What does a customer quality engineer do?
A customer quality engineer is accountable for all in-process batches with quality issues. You will be responsible for minimizing variations with quality processes and supporting all customer root cause audits, investigations, and visits. Other duties include processing field audits, assisting in new product launches, and participating in the control process and product quality planning. In addition, you are expected to relay customer feedback and expectations on product quality to the quality management team. You are also expected to conduct training the team in identifying and creating methodologies to solve quality issues.
Customer quality engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real customer quality engineer resumes:
- Serve as lead auditor achieving AS9100 certification for the product center in Mexico.
- Create, implement, and manage completion of APQP plans for new product launches and product changes.
- Lead cross-functional APQP teams to ensure parts, processes, and documentation meet customer requirements and require deadlines.
- Develop and coordinate strategic relationships with international OEM and ODM partners to achieve business goals.
- Develop a continuous process improvement and SPC class that are implemented site wide to engineers and management.
- Lead structure team problem solving efforts to resolve internal/external issues using 8-D methodology, CAPA, FMEA & DMAIC.
- Skil at 8D , 5Y, FMEAs, DMAIC, Taguchi, Kepner-Tragoe, CAPA, & 6.
- Take an active part in QMS revision and creation.
- Establish, and implement SPC controls to critical dimensions and characteristics of product.
- Complete statistical graphs for CPK, and variance plots for production evaluations and PPAP.
- Issue corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to reduce defects and improve fulfillment.
- Facilitate PPAP meetings with the customer to review and submit PPAP's for engineering changes.
- Administer quality team support in field failure situations providing 8D and FMEA reports for customer issue resolution and satisfaction.
- Key contributor in the preparation of the distribution center successfully passing their initial external ISO audit certification.
- Provide measures to justify reductions in inspection, HASS and in line test resources.
Customer quality engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Customer Quality Engineers are proficient in Corrective Action, Product Quality, and Customer Satisfaction. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Customer Quality Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Corrective Action, 9%
Developed and presented monthly quality program reviews to communicate module performance, failure trends and corrective actions to key customer executives.
- Product Quality, 7%
Established class-leading customer quality improvement plan incorporating projects in multiple manufacturing facilities to improve product quality delivered to customer.
- Customer Satisfaction, 7%
Improved the measurement system by stream lining the existing inspections and methods resulting in improved customer satisfaction without adding manpower.
- Continuous Improvement, 5%
Implement continuous improvement methods to reduce internal defects, improve process flow, eliminate roadblocks and improve manufacturing efficiency.
- Sigma, 4%
Performed data analysis of field and integration process for Cisco using six sigma methodologies.
- PPAP, 3%
Support manufacturing with transfer, the Equipment manufacture selection, cell development, Safe Launch activities, PPAP.
Most customer quality engineers use their skills in "corrective action," "product quality," and "customer satisfaction" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential customer quality engineer responsibilities here:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a customer quality engineer to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "industrial engineers use creativity and ingenuity to design new production processes in many kinds of settings in order to reduce the use of material resources, time, or labor while accomplishing the same goal." Customer quality engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "reduced the rma inventory from $1 million to $150k. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform customer quality engineer duties is listening skills. Customer quality engineers responsibilities require that "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff." Customer quality engineers also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated qip and rcca results and problem resolutions to customer quality and program leadership during quarterly program management reviews. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of customer quality engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday customer quality engineer duties, as "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "company qa representative to government and commercial computer quality teams reporting daily statistics on continuous improvement applications and quality process yields. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain customer quality engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a customer quality engineer rely on this skill, as "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what customer quality engineers do: "resolved customer complaints as a liaison with customers, sales force, and manufacturing sites. "
Speaking skills. Another crucial skill for a customer quality engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "speaking skills." A big part of what customer quality engineers relies on this skill, since "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." How this skill relates to customer quality engineer duties can be seen in an example from a customer quality engineer resume snippet: "compiled the rma data and presented it to upper management once a week. "
Writing skills. Lastly, "writing skills" is an important element of what a customer quality engineer does. Customer quality engineer responsibilities require this skill because "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." This resume example highlights how customer quality engineer duties rely on this skill: "performed model testing by writing sql queries against the corresponding database. "
The three companies that hire the most customer quality engineers are:
- Applied Materials19 customer quality engineers jobs
- Monolithic Power Systems7 customer quality engineers jobs
- Amphenol6 customer quality engineers jobs
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Compare different customer quality engineers
Customer quality engineer vs. Process engineer internship
A process engineering intern performs various tasks for an organization. These include collaborating with the technical team on cost savings, process efficiency improvements, and technology advancement, attending meetings with leadership teams, and participating in customer trials. Additionally, they may assist with the leadership or management teams in creating standard operating procedures. They are responsible for coordinating with engineers and work on projects assigned by the leadership. Ideal candidates for this role must have a degree in mechanical or industrial engineering, excellent communication skills, and knowledge and experience in process observation.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between customer quality engineers and process engineer internship. For instance, customer quality engineer responsibilities require skills such as "customer satisfaction," "ppap," "failure analysis," and "quality standards." Whereas a process engineer internship is skilled in "process engineering," "data analysis," "powerpoint," and "data collection." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, process engineer interns reach similar levels of education than customer quality engineers. Process engineer interns are 2.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Customer quality engineer vs. Manufacturing engineering internship
A manufacturing engineering intern is responsible for assisting the manufacturing engineers on the plant's daily operations, analyzing the manufacturing process and procedures, and recommending strategic solutions to maximize productivity and minimize costs. Manufacturing engineering interns shadow the production staff, inspect the tools and equipment of the manufacturing, analyze the quality control documentation, and perform related administrative tasks to familiarize themselves with the plant structure. A manufacturing engineering intern must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that customer quality engineer responsibilities requires skills like "customer satisfaction," "failure analysis," "customer complaints," and "supplier quality." But a manufacturing engineering internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cad," "solidworks," "assembly line," and "pallets."
Manufacturing engineering interns may earn a lower salary than customer quality engineers, but manufacturing engineering interns earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $49,245. On the other hand, customer quality engineers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $94,234.manufacturing engineering interns earn similar levels of education than customer quality engineers in general. They're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Customer quality engineer vs. Quality supervisor
A quality supervisor is an individual who manages and implements the quality assurance and control systems of a company to ensure the proper execution of products and customer satisfaction. Quality supervisors oversee a team of quality control analysts and train them on the latest product standards. They must make sure that customers are pleased with the finished product by communicating with them and setting realistic expectations. Quality supervisors must also provide reports on quality metrics to the other members of the management team.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a customer quality engineer is likely to be skilled in "failure analysis," "customer quality," "quality tools," and "quality planning," while a typical quality supervisor is skilled in "iso," "food safety," "quality issues," and "quality procedures."
Quality supervisors earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $73,685. Comparatively, customer quality engineers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $94,234.Most quality supervisors achieve a similar degree level compared to customer quality engineers. For example, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Customer quality engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between customer quality engineers and engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a customer quality engineer might have more use for skills like "corrective action," "product quality," "customer satisfaction," and "continuous improvement." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of engineers require skills like "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #. "
Engineers enjoy the best pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $97,672. For comparison, customer quality engineers earn the highest salary in the technology industry.In general, engineers hold similar degree levels compared to customer quality engineers. Engineers are 2.8% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of customer quality engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
