Quality Engineer

Job Title: Quality Engineer – Plastic Bottle Manufacturing

Job Summary:

The Quality Engineer will use data-driven techniques to ensure that all plastic bottle products meet customer specifications, industry standards, and regulatory requirements. This role will focus on developing and implementing quality control systems and eliminating defects, resolving production issues, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring compliance with ISO and GMP standards in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. This is a key Quality/CI role reporting directly to the Plant Manager and working closely with the Operations Manager and Technical teams. There are no direct reports for this role so you need the toolset to influence people, facilitate problem solving, and achieve Plant Quality performance goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• Quality Systems & Standards
• Support the Development, implementation, and maintenance of quality assurance processes in compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 22000, GMP, SQF and relevant regulatory standards.
• Facilitate Corrective Actions to process audits, product inspections, and supplier quality evaluations.
• Revise, Improve, maintain quality documentation, including SOPs, work instructions, and inspection records.
• Process & Product Control
• Monitor manufacturing processes such as injection molding, blow molding, and extrusion to ensure adherence to specifications.
• Establish Critical Process Parameters for control using SPC
• Implement Lean tools such as Poka-Yoke, Kanban, Andon to reduce defects
• Develop and maintain sampling plans, inspection criteria, and control charts for in-process and finished products.
• Troubleshoot and resolve quality issues related to raw materials, tooling, and finished bottles.
• Testing & Inspection
• Oversee dimensional checks, visual inspections, leak tests, top-load tests, wall-thickness checks, and other quality tests.
• Incoming Inspection criteria and process
• Manage laboratory equipment calibration and maintenance schedules.
• Investigate customer complaints and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Continuous Improvement
• Establish measurable, impactful KPIs and demonstrate
• Apply root cause analysis; Pareto, Fishbone, 5Why and other problem-solving techniques to reduce defects and scrap rates.
• Use of DMAIC in formal problem solving with Layered Audit controls
• Waste Elimination using Lean principles
• Reduction of Variability via controlling critical process parameters
• Identify and facilitate lean manufacturing and Six Sigma projects to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
• Work closely with production, maintenance, and R&D teams to drive product quality improvements.
• Training & Collaboration
• Train operators and inspectors on quality standards, defect recognition, and proper handling procedures.
• Train Statistical Process Control (SPC) theory and practical application
• Collaborate with suppliers on raw material quality and certification.
• Create Inspection Plans used by the Plant and Customer
• Support new product development with quality input on tooling and process validation.
  

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Polymer Science, Operations Mgt or related field.
• 5-7 years of continuous improvement, quality engineering experience in plastic manufacturing (preferably blow molding, injection molding, or packaging).
• Knowledge of ISO standards, GMP, SPC, FMEA, APQP, PPAP, and CAPA processes.
• Familiarity with testing methods for plastic bottles (leak test, top-load test, impact resistance, etc.).
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office, Minitab, SPC or other statistical analysis tools.
  
  
  

Preferred Skills:

• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt training / certification.
• Experience with ERP/MES quality modules.
• Automated Data Collection, Analytics tools such as Power BI
• Knowledge of FDA and food-contact packaging compliance.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in cross-functional teams.