Job Description
Our clientOur client is a leading global engineering business with a site in the Tyne and Wear area, supplying high-value, engineered solutions internationally. The site manages complex, design-led projects and relies on a broad global supply base.The organisation is on a journey to significantly improve supplier performance and reshape their Quality function. You will be joining at a genuinely exciting time, with real scope to influence how supplier quality is managed.The opportunityAs Senior Supplier Quality Engineer, you will play a key role in transforming supplier performance for the Tyne and Wear operation.Reporting into the Head of Quality, you will:
* Design, implement and embed a new supplier quality framework across a global supply base.
* Lead supplier-side investigations into non-conformances and escapes, driving robust root cause analysis and sustainable corrective actions.
* Own the qualification of new suppliers and materials, including the creation and approval of Supplier Inspection & Test Plans.
* Review customer specifications for new projects and assess supplier capability and associated risks.
* Manage the Notification of Inspection (NOI) process and oversee third-party inspection agencies, including KPI tracking and performance improvement.
* Work closely with Engineering, Sourcing and Supplier Quality teams to prevent issues before they reach the factory or the customer.
* Visit key suppliers (UK and overseas) to conduct audits, technical reviews and targeted improvement activities where performance is weak. Approximately 10% travel.
This is not a purely administrative supplier-quality role – it is a visible, change-oriented position where you will help reset expectations with suppliers and drive a step change in quality performance.About youYou will be an energetic, hands-on Quality specialist who enjoys making things better and working closely with people to achieve it. You will bring:
* Strong background in manufacturing or complex engineered products (e.g. oil & gas, aerospace, defence, automotive, heavy engineering or similar).
* Solid experience in supplier quality, quality engineering or a similar role involving suppliers, NCRs and RCAs.
* Proven ability to implement new processes or frameworks, not just follow existing ones.
* Good understanding of engineering drawings, specifications and inspection & test plans.
* Experience of supplier audits, qualifications and working with external inspectors.
* Strong root cause analysis skills with a structured approach to problem solving (any Lean/CI exposure is a plus).
* Confident communication and relationship-building skills – able to challenge suppliers constructively and work cross-functionally.
* Willingness to travel occasionally to suppliers in the UK and overseas (on a planned, needs-driven basis).
In return, you will join a major global business at a point of real change and the opportunity to have a tangible impact on site and business performance.If you’re a proactive supplier-quality professional who wants to shape how a global engineering business works with its suppliers, we’d love to hear from you.Please submit your CV via the online application and we will be in touch to discuss the role in more detail.