Quality Engineer

TUTCO, LLC, a leading manufacturer of electric heat strips and heating elements serving the HVAC and appliance industries, is seeking a dynamic and detail-oriented Quality Engineer to join our team in Cookeville, Tennessee.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Quality Engineer is responsible for product and process quality throughout the product life cycle, with a strong emphasis on quality planning, manufacturing readiness, defect prevention, and customer satisfaction. This role leads cross-functional quality planning activities, develops and maintains core quality documents, analyzes process and product performance, and drives effective corrective and preventive actions. The Quality Engineer also serves as a key quality contact for assigned OEM customers, ensuring clear communication, timely responses, and alignment with customer-specific requirements.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Quality Planning and Product Launch Support

• Lead quality planning activities for new products, product transfers, design changes, process changes, and supplier changes from concept through production release.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales, and Operations to identify product and process risks and define appropriate controls before release.
• Develop, review, and maintain process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, control plans, inspection plans, test plans, and other quality planning records.
• Define critical-to-quality characteristics, acceptance criteria, sampling requirements, measurement methods, validation needs, and documentation requirements.
• Coordinate PPAP, FAI, and other customer approval submissions, including dimensional results, capability studies, material certifications, test data, and supporting records.
• Assess the quality impact of engineering change requests and process changes, and ensure required verification, validation, training, and customer approval are completed before implementation.
• Facilitate production readiness reviews and verify that quality requirements, inspection methods, gauges, work instructions, and control documents are in place before launch.

OEM Customer Quality and Technical Support

• Serve as the primary quality interface for assigned OEM customers and build professional, responsive working relationships with customer quality and engineering contacts.
• Review and interpret customer drawings, specifications, quality manuals, portals, and customer-specific requirements; communicate applicable requirements to internal teams.
• Coordinate timely responses for customer requests, including PPAPs, FAIs, RMAs, corrective action requests, deviations, source inspections, audits, and regulatory or restricted-substance inquiries.
• Lead or support customer complaint investigations, containment activities, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness.
• Prepare and present clear technical updates, quality data, investigation findings, and action plans during customer meetings and reviews.
• Coordinate customer visits, audits, and quality reviews, and ensure commitments and action items are completed by agreed due dates.
• Escalate significant customer, product, or compliance risks to Quality Leadership and affected functions.

Product, Process, and Corrective Action

• Monitor and analyze production, inspection, test, scrap, rework, warranty, and customer complaint data to identify trends, emerging risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Lead structured problem-solving and root cause investigations using appropriate quality tools, and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Perform or coordinate product inspections, dimensional verification, reliability testing, and laboratory testing to confirm compliance with specifications and customer requirements.
• Apply statistical methods, SPC, process capability analysis, measurement system analysis, and other quality tools to evaluate process performance and reduce variation.
• Partner with Manufacturing and Engineering to resolve production issues, prevent recurrence, improve first-pass yield, and reduce the cost of poor quality.
• Maintain accurate quality records, reports, approvals, and objective evidence in accordance with document-control and retention requirements.

Supplier and Quality System Support

• Support supplier qualification, PPAP review, incoming quality planning, and supplier corrective actions to ensure purchased materials and components meet requirements.
• Participate in supplier, internal, and customer audits as assigned and support closure of resulting actions.
• Provide training and technical guidance to manufacturing and quality personnel on control plans, inspection requirements, quality standards, and newly released processes.
• Support continuous improvement activities and promote a culture of prevention, accountability, and customer focus.
• Perform other duties as assigned by Quality Leadership.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Quality, or a related technical field preferred; equivalent relevant education and manufacturing quality experience may be considered.
• Experience in a manufacturing quality engineering role, preferably supporting OEM customers in HVAC, appliance, industrial, or related markets.
• Working knowledge of quality planning and core quality tools, including process flow diagrams, PFMEA, control plans, PPAP, FAI, SPC, MSA, capability studies, and structured root cause analysis.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, tolerances, test requirements, and customer quality documentation.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, project-management, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple customer and launch priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical information clearly and professionally with OEM customers and cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in data analysis, report preparation, and Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain accurate records, protect confidential customer information, and appropriately escalate risk.
• Ability and willingness to travel by automobile or airplane to customer, supplier, and company locations as business needs require.

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

• ISO 9001:2015 quality management system requirements and audit support.
• Advanced product quality planning or equivalent structured quality planning methods.
• OEM customer portals, customer-specific requirements, and formal corrective action formats such as 8D.
• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, mistake-proofing, risk-based thinking, and continuous improvement methods.
• Quality and regulatory support related to RoHS, REACH SVHC, CMRT, EMRT, California Proposition 65, TSCA, PFAS, and other customer compliance requests.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• The work environment includes office, quality laboratory, and manufacturing settings. Work around moving equipment and production processes may require the use of safety glasses, hearing protection, safety footwear, or other required personal protective equipment.
• The position may involve automobile and airplane travel, extended periods of standing or walking in production facilities, and occasional lifting or movement of test equipment, product samples, or cases of moderate weight.
• Other physical activities may include bending, crouching, climbing, reaching, and working at inspection or test stations.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Competency

Expected Behaviors

Customer Focus

Responds promptly, communicates professionally, understands customer-specific requirements, and follows commitments through closure.

Quality Planning

Anticipates risk, defines controls before release, and ensures quality requirements are built into products and processes.

Problem Solving

Uses facts, data, and structured methods to identify root causes and implement sustainable solutions.

Collaboration

Works effectively across Quality, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales, and customer teams.

Ownership and Accountability

Maintains accurate documentation, manages priorities, escalates risk, and delivers actions on time.

Continuous Improvement

Uses lessons learned and performance data to prevent defects, reduce variation, and improve business results.

We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefit package.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Group, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website (Careers - Smiths Group plc)