Quality Manager

Our client, a large automotive Tier 1 manufacturing supplier serving Volkswagen and Audi, is seeking an experienced Quality Manager to lead quality assurance and continuous-improvement activities at its Puebla facility.

The Quality Manager will be accountable for ensuring that products, processes, and customer deliverables meet stringent automotive quality, safety, and performance requirements. This leader will manage the quality organization, maintain compliance with customer-specific requirements and IATF 16949 standards, and serve as the principal quality contact for VW, Audi, suppliers, and internal manufacturing teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and develop the plant quality team across quality assurance, quality control, customer quality, supplier quality, and laboratory/metrology functions as applicable.
• Maintain and improve the plant Quality Management System in accordance with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, VW Group requirements, Audi requirements, and applicable customer-specific standards.
• Own customer quality performance, including PPM, warranty/field issues, scorecards, customer audits, and corrective-action closure.
• Lead resolution of customer complaints using structured problem-solving tools such as 8D, A3, 5 Why, Ishikawa, and DMAIC.
• Ensure robust launch readiness and APQP execution for new products and engineering changes, including PPAP submissions, control plans, PFMEAs, process flow diagrams, MSA, and capability studies.
• Drive plant-wide continuous improvement to reduce defects, scrap, rework, cost of poor quality, and variation.
• Lead internal, customer, certification, and supplier audits; ensure timely, sustainable closure of findings.
• Establish and monitor quality KPIs, communicate risks and performance to plant leadership, and implement recovery plans where targets are not met.
• Partner closely with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Program Management to improve process capability and prevent recurrence of quality issues.
• Ensure effective containment, traceability, nonconforming-material control, escalation, and layered process audits.
• Develop supplier-quality controls and support supplier development and escalation when component quality affects plant or customer performance.
• Build a culture of accountability, prevention, disciplined execution, and customer focus throughout the facility.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of progressive quality experience within automotive manufacturing, including significant leadership responsibility in a Tier 1 environment.
• Demonstrated experience supporting Volkswagen Group customers; direct VW and/or Audi customer-facing experience strongly preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of IATF 16949, ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, FMEA, Control Plans, MSA, SPC, 8D, and core automotive quality tools.
• Experience leading quality performance in a high-volume, complex manufacturing facility.
• Proven ability to manage customer complaints, audits, launch quality, and cross-functional corrective actions.
• Fluent Spanish and professional English; able to communicate effectively with local and international customers and stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, analytical, communication, and problem-solving capabilities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with VW Group customer-specific requirements and portals.
• Certified IATF 16949 internal auditor or lead auditor.
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.
• Experience with automotive components, assembly, machining, plastics, stamping, electronics, or other relevant Tier 1 production processes.
• Familiarity with VDA 6.3, CQI assessments, and German OEM quality expectations.

What Success Looks Like:

• Sustained improvement in customer PPM, audit performance, and cost of poor quality.
• Timely, effective containment and permanent corrective actions for customer and plant quality issues.
• Successful customer launches and PPAP approvals.
• A capable, engaged quality organization that prevents defects at the source and supports reliable delivery to VW and Audi.