Customer Quality Engineer

Position Title: Customer Quality Engineer

Department: Quality

Location: Santa Ana, CA 

FLSA Status: Exempt, Full- Time

Job Summary: 

The Customer Quality Engineer serves as the primary liaison between the company and its customers regarding quality-related matters. This role is responsible for managing customer quality issues, leading root cause investigations, coordinating corrective actions, and ensuring timely and effective communication with customers.

The Customer Quality Engineer works closely with internal teams including manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, and program management to ensure customer requirements are met and quality performance is continuously improved. This position plays a key role in protecting customer relationships while driving corrective and preventive actions across the organization.

Key Responsibilities: 

Customer Issue Management

• Manage and respond to customer quality issues and concerns, ensuring timely communication and resolution.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for customer complaints, nonconformances, and escalations.
• Lead investigations related to customer-reported defects and coordinate      cross-functional teams to resolve issues.

· Lead the customer quality team to provide deliverables meeting customer requirements.  (First Article, PQP etc.)

Root Cause & Corrective Action

• Lead structured root cause investigations using quality tools such as 8D, Fishbone (Ishikawa), 5 Whys, and corrective action methodologies.
• Develop, implement, and monitor corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to prevent recurrence of issues.
• Ensure corrective action responses meet customer expectations and timelines.

Customer Change Management

• Support and coordinate customer-driven engineering or process changes across the organization.
• Ensure changes are properly documented, reviewed, and implemented in accordance with company and customer requirements.
• Communicate change impacts to internal stakeholders and customers.

Customer Quality Performance

• Develop and track Customer Quality KPIs to measure company performance against customer expectations.
• Monitor customer scorecards and quality metrics and implement improvement plans when needed.
• Present quality performance data to internal leadership and support customer reviews when required.

RMA & Customer Returns

• Oversee Return Material Authorization (RMA) processes, ensuring proper documentation, analysis, and resolution.
• Coordinate with internal teams to investigate returned products and determine root causes.
• Ensure timely closure of RMA investigations and communication with customers.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and program management to resolve quality issues and improve processes.
• Provide quality input during new product introductions and project reviews.
• Support projects by applying lessons learned from past quality issues to prevent recurrence.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction and quality performance.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused on reducing defects and improving customer experience.
• Promote a culture of quality and accountability across the organization.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree required; Engineering degree (preferred - Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, or related field).
• Minimum 8 years of experience managing customer relationships or customer quality within a manufacturing environment. Experience handling customer complaints, corrective actions, and quality issue resolution.
• Experience working with structured problem-solving tools and quality methodologies.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Certification in quality systems (CQE, CQA, ASQ, or equivalent).
• Experience with ITAR, NADCAP, and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARS).
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Experience working with CM/EMS environments for aerospace/defense customers.

Physical Requirements: 

• Ability to sit, stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, and use hands to operate standard office and inspection equipment.
• Occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Must be able to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds occasionally.
• Must be able to work in environments that include manufacturing floors, clean rooms, and test labs, with occasional exposure to machinery or moving parts.

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This job description is intended to provide a clear overview of the primary duties and responsibilities for the Customer Quality Engineer position. It is not an exhaustive list, and other tasks may be required as needed to support the company’s operations.

Regal Technology Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse work environment where everyone is valued and respected.

If you require any accommodation during the application process or have any questions regarding our EEO policies, please contact Human Resources, [email protected]