Supplier Quality Engineer

Supplier Quality Engineer
Darlington - This is an almost fully remote role
6-12 Month Contract

Sector: Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing (Automotive / Heavy Industrial)

We are seeking a Supplier Quality Engineer to champion our supplier development, APQP/PPAP processes, and cross-functional engineering partnerships across our Europe region (focusing on Global 7 Activities). Sitting at the critical intersection of Purchasing, Manufacturing, and Engineering, you will play a vital role in preventing quality issues before they happen and solving them instantly when they do.

The Role:
As our Supplier Quality Engineer, you will combine your technical problem-solving skills with a partner-first mindset to elevate our supply base. Your day-to-day will split between proactive engineering planning and high-impact, hands-on quality resolution.

Key Responsibilities:

Work seamlessly with VPI program leads to issue APQP projects to suppliers. Manage monthly metrics, update the tracker, and lead formal performance reviews.
Act as the first line of defense for build quality issues. Collaborate with internal quality leads to investigate emerging issues, establish immediate containment/sorting fixes, and align with suppliers on long-term resolution.
Own quality FIRGs (steps 3–7) and drive robust root-cause analyses to closure in the RV&S system.
Conduct thorough supplier audits to mitigate supply chain risks, evaluate supplier readiness, and establish structured performance improvement plans.
Partner with suppliers to validate that their manufacturing processes are structurally capable of perfectly aligning with engineering prints, industry standards, and customer specs.
Skillset & Experience Required 

Proven experience in a Supplier Quality Engineering or similar quality manufacturing environment.
Deep, practical knowledge of industry-standard automotive/industrial quality frameworks: APQP, PPAP, and AIAG tools.
Strong competency in leading structured problem-solving, root-cause analyses, and corrective action implementations.
Ability to act as a trusted technical bridge between external suppliers and internal purchasing/engineering teams.
Proficiency in tracking and generating technical quality reporting metrics.
Desirable:

Experience working within global frameworks or supporting the European region.
A background utilizing Lean and Six-Sigma continuous improvement methodologies.
Familiarity with internal tracking tools like CQMS and RV&S systems
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed