Graduate Engineer / Quality Engineer in Derby

The HR Guru is recruiting an experienced, hands-on Quality Engineer on behalf of a manufacturing business based in Derby. This is an excellent opportunity for an Engineer who enjoys being close to production, solving complex quality issues and using automotive quality tools as part of their everyday role.

You will play a key part in improving right-first-time performance, supporting new product launches and ensuring that customer, supplier and production quality requirements are consistently achieved.

Our client is particularly interested in candidates who have worked within a vehicle manufacturer, including organisations such as Toyota, JLR, JCB or Caterpillar, or within a Tier 1 automotive supplier.

As Quality Engineer, you will work closely with production, engineering, customers and suppliers to:

• Investigate quality concerns, identify root causes and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Investigate internal quality issues, customer complaints and warranty concerns, taking them through to root-cause resolution and closure.
• Lead structured problem-solving and corrective action activity using tools such as 8D, 5 Why, Fishbone and Pareto analysis.
• Support customer quality requirements and respond to customer concerns in a professional and timely manner.
• Conduct internal process and quality-system audits against IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 requirements.
• Analyse production, scrap, defect and warranty data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Develop, review and maintain quality documentation, including Control Plans, Process FMEAs, inspection standards and work instructions.
• Ensure compliance with customer-specific requirements and automotive quality standards.
• Work closely with production teams to improve right-first-time performance and reduce defects, waste and rework.
• Support continuous improvement projects across production and supplier quality.
• Represent the quality function during customer, supplier and internal meetings.

You will need practical automotive manufacturing experience and must be comfortable applying core quality tools within a fast-paced production environment.

Requirements:

• A Degree, HNC / HND or equivalent practical experience in Mechanical, Automotive, Manufacturing, Industrial or Quality Engineering.
• Experience within automotive manufacturing, gained in supplier quality, production quality, customer quality or a related engineering role.
• Working knowledge of IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 quality-management systems.
• The ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications and GD&T.
• A confident communication style, with the ability to represent quality when dealing with customers, suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• A practical, proactive approach and a willingness to spend time within the production environment.
• Previous experience within a vehicle OEM or Tier 1 automotive supplier.
• A Masters Degree in a relevant engineering discipline.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer accreditation.
• Experience using Minitab, SAP or another ERP system.
• Experience producing reports or dashboards through Power BI.

The salary is currently under review and will be confirmed before appointment. £38,000 - £48,000 per annum, depending on experience. A 37-hour working week, Monday to Friday, with a Friday lunchtime finish. 28 days' holiday, including bank holidays, with three days reserved for the Christmas shutdown. The opportunity to influence projects, innovate solutions and take real ownership of quality improvements. Company pension. Opportunities for continued professional development and career progression. The chance to work in a hands-on role within an established automotive manufacturing environment.

Apply today with an up-to-date CV outlining your automotive quality experience and your practical use of APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC, Control Plans and 8D problem-solving.