What does a lead quality engineer do?
Lead quality engineers are engineering professionals who manage a team of quality assurance professionals that ensure the overall quality of manufactured products. These engineers must create comprehensive test plans and test cases to ensure that the finished products have met the client requirements. They have to develop and implement quality standards and procedures while developing internal corrective actions after performing the internal processes audits. Lead quality engineers must also provide new product quality training to members of the quality control and production team.
Lead quality engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real lead quality engineer resumes:
- Develop SPC and MCA programs in the factory and lead defect reduction teams.
- Manage ISO quality system, train company on procedures, and coordinate system and process improvements.
- Develop and coordinate strategic relationships with international OEM and ODM partners to achieve business goals.
- Facilitate APQP and FMEA meetings.
- Conduct global supplier assessments to meet ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14971 and FDA 21CFR820 requirements and regulations.
- Train process engineers and supervisors in statistical techniques, experimental design, capability studies, FMEA and problem solving techniques.
- Participate in process validation and equipment qualification activities for clinical and commercial GMP equipment and facilities.
- Standardize CMM programming to align with customer inspection requirements.
- Develop CMM programs that effectively validate part dimensions to provide practical process feedback to manufacturing and design.
- Facilitate customer NPI qualification for fastener hardware to closure.
Lead quality engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 5% of Lead Quality Engineers are proficient in Java, Corrective Action, and Continuous Improvement. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Lead Quality Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Java, 5%
Performed Smoke and Sanity testing on Annual Enrollment Java Application and DB2 Database.
- Corrective Action, 5%
Identified component integrity and equipment deficiency to ensure corrective actions and modifications meet specification and documentation is compliant with requirements.
- Continuous Improvement, 5%
Assisted Sr. Management with development of Continuous Improvement plans; Support Service Supplier surveillance/audits ensuring customer requirements are met.
- Product Quality, 5%
Provided weekly reports to stakeholders informing test execution status, product quality and release readiness.
- Quality Standards, 5%
Served as production support in product and test equipment to ensure that final product is within specifications per company quality standards.
- QA, 4%
Assisted contractors and performed supplier QA management in recommending technical integration concepts and methods.
"java," "corrective action," and "continuous improvement" are among the most common skills that lead quality engineers use at work. You can find even more lead quality engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a lead quality engineer to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "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." Additionally, a lead quality engineer resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "perform the tasks of testing in web erp accounting and inventory management system at the back end as well. "
Listening skills. Many lead quality engineer duties rely on listening skills. "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff," so a lead quality engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways lead quality engineer responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated with clients and suppliers to resolve quality issues. "
Math skills. lead quality engineers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to lead quality engineer responsibilities, because "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." A lead quality engineer resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "utilize statistics (spc) and six sigma green belt philosophy to assure high quality levels. "
Speaking skills. A big part of what lead quality engineers do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to lead quality engineer responsibilities because "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical lead quality engineer tasks: "presented weekly reports to managers regarding test execution status, product quality, and release readiness. "
Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in lead quality engineer job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what lead quality engineers do. Lead quality engineer responsibilities rely on this skill because "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." You can also see how lead quality engineer duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "test xml and svg content produced by writing compares and reading xml files"
Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what a lead quality engineer does. Lead quality engineer responsibilities require this skill because "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." This resume example highlights how lead quality engineer duties rely on this skill: "lead critical supplier quality issues for timely resolution and monitored the effectiveness of incoming quality control system by implementing receiving inspection. "
The three companies that hire the most lead quality engineers are:
- Humana50 lead quality engineers jobs
- General Electric9 lead quality engineers jobs
- Crestron Electronics
9 lead quality engineers jobs
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Compare different lead quality engineers
Lead quality engineer vs. Senior process engineer
A Senior Process Engineer assesses a process efficiency, effectiveness, safety, and quality. They also conduct process improvement initiatives and custom product developments.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between lead quality engineers and senior process engineer. For instance, lead quality engineer responsibilities require skills such as "quality standards," "qa," "test cases," and "supplier quality." Whereas a senior process engineer is skilled in "process design," "sr," "process equipment," and "capital projects." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Senior process engineers tend to make the most money working in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $107,116. In contrast, lead quality engineers make the biggest average salary, $106,994, in the hospitality industry.The education levels that senior process engineers earn slightly differ from lead quality engineers. In particular, senior process engineers are 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lead quality engineer. Additionally, they're 4.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, lead quality engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "java," "qa," "project management," and "test cases." Meanwhile, a quality supervisor has duties that require skills in areas such as "food safety," "management system," "customer service," and "quality system." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Quality supervisors may earn a lower salary than lead quality engineers, but quality supervisors earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $73,685. On the other hand, lead quality engineers receive higher pay in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $106,994.In general, quality supervisors achieve lower levels of education than lead quality engineers. They're 6.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead quality engineer vs. Process engineer
A Process Engineer is responsible for coming up with innovative ways to process particular raw materials into different kinds of products. They can also modify various existing machines or maintain their quality by monitoring its functions and conducting tests and examinations. A Process Engineer must do numerous analyses and research to gather data that would help determine possible improvements or decisions to uphold. Furthermore, A Process Engineer also has the task of procuring and installing new equipment, collecting and interpreting data, assessing risks, and ensuring that tasks are done safely.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from lead quality engineer resumes include skills like "test cases," "supplier quality," "sql," and "jira," whereas a process engineer is more likely to list skills in "troubleshoot," "statistical analysis," "cad," and "minitab. "
Process engineers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $87,797. On the other hand, lead quality engineers are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $106,994.Most process engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to lead quality engineers. For example, they're 4.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead quality engineer vs. Technical services engineer
A technical services engineer is responsible for assisting customers on their systems and network issues, providing them the best technical solutions, and guiding them on step-by-step procedures for troubleshooting. Technical services engineers must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially on identifying customers' system failures by asking them a few questions. They also escalate high-level complaints to internal teams, ensuring that they present the client's issues for reference. A technical services engineer also handles systems configuration and recommending process improvement techniques to optimize network infrastructure.
Types of lead quality engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
