Senior Product Development Engineer – APQP & New Product Development

The Role

Our client is a global manufacturer with a sophisticated product development and manufacturing operation in Southern California. They are looking for a Senior Quality Engineer specializing in APQP to help ensure new products are designed and launched with quality, reliability, and manufacturability built in from the beginning.

This is a highly cross-functional position working closely with Design Engineering, Project Engineering, Manufacturing, and Quality throughout the New Product Development (NPD) lifecycle.

Rather than focusing solely on identifying problems after they occur, this role is centered on preventing product and process failures before they reach production or the customer.

The ideal candidate brings strong manufacturing knowledge, a structured approach to risk management, and the ability to move projects forward in a fast-paced environment.

Key Areas of Responsibility

New Product & APQP Leadership

• Provide quality engineering support throughout the development and launch of new products.
  


• Work directly with Design and Project Engineering to identify potential quality and manufacturing risks early in the development cycle.
  


• Evaluate new product designs from a manufacturing and quality perspective and provide practical recommendations.
  


• Help establish quality expectations, validation activities, and risk controls at key project milestones.
  


• Ensure appropriate APQP activities and quality tools are incorporated into development projects.
  


• Communicate new product quality requirements and expectations to Manufacturing teams ahead of launch.
  


• Help ensure new products meet applicable regulatory and quality requirements.
  

Risk Prevention & Problem Solving

• Identify potential product and process failure modes before they reach production.
  


• Lead structured investigations when product or process issues occur.
  


• Apply Root Cause Analysis, corrective action, and preventive action methodologies to eliminate recurring problems.
  


• Lead and support Design of Experiments (DOE) and other data-driven problem-solving activities.
  


• Use FMEA and prototype testing to identify and reduce risk during product development.
  


• Develop practical risk mitigation strategies that can be implemented without unnecessarily slowing development timelines.
  


• Apply lessons learned from previous projects to improve future product launches.
  

Manufacturing Quality

• Partner with Manufacturing teams to establish effective process controls for new products.
  


• Support the development and implementation of Control Plans, SPC, MSA, sampling strategies, and other statistical quality tools.
  


• Monitor yield-related performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
  


• Analyze manufacturing data to identify trends, process variation, and potential quality concerns.
  


• Support part measurement activities and interpret GD&T requirements when evaluating component specifications.
  


• Promote consistent quality practices across manufacturing operations.
  

Continuous Improvement & Data Analysis

• Lead or support DMAIC projects focused on improving product and process performance.
  


• Track and report quality and yield KPIs.
  


• Use Excel and Minitab to analyze data, identify trends, and communicate findings.
  


• Prepare technical reports and presentations for engineering and manufacturing stakeholders.
  


• Translate complex quality information into clear recommendations and actionable next steps.
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as a quality resource for Design Engineering, Project Engineering, Manufacturing, and other internal teams.
  


• Coordinate with international teams to promote consistency in quality procedures and practices.
  


• Provide guidance and mentorship to other APQP and Quality Engineers.
  


• Build strong working relationships across technical and operational departments.
  


• Manage multiple development projects simultaneously while maintaining project timelines and quality objectives.
  

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a closely related technical discipline.
  


• 5+ years of engineering experience, preferably within Quality, Manufacturing, Design, or a related function.
  


• At least 2 years of experience working in a manufacturing environment.
  


• Strong understanding of APQP and quality planning within a product development environment.
  


• 
  
  
  Hands-on experience with quality methodologies including:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • DFMEA / PFMEA
    
  
  
  • SPC
    
  
  
  • MSA
    
  
  
  • Cpk / process capability
    
  
  
  • Control Plans
    
  
  
  • Sampling Plans
    
  
  
  • Root Cause Analysis
    
  
  
  • Corrective and Preventive Action
    
  
  


• Demonstrated ability to manage projects with aggressive timelines and multiple stakeholders.
  


• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize competing demands.
  


• Experience working with statistical quality data and analysis tools.
  


• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Minitab.
  


• Ability to interpret GD&T and apply engineering specifications to measurement and quality activities.
  


• Strong communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
  


• Comfortable working collaboratively with engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams.
  

Additional Experience That Would Be Valuable

• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) designation.
  


• Six Sigma Green Belt or similar continuous improvement certification.
  


• Experience with Design for Six Sigma (DFSS).
  


• Experience with injection-molded plastic components.
  


• Knowledge of Mold Flow Analysis software.
  


• Experience with CAD or 3D modeling platforms.
  


• Experience managing projects using Microsoft Project or similar project management tools.
  


• Experience working with international engineering or manufacturing teams.