What are the responsibilities and job description for the Supplier Quality Engineer position at Newmar Corporation?
A Little About Us: Operating since 1968, Newmar Corporation has been helping customers explore the outdoor lifestyle, enabling extraordinary mobile experiences as they travel, live, work, and play. Newmar has been synonymous in the RV industry with luxury, quality, and innovative motor coaches. In every part of our company, we relentlessly pursue continuous improvement and enhanced productivity, driving out waste, and creating meaningful strategic differentiation. Newmar is part of Winnebago Industries, Inc. a leading U.S. manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle experiences under the Winnebago, Newmar, Grand Design, Chris-Craft, and Barletta brands.
Primary Objective of Position: To ensure the quality, capability, and performance of the supply base by leading supplier qualification, development, and continuous improvement activities. This role drives proactive risk mitigation, structured problem-solving, and cross‑functional collaboration to ensure that all sourced materials, components, and processes meet company, customer, and regulatory quality requirements. The Supplier Quality Engineer strengthens supply chain reliability, reduces defects and disruptions, and supports operational excellence.
Key Areas of Responsibility
Primary Objective of Position: To ensure the quality, capability, and performance of the supply base by leading supplier qualification, development, and continuous improvement activities. This role drives proactive risk mitigation, structured problem-solving, and cross‑functional collaboration to ensure that all sourced materials, components, and processes meet company, customer, and regulatory quality requirements. The Supplier Quality Engineer strengthens supply chain reliability, reduces defects and disruptions, and supports operational excellence.
Key Areas of Responsibility
- Lead supplier onboarding, qualification, and risk assessments, including audits and capability evaluations.
- Monitor, analyze, and improve supplier performance using key metrics (PPM, NCRs, cost of quality, audit scores).
- Drive structured root‑cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (8D, 5‑Why, Fishbone, A3) to resolve supplier nonconformances.
- Design, propose, and implement Supplier Development processes, leveraging the application of widely used QMS tools and standards, and adapting those as needed to the RV Industry and Newmar supply base.
- Collaborate with Procurement, Engineering, Quality, and Operations to develop supplier quality strategies and support sourcing decisions.
- Partner with other Business Units’ Supply Chain and Quality teams on Centers of Excellence, sharing best practices and the deployment of enterprise initiatives
- Review and approve supplier First Article Inspection Reports, PPAPs, FMEAs, control plans, and process validation documents.
- Ensure supplier adherence to applicable quality standards and regulatory requirements (e.g., ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485, NHTSA and RVIA codes).
- Facilitate supplier operations reviews and lead continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen capability and reduce variability.
- Support new product introductions by ensuring supplier readiness, process control, and documentation accuracy.
- Maintain supplier quality management records, databases, and issue‑tracking systems.
- Provide technical support to address manufacturing, engineering, and customer issues linked to supplier performance.
- Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and root‑cause investigation skills.
- High attention to detail with the ability to interpret drawings, specifications, and technical requirements.
- Effective communicator with the ability to influence suppliers and internal stakeholders.
- Results‑oriented, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
- Strong negotiation and relationship‑building skills with an emphasis on collaboration.
- Ability to lead without authority and drive accountability within the supply base.
- Continuous improvement mindset with familiarity in Lean/Six Sigma tools.
- Professional, calm, and constructive approach when managing escalations or supplier crises.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Materials, Manufacturing, Industrial, Electrical, or related).
- 3-5 years of experience in Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality, or a similar technical role.
- Experience with quality systems and tools such as 8D, A3, APQP, PPAP, SPC, FMEA, Control Plans, MSA, and process auditing.
- Knowledge of relevant industry standards (ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485, etc., depending on the company).
- Proficiency in interpreting engineering drawings, GD&T, and technical specifications.
- Preferred: Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt), ASQ CQE/CQA, or similar quality credentials.
- Experience working with automotive supply bases is a plus.