This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Supplier Quality Inspector based in India.
This role is responsible for ensuring the quality, conformity, and reliability of components sourced from external suppliers.
You will oversee inspection, supplier quality development, audits, and corrective actions across castings, forgings, patterns, machined parts, and mechanical components.
The position combines hands-on technical inspection with supplier development and cross-functional quality leadership.
You will work closely with suppliers and internal Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Project Management, and Quality teams to resolve complex quality issues.
Your expertise will help ensure compliance with engineering specifications, industry standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations.
With significant travel to supplier locations, you will have a direct impact on manufacturing capability, defect prevention, and continuous improvement.
This is an opportunity to take ownership of supplier quality in a technically demanding manufacturing environment where sound judgment and rigorous problem-solving are highly valued.
Accountabilities:
- Manage incoming and source inspection activities for bought-out items, including castings, forgings, patterns, machined components, fabricated parts, and mechanical instruments.
- Review supplier quality documentation such as inspection reports, quality plans, Material Test Certificates (MTCs), manufacturing records, dimensional reports, and NDT documentation.
- Verify supplier compliance with engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T requirements, dimensional tolerances, surface-finish requirements, material specifications, applicable standards, and internal quality procedures.
- Conduct and support supplier process reviews to assess manufacturing capability, process controls, repeatability, and consistency of product quality.
- Develop, implement, and support supplier SOPs, inspection plans, process risk assessments, and appropriate mitigation actions.
- Identify and investigate supplier quality issues during manufacturing, ensuring effective containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and prevention of recurrence.
- Lead supplier NCR management, including root cause analysis, CAPA, effectiveness verification, and timely closure.
- Plan and conduct supplier audits for qualification, periodic assessment, quality-performance improvement, and resolution of recurring problems.
- Coordinate and evaluate applicable NDT/NDE activities, including Visual Testing (VT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MT), Penetrant Testing (PT), Ultrasonic Testing (UT), Radiographic Testing (RT), Positive Material Identification (PMI), and hardness testing.
- Coordinate third-party inspection activities, including scheduling, inspection readiness, documentation review, and follow-up on observations and nonconformities.
- Ensure supplier compliance with ISO 9001:2015, API, ASME, ASTM, ISO, applicable material standards, customer requirements, and internal quality procedures.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Project Management, and Quality teams to resolve technical and supplier-related quality concerns.
- Maintain clear communication regarding inspection status, quality risks, corrective-action progress, and potential delivery impacts.
- Drive supplier development and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen process capability, reduce recurring defects, improve process controls, and prevent quality issues.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Minimum 6 years of experience in Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Supplier Quality, or Inspection within manufacturing, metal-mechanical, pumps, casting, forging, fabrication, or heavy-engineering environments.
- Hands-on inspection experience with castings, forgings, patterns, machined components, fabricated components, and related mechanical parts.
- Strong ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, dimensional requirements, surface-finish specifications, material requirements, and inspection standards.
- Proven experience reviewing MTCs, inspection reports, NDT reports, dimensional reports, and other supplier quality documentation.
- Strong knowledge of API, ASME, ASTM, ISO standards, material standards, and ISO 9001:2015 quality-management-system requirements.
- Strong knowledge of ASME Sections II, V, VIII, and IX.
- NDT Level II certification and practical experience with relevant methods such as VT, MT, PT, UT, RT, PMI, and hardness testing are preferred.
- Demonstrated experience conducting supplier audits and managing NCRs, CAPA, root cause analysis, and supplier corrective-action follow-up.
- Experience with pump, pressure-containing equipment, or rotating-equipment manufacturing is preferred.
- Familiarity with third-party inspection agencies and customer inspection requirements.
- Experience applying structured quality and problem-solving tools, including 5 Why, Fishbone, 8D, PFMEA, Control Plans, and Process Capability Analysis.
- Strong analytical thinking, ownership, accountability, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
- Ability to work effectively across supplier and internal cross-functional teams and communicate technical quality issues clearly.
- Willingness and ability to travel approximately 70% to supplier locations for inspections, audits, supplier development, and quality issue resolution.
- Candidates located in or around the Kolhapur or Sangli region are preferred.
Benefits:
- Employment type: Full-time position.
- Work arrangement: Work-from-home based in India, with substantial travel to supplier locations.
- Travel exposure: Approximately 70% travel across various supplier locations, providing broad exposure to manufacturing and quality environments.
- Professional development: Opportunity to deepen expertise in supplier quality, inspection, auditing, NDT/NDE, and international engineering and quality standards.
- Cross-functional exposure: Direct collaboration with Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Project Management, Quality, suppliers, and third-party inspection agencies.
- Technical scope: Exposure to complex components and manufacturing processes including castings, forgings, machining, fabrication, pumps, and pressure-containing or rotating equipment.
- Impact and ownership: Significant responsibility for supplier performance, product conformity, defect prevention, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.