Supplier Development Engineer

Role Definition

Assesses the supplier quality and ensures that all the products are free from defects and are in compliance with manufacturing specifications and legal standards.

Responsibilities

Ensuring the quality of supplies by conducting tests and assessments on incoming supplies to identify any quality issues; Developing supplier inspection, testing, and evaluation mechanism. Generating reports on supplier quality, by monitoring their defect rates and areas that can lead to potential flaws; Guiding suppliers to reduce these defect rates. Researching the potential vendors, assessing their manufacturing environment, practices, and procedures; Conducting supplier quality control audits to ensure compliance with organizational and federal policies and standards. Supporting suppliers in improving their performance through process enhancements, implementing process controls, and developing quality assurance plans.

Degree Requirement

Degree or equivalent experience desired

Skill Descriptors Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.Level Working Knowledge: Delivers helpful feedback that focuses on behaviors without offending the recipient. Listens to feedback without defensiveness and uses it for own communication effectiveness. Makes oral presentations and writes reports needed for own work. Avoids technical jargon when inappropriate. Looks for and considers non-verbal cues from individuals and groups.

Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.Level Extensive Experience: Ensures capture of lessons to be learned from a problem-solving effort.

Organizes potential problem solvers and leads problem resolution efforts. Uses varying problem-solving approaches and techniques as appropriate. Contributes to standard practices for problem-solving approaches, tools, and processes. Analyzes and synthesizes information and devises alternative resolution strategies. Develops successful resolutions to critical or wide-impact problems.

Process Improvement: Understanding and insight into evaluating current product quality and production methods and ability to maintains focus on the continuous improvement of processes, products and services.

Level Extensive Experience: Streamlines the critical workflow for executing key processes. Sets priorities for addressing process problems that limit performance. Develops methods for improving and establishing controls for critical processes. Monitors external sources for applicable new methods and controls. Analyzes findings from improvement cycles to ensure success of interventions. Coaches others to develop the skills to improve processes.

Quality Orientation: Knowledge of quality management methods, tools, and techniques; ability to create and support an environment that meets the quality goals of the organization.

Level Extensive Experience: Collaborates with other groups to develop quality standards that are synchronized across units. Defines quality from multiple perspectives - e.g., operational, employee, customer, market.

Applies current best practices to modify standards and improve quality outcomes. Resolves apparent discrepancies between quality and safety objectives. Monitors intangible measures of quality such as perceived quality to ensure operational outcomes are relevant to stakeholders. Coaches team members in applying methodologies for quality assurance.

Production Part Approval Process (PPAP): Knowledge of Production Part Approval Processes (PPAP) elements, submissions, and objectives; ability to determine whether a supplier can manufacture products that meet the quality requirements and standards of their customers consistently.

Level Extensive Experience: Develops testing and validation procedures to test the quality of manufactured parts/products so that it meets desired customer standards. Identifies and resolves key issues with PPAP implementation and submissions. Monitors the execution of PPAP steps within a facility and ensures their compliance with industry standards and internal guidelines.

Oversees PPAP implementation; establishes a high trust relationship between stakeholders. Reviews the complex documentation and elements required during the PPAP submission process. Trains others on the execution of PPAP to get the required approvals and teaches them about the different PPAP submission levels.

Manufacturing Standards, Procedures and Policies: Knowledge of organizational standards, procedures and policies in manufacturing activities; ability to plan, guide, and monitor manufacturing processes for compliance.

Level Extensive Experience: Ensures communication vehicles are effectively informing affected areas and personnel. Consults on development and implementation of cross-functional standards. Participates in the development of organizational policies and practices.

Develops and uses control and monitoring mechanisms for adherence. Collaborates with other functions on establishing and documenting joint standards. Participates in defining architectural principles and standards for organization.

Supplier Management - MFG: Knowledge of processes and methods to effectively manage business relationships and transactions with suppliers of raw materials or product components; ability to apply related knowledge, experience and skills into real practice.

Level Extensive Experience: Facilitates supplier partnering arrangements that share risk and reward. Monitors supplier performance; works to resolve discrepancies between performance and agreements. Develops quality standards and controls for suppliers. Builds and maintains partnerships with multiple and/or large suppliers. Evaluates issues and terminates supplier relationships as appropriate; works with legal departments. Ensures the fulfillment of report and record-keeping requirements.

Supplier Evaluations and Certification: Knowledge of supplier evaluations and certification; ability to identify the methods, tools and documentation for evaluating, selecting and certifying vendors, suppliers and partners.Level Extensive Experience: Evaluates potential suppliers for a wide variety of products.

Develops a preferred suppliers list for selection and evaluation. Designs key aspects of and processes for evaluating a supplier's capabilities. Compares and contrasts alternative methods and tools for the evaluation of organizations and products. Analyzes and resolves supplier product quality, support, or pricing problems. Works with multiple evaluation, selection, and certification initiatives.