Director of Manufacturing Quality (QE + QC)

About Us:

Panelmatic, Inc. was founded in 1957 in Youngstown, OH to serve manufacturing industries with the design and build of custom electrical, instrument, and pneumatic control panels. Our business has sufficiently grown over the years to support expansion for our clients. We have produced control packages for many of America's top corporations in the chemical, environmental, food, pulp and paper, rubber, petroleum, pharmaceutical, glass, metals, and utilities industries. We also deliver equipment for use worldwide. Our rigorous methodology assures compliance with domestic and international standards. We can meet the needs of our diverse clientele from start to finish through sales, design, fabrication, testing, and delivery.

Since 1957 we have been known for our high-quality, custom-built control packages, our comprehensive service, and our technological and manufacturing expertise. This expertise assures you of our ability to handle the largest and most complex packages quickly and efficiently.

Job Summary:

The Director of Manufacturing Quality leads manufacturing quality across Panelmatic facilities and is accountable for two complementary pillars: Quality Engineering / Quality Assurance (QE/QA) - focused on preventing defects through robust quality planning and process controls - and Quality Control (QC) - focused on verifying conformance through inspection, testing, containment, and release controls. Site Quality Managers report to the Director of Manufacturing Quality. The Director establishes consistent standards across sites, develops the manufacturing quality organization, and partners closely with Operations, Engineering, QMS/Compliance, Testing, Customer Care, Supplier Quality, and New Product Development/Introduction (NPDI).

 Job Duties:

• Own the manufacturing quality strategy, standards, and deployment model across all Panelmatic sites.
• Lead Quality Engineering activities that prevent defects, including quality planning, risk identification, control plans, PFMEA, process capability, measurement system analysis (MSA), and mistake-proofing.
• Partner with Engineering and NPDI to ensure manufacturing quality requirements, critical-to-quality characteristics, inspection/test criteria, and lessons learned are incorporated before release to production.
• Establish and maintain First Article Inspection (FAI), process qualification, and production-readiness requirements for new or changed products and processes.
• Drive structured problem solving and systemic corrective action using 8D, CAPA, Lean/Six Sigma, Shainin, or other disciplined methods; verify effectiveness and prevent recurrence.
• Lead process audits, layered process verification, quality planning reviews, and manufacturing quality risk reviews.
• Improve manufacturing processes through data analysis, defect Pareto, root-cause Pareto, capability improvement, standard work, error-proofing, and targeted training.
• Develop and maintain manufacturing quality procedures, work instructions, inspection plans, visual standards, and quality documentation in alignment with the company QMS.
• Define and standardize receiving, in-process, final inspection, and functional-test quality controls across manufacturing sites.
• Ensure acceptance criteria are clearly derived from customer drawings, specifications, codes/standards, bills of material, internal requirements, and approved engineering documentation.
• Ensure inspectors and technicians are trained and qualified for assigned inspection and test activities, with clear escalation criteria for nonconforming conditions.
• Maintain robust product identification, status, traceability, inspection/test records, and hold/release controls; prevent unauthorized shipment of nonconforming product.
• Oversee NCR containment and disposition workflow and support MRB decisions with Engineering and Operations; drive timely closure and data integrity.
• Ensure calibration and control of monitoring and measuring equipment is effective, current, and audit-ready.
• Lead containment and quality response for internal escapes, test failures, and manufacturing nonconformities; verify corrective actions before normal controls are restored.
• Audit the effectiveness of QC checkpoints, final inspection, functional testing, and required quality documentation before shipment.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Manufacturing Quality organization, including Site Quality Managers, Quality Engineers, QC Supervisors, Inspectors, and related quality personnel.
• Establish common role expectations, competency requirements, staffing plans, succession plans, and performance standards across sites.
• Set manufacturing quality objectives and conduct routine operating reviews using leading and lagging quality metrics.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to balance quality, delivery, cost, and risk without compromising product conformance or customer requirements.
• Partner with QMS/Compliance to maintain ISO 9001 certification and effective execution of enterprise policies, audits, CAPA, and document-control requirements at manufacturing sites.
• Partner with Supplier Quality on supplier defects, incoming quality risk, supplier containment, and supplier corrective actions; support Approved Supplier List governance as needed.
• Partner with Customer Care and field/service teams on customer complaints, warranty/return trends, reliability issues, and recurring manufacturing-related escapes.
• Represent Manufacturing Quality during customer audits, certification audits, major issue reviews, and leadership reviews.
• Develop quality-related capital and operating expense needs; support estimating and project planning for quality requirements in bids and major programs.
• Drive Lean, 5S, and continuous improvement within the quality function and across manufacturing processes.
• Quality planning, PFMEA/control plans, process capability, MSA, FAI, error-proofing, process audits, QE support to NPDI, corrective/preventive action, training, and continuous improvement.
• Receiving/in-process/final inspection, functional test compliance, hold/release, NCR/MRB support, inspection records, traceability, calibration controls, containment, and quality verification.
• QMS/ISO, compliance, supplier quality, customer care, testing governance, and NPDI are key partners. Manufacturing Quality ensures these requirements are effectively executed at the site level.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering/technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing quality experience, including significant leadership responsibility for QA/QE and QC functions.
• 10+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment; multi-site or multi-product experience strongly preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001 and experience supporting or maintaining quality-system certification.
• Demonstrated expertise in structured problem solving and corrective action (8D, CAPA, Lean, Six Sigma, Shainin, or equivalent).
• Proficiency interpreting engineering drawings, customer specifications, inspection/test requirements, and quality documentation.
• Working knowledge of inspection tools, calibration systems, MSA, process capability, FAI, NCR/MRB, and manufacturing quality controls.
• Experience with ERP and electronic Quality Management System (eQMS) or quality data systems.
• Strong communication, leadership, change-management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to lead through influence, make risk-based decisions, and maintain accountability in a fast-paced engineered-to-order manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, Quality, Operations, or a related field.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt; ASQ CQE, CQM/OE, CQA, or similar quality certification.
• Experience with engineered electrical products such as industrial control panels, power distribution equipment, switchgear, relay/control panels, or engineered enclosures.
• Experience leading quality across multiple manufacturing sites and standardizing processes following growth, acquisition, or integration.
• Experience with customer-specific, regulatory, UL/NEMA/NEC, or other applicable electrical/manufacturing compliance requirements.

Physical / Work Requirements

• Ability to travel approximately 25%, including visits to manufacturing sites, customers, and field locations as needed.
• Ability to work effectively in office and manufacturing-floor environments and spend extended periods walking or standing during audits, inspections, and problem-solving activities.
• Ability to bend, stoop, and access manufacturing equipment or product areas as reasonably required for the role; occasional lifting/pushing/pulling up to 50 lbs where site access or investigation requires it.
• Ability to meet applicable company requirements for physical, drug, driving, and background checks.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, HSA, term life, AD&D, STD, LTD

• 100% medical premium paid for by Panelmatic for the employee-only level medical coverage
• 80% paid for by Panelmatic and 20% paid for by the employee on all other level medical coverage (i.e. employee plus child, employee plus spouse, family)
• 401(k) contributions matched 100% up to 4% 
• Scholarships, educational reimbursement, paid volunteerism, and paid personal and professional development provided
• PTO and paid holidays provided
• Career advancement opportunities
• Competitive wages
• Family-friendly environment with average employee tenure above five years