What are the responsibilities and job description for the Quality Manager - Manufacturing position at Spectra Logic?
Quality Manager - Manufacturing
Boulder, Colorado
Spectra Logic is a great company that values your skills, providing a work environment that is challenging and meaningful with a culture that is casual and friendly.
Summary
The Quality Manager is responsible for leading and continuously improving the quality management system across all phases of manufacturing — from early-stage, low-volume production through high-volume scale-up. This role owns the full quality lifecycle for complex electromechanical products, ensuring that processes, systems, and supplier relationships are built on auditable, best-practice foundations. The Quality Manager drives a culture of proactive quality through structured methodologies including 8D problem solving and statistical process control, and serves as the primary liaison between engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and customers on all quality matters.
Essential Functions
- Own and continuously improve the ISO 9001 quality management system, including documentation, records, and audit readiness. Plan and execute internal audit program; drive timely closure of audit findings
- Lead 8D investigations for internal nonconformances, customer complaints, and supplier escapes — driving root cause identification through to verified, sustainable corrective action
- Develop and maintain a scalable quality infrastructure capable of supporting products through initial low-volume builds into high-volume production
- Manage first article inspection (FAI) and part approval processes for new and changed components
- Establish and maintain a statistical process control (SPC/SQC) program to monitor critical product and process characteristics
- Own and lead the Engineering Change (EC) process — partnering with engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain to evaluate quality impact, control implementation, and ensure changes are validated and documented before release to production.
- Lead or support quality activities during new product introduction (NPI), including DFM/DFA reviews and process validation
- Develop and report quality KPIs to leadership, including first pass yield, scrap, cost of poor quality (COPQ), customer return rates, and supplier quality metrics
Additional requirements
- Partner with supply chain to qualify suppliers, conduct supplier audits, and drive supplier corrective actions
- Maintain and improve the calibration management system, ensuring all measurement tools and fixtures are controlled and traceable
- Support customer audits, site visits, and quality-related communications; respond to customer quality concerns professionally and promptly
- Manage incoming inspection, in-process inspection, and final inspection programs, including sampling plans and acceptance criteria
- Support Lean and continuous improvement initiatives in partnership with operations
Qualifications/Prior Experience/Competencies
- 10 years of progressive quality engineering or quality management experience in a complex manufacturing environment
- Strong analytical and data-driven problem-solving skills; proficiency with Excel or equivalent; SQL or database experience a plus
- Ability to read and interpret complex engineering drawings, including GD&T
- Experience scaling quality systems alongside production volume growth — from low-volume/prototype builds through high-rate manufacturing (preferred)
Education/Certification
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Applied Science, or a closely related field
- ISO 9001 Lead Auditor certification preferred (or demonstrated equivalent experience conducting third-party or customer audits)
Candidates must reside within commuting distance of our Boulder, CO office. Relocation assistance is not available. Only local candidates will be considered
Compensation: Compensation - $120,000 - $165,000. While this salary range is a good faith and reasonable estimate, a candidate’s actual salary will be competitive based on a variety of factors including the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and experience.
WHY SPECTRA?
Located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado, Spectra is an entrepreneurial, private company with more than 40 years of proven success preserving, protecting and defending the world’s data. Spectra offers a challenging, flexible and creative work environment. Our culture is one that drives personal opportunity and advancement and rewards high performance while maintaining a high-quality work-life balance. We offer a casual, hybrid work environment with ample opportunity to learn and grow within the company. Work out on your own or with our trainer at one of the on-campus gyms; grab lunch or snacks onsite or challenge the CEO to a game of pinball; and grow your career with peers who are second to none.
SPECTRA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Spectra is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we never discriminate against applicants or employees on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other characteristics protected by applicable law
Salary : $120,000 - $165,000