Supplier Quality Engineer (Aerospace / Defense)

At Kaman, we are always looking for a better way. Whether we are helping keep our troops safe or pioneering safer ways to fly the globe, we approach every challenge with an innovation mindset. We consider our people to be the key to our success and are looking for candidates who share our core values of Respect, Excellence, Accountability, Creativity and Honor (REACH).  Find out more about us at Kaman.com / Careers.

WE are currently seeking a talented Supplier Quality Engineer at our Middletown, CT facility.  This role is fully onsite.

The SQE ensures suppliers meet contractual / regulatory and internal quality standards for parts and materials.  They will need to have exp performing audits, analyze supplier processes and products, conduct root cause analysis for issues with parts, drive corrective actions, and reject / do a part stoppage if they arrive with defects. They must be able to do supplier qualification, performance monitoring, development, and document first article inspections. They qualify and evaluate new suppliers and monitor performance, conduct audit of supplier facilities and processes to ensure compliance with ISO / AS9100 quality standards and contractual requirements.  Investigate and analyze supplier defects.  See description for more specific details.

The SQE eorks under the general direction of the Manager, Program and Supplier Quality Assurance with minimum supervision performing supplier source inspections, first article inspections, supplier surveys and audits assuring supplier corrective action where required. Interface with procurement and other personnel within the procurement organization.

Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following :

• Maintain the supplier rating system, which will define the total cost of ownership of products procured from suppliers.
• Implement and maintain a supplier approval system that will, in a cost-effective manner, qualify suppliers to do business with the company and meet varied purchase order requirements.
• Evaluates lean initiatives at supplier facilities and assists in implementing lean as necessary.
• Assures the means for procurement to issue purchase orders to qualified / approved suppliers and all requirements are included in the purchase orders.
• Manage the supplier corrective action system to identify and correct supplier problems in a timely manner.
• Coordinate Supplier Manufacturing Readiness Reviews and manage Supplier Request for Variance (when applicable).
• The Supplier Quality Engineer will conduct capability assessments that verify supplier qualifications, travel to assigned suppliers, and lead multiple projects to completion.
• Act as primary interface between the company and suppliers in resolving technical problems and performing source control inspections.
• Coordinate with functional departments and ensure that problems are resolved in a timely manner.
• Aid in determining the responsibility of discrepant hardware already received into the company and issued to the shop or shipped to customers.
• Establish and maintain effective communications with other operating departments and suppliers to facilitate problem identification / resolution and compliance with various specification requirements for supplier control.
• Prepare and maintain reports such as supplier performance, survey results, specification compliance, corrective actions, etc.
• Your responsibilities will include conducting audit, analyzing defect trends.
• Monitoring supplier performance and response times to ensure production continuity.
• Managing supplier corrective action reports.
• Developing and implementing supplier quality-related training programs for the quality and sourcing teams.
• Interface with cell managers to assure all applicable inspections / tests are performed and to assure that only acceptable hardware is received into the company.
• Collect and analyze supplier quality and delivery data.
• Develop and implement cost effective intervention plans to improve quality and on-time-delivery ratings.
• Maintain a list of approved suppliers.
• Monitor suppliers for continuous improvements.
• Ability to travel for supplier visits.

Requirements :

Fully Onsite

Working hours :  40 hrs. per week onsite.  If on travel, potentially 40+ hours per week

Salary range (please review grade range below) :   $39.42 per hr. to $46.15 per hr. - 81K to $95,992

Approx start date for assignment : As soon as possible.

Must have :  Supplier Quality Engineering and Aerospace experience.

Nice to have :

Travel Frequency :   50 %

Direct hire - no staffing agencies.

Many positions at Kaman require access to information or technology that is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and / or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). For ITAR and EAR purposes, U.S. persons include U.S. citizens, nationals and lawful permanent residents, as well as asylees and refugees. The ITAR and / or EAR may limit access rights for non-US Persons or other unauthorized individuals. Kaman reserves the right to require candidates and employees to provide proof of citizenship, nationality and / or immigration status to determine ITAR and EAR compliance requirements.