible for the overall strategic design, planning, and execution of GEOTEK’s Quality Management System (QMS), ensuring that GEOTEK’s products, processes, and practices meet the standards our customers have come to expect while simultaneously remaining aligned with our business objectives.

The Director of Quality has responsibility for designing, implementing, monitoring, and improving all elements of GEOTEK’s Quality Management System, including (but not limited to) ISO9001 certification, in-process quality assurance, audits, calibration, supplier quality including First Article inspection, root cause investigation and corrective action, overall QMS documentation control, management and disposition of non-conforming materials, and customer concern resolution.

At GEOTEK, a trained workforce is an important pillar of quality assurance, and the Director of Quality has responsibility (in close partnership with production managers) for organizing, scheduling, documenting, and facilitating delivery of manufacturing job training to our direct labor workforce.

The Director of Quality is expected to be a strong communicator, both written and verbally, effectively crafting and delivering the intended message, and adjusting for the target audience which may include individual discussions with production floor personnel, presentations to senior management in the office, or presentations to customers.

Partnering and coordinating with the Commercial team to support customer audits, quality system focused customer visits, and management of customer concerns in a way that aligns with our go-to-market strategy is an expectation of the Director of Quality. The Director of Quality will lead all customer concern investigations by owning our process for immediate containment, root cause investigation, and long-term corrective action to prevent recurrence. Through this process they will have responsibility, in close communication with the Commercial team, for coordinating communication and designing follow-up actions that align the customer’s expectations with our business objectives, in a way that aligns with our strong external brand identity of trust, urgency, credibility, professionalism, and reliability.

Major elements of the Director of Quality’s responsibilities include:

• Design, development, execution, and overall leadership of GEOTEK’s Quality program that meets or exceeds customer expectations, while also meeting business objectives.
• Oversees GEOTEK’s Quality Management System, ensuring compliance with, and certification to, the ISO 9001:2015 standard.
• Provide overall leadership and development to the Quality team; develop and execute an organizational strategy that ensures GEOTEK’s quality objectives and priorities can be met and Operations is supported on all shifts to deliver quality.
• Plan and execute strategic projects and initiatives with the Quality team, as well as the broader cross-functional team, providing project management and leadership to ensure deliverables are achieved on-time and on-spec.
• Oversees and leads the delivery of job training to manufacturing employees, leveraging workforce training to improve safety, quality, and productivity.
• Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics to monitor GEOTEK’s quality performance, analyze the data, and then initiate and lead continuous improvement projects to improve and reduce the cost of quality.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of employees, across all functions of the organization as well as with suppliers.
• Foster a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and continuous improvement with all GEOTEK employees both in the office and on the production floor; take GEOTEK’s quality message and execution to the work area with on-the-floor support.
• Maintain and expand monitoring and audit programs to ensure quality programs are adhered to and effective; use statistical analysis and controls to monitor quality and help define process capabilities.
• Actively manage and lead the root cause investigation and corrective action process including customer complaints, internal findings, and purchased product and material; utilize structured problem solving and data analysis techniques to arrive at root cause.
• Develop and maintain an effective supplier quality program, including supplier auditing and monitoring, first article inspection, and incoming receiving inspection, that ensures incoming materials conform to GEOTEK’s specifications.
• Manage and disposition non-conforming material, minimizing the cost of quality without reducing delivered product quality, initiating corrective action as necessary.
• Lead investigations into customer complaints, concerns, or issues, ensuring customer quality gets the highest organizational priority, and then designs solutions which align the customer’s expectations with GEOTEK’s business objectives.
• Communicates effectively with all GEOTEK team members, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders, adjusting the delivery style to accommodate the target audience while ensuring the intended message is delivered accurately and efficiently.

Candidate Profile

The Director of Quality is responsible for providing overall leadership and management to the Quality department, a team of quality technicians who focus on GEOTEK’s quality initiatives. The Director of Quality is expected to be a leader within the company, providing direction, alignment, and motivation to teams not only within the Quality department, but also cross-functionally, leading teams of all sizes and compositions to achieve GEOTEK’s business objectives.

This key position requires a minimum of eight years combined quality, operations, engineering, and manufacturing leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably with a technical and engineered product. Experience in both discrete and continuous process manufacturing along with composite manufacturing experience is highly desirable. An undergraduate degree in engineering or a related field is required; an advanced degree is desired.

Additional qualifications include:

• Quality Systems: Strong quality background with a broad understanding of engineering principles, quality systems (especially ISO 9001 compliant systems), product specifications, and regulatory requirements. Be expert in Quality Management Systems and Operational Excellence at an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer.
• SPC/Six Sigma: Experience with statistical process control and other six sigma principles. Greenbelt, Blackbelt, or Master Blackbelt certification is preferred.
• Problem Solver: A skilled and experienced problem solver with bias towards simplicity yet is skilled in structured problem-solving techniques for more complicated situations.
• Organization: Is organized, systematic, and analytical, yet agile and flexible with the ability (and willingness) to meet people/situations where they are at; brings organization and structure when needed.
• Strategic: Thinks, plans, and acts strategically with the big picture in mind, but able to execute tactically to achieve results.
• Leadership/Vision: Will have a vision for an improved future state, a passion for continuous improvement, yet willing and able to meet us where we are to start.
• Leadership/Results: Will be an experienced leader with a track record of delivering results and a mastery of leading teams of various sizes and compositions.
• Communication: Will be a strong communicator with an innate ability to craft and deliver the intended message clearly, efficiently, and accurately to the intended audience.
• Executive Presence: Will have strong executive presence and awareness, yet accessible and approachable on the production floor as well as in the office.
• Work Ethic: A strong work ethic and energetic style; a self-starter who sets the example through action and creates an environment of high expectations.
• Agility/Flexibility: Demonstrates flexibility to be outcome focused; skilled in working from a vision (developing their own situational awareness) and then providing direction, alignment, and motivation to a team to achieve an outcome, navigating obstacles along the way.
• Training: Experienced with integrating floor training as a tool to manage and improve quality.
• Floor Presence: A willingness and desire to be “on the floor”, keeping an active eye on quality.

Location:

The Director of Quality is an onsite role based in GEOTEK’s Stewartville, Minnesota, headquarters.