What does a manufacturing quality engineer do?
A manufacturing quality engineer is in charge of designing and developing quality control programs to meet the standard procedures and products of a company. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current programs and systems, identifying the needs of manufacturing plants and its workforce, and upgrading existing systems. One may also address issues and concerns, performing corrective measures as needed. Furthermore, as a manufacturing quality engineer, it is essential to conduct regular inspections to maintain a safe and efficient work environment for everyone.
Manufacturing quality engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real manufacturing quality engineer resumes:
- Assist with several remediation efforts that lead to a 483b lift from the FDA.
- Manage supplier commodities and support manufacturing operations ensuring product conformance to print specification and monitoring production processes on the line level.
- Conduct, support, and provide analysis for machine/process/quality information following FMEA and APQP standards.
- Implement QMS process improvements from audit findings.
- Provide support for CAPA relate activities to products and processes.
- Own CAPA investigation, implementation and tracking on product lines.
- Participate in PPAP for new product introduction including developing control plans, PFMEA and PFD's.
- Collaborate with new product development team to determine capabilities and possible process failure modes (APQP).
- Measure, collect, analyze, report and monitor factory failure data using SPC techniques and complex spreadsheets.
- Conduct EHS & QMS internal and external audits to support internal and supply base process performance and improvements.
- Coordinate quality procedures, instructions, specifications, and standards to ensure conformance to ISO 9001 and customer specifications.
- Experience providing technical design direction on hardware, mechanical products, machine parts and components for global ISO manufacturers.
- Conduct supplier visits and audits, working on improving the quality metrics of their processes and parts through APQP.
- Support product reliability and FMEA requirements during development.
- Design PowerPoint presentations for CEO and executive management.
Manufacturing quality engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Manufacturing Quality Engineers are proficient in Continuous Improvement, Corrective Action, and Sigma. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Manufacturing Quality Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Continuous Improvement, 7%
Collaborated with Quality Support team during safety and metric meetings and supported Continuous Improvement projects focused on reducing scrap and downtime.
- Corrective Action, 7%
Managed Customer Warranty Return program for accessories, determining quality failure mode and corrective actions needed for audio product accessories.
- Sigma, 5%
Implemented process improvements to reduce failure rate using Lean Six Sigma methodology.
- Product Quality, 5%
Worked independently and in teams at different manufacturing facilities in order to improve product quality and develop manufacturing quality tools.
- Lean Manufacturing, 4%
Implement Quality objectives and Lean manufacturing techniques to improve production, maximize product reliability and minimize cost.
- ISO, 4%
Maintained ISO certification Designed and executed audit plans for various types of semiconductor fabrication equipment.
Most manufacturing quality engineers use their skills in "continuous improvement," "corrective action," and "sigma" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential manufacturing quality engineer responsibilities here:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a manufacturing 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." Manufacturing quality engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "applied spc in creative inspection process: saving $83,000/yr, and 10x quality improvement. "
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling manufacturing quality engineer duties is listening skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff." According to a manufacturing quality engineer resume, here's how manufacturing quality engineers can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "conducted process audits, communicated findings to the team and initiated corrective action. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of manufacturing quality engineers is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday manufacturing quality engineer duties, 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." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "lead supplier quality resolution activities investigated and implemented solutions for;-assembly line issues, non-conformance reports. "
Speaking skills. A big part of what manufacturing quality engineers do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to manufacturing 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 manufacturing quality engineer tasks: "represented the company on the (mrb) material review board responsible for tracking and identify unqualified materials throughout production. "
Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in manufacturing quality engineer job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what manufacturing quality engineers do. Manufacturing 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 manufacturing quality engineer duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "trained personnel on inspection procedures, code writing, and electro-mechanical cmm operation. "
Math skills. While "math skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to manufacturing quality engineer responsibilities. Much of what a manufacturing quality engineer does relies on this skill, seeing as "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of manufacturing quality engineers: "completed six sigma project gaining $50k/ yr savings without capital requests or lost production time utilizing statistics through minitab software. "
The three companies that hire the most manufacturing quality engineers are:
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Compare different manufacturing quality engineers
Manufacturing quality engineer vs. Process improvement engineer
A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability. Most of the time, engineers participate in a series of meetings where they coordinate with fellow engineers to determine opportunities for product growth and development. Moreover, a process improvement engineer is also responsible for crafting new policies and regulations, upgrading systems, and developing new practices to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, manufacturing quality engineer responsibilities require skills like "process control," "spc," "supplier quality," and "ppap." Meanwhile a typical process improvement engineer has skills in areas such as "project management," "healthcare," "performance improvement," and "patients." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Process improvement engineers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $89,829. In contrast, manufacturing quality engineers make the biggest average salary, $101,126, in the technology industry.On average, process improvement engineers reach higher levels of education than manufacturing quality engineers. Process improvement engineers are 5.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Manufacturing 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that manufacturing quality engineer responsibilities requires skills like "continuous improvement," "corrective action," "sigma," and "product quality." But an engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #."
Engineers may earn a higher salary than manufacturing quality engineers, but engineers earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $97,672. On the other hand, manufacturing quality engineers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $101,126.In general, engineers achieve similar levels of education than manufacturing quality engineers. They're 1.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for manufacturing quality engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Jerry Leth
VP/General Manager, MANA
Manufacturing quality engineer vs. Quality lead
A quality assurance (QA) lead is responsible for organizing and managing the testing of products prior to its release. Your duties will include defining testing standards and strategies, establishing formal QA processes, and overseeing all aspects of QA, such as using best practices and establishing metrics. Additionally, you are responsible for supervising and mentoring QA team members, and developing and implementing scripts, test cases, and procedures. You are also responsible for managing off quality products and developing and institutionalizing ISO complaints.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, manufacturing quality engineers are more likely to have skills like "statistical analysis," "capability studies," "gd," and "aerospace." But a quality lead is more likely to have skills like "project management," "customer service," "strong analytical," and "quality checks."
Quality leads earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $92,715. Manufacturing quality engineers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $101,126.When it comes to education, quality leads tend to earn similar degree levels compared to manufacturing quality engineers. In fact, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Manufacturing 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between manufacturing quality engineers and process engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a manufacturing quality engineer might have more use for skills like "process control," "spc," "supplier quality," and "quality system." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of process engineers require skills like "project management," "troubleshoot," "minitab," and "process equipment. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for process engineers, with average annual pay of $87,797. Comparatively, the highest manufacturing quality engineer annual salary comes from the technology industry.The average resume of process engineers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to manufacturing quality engineers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.2%.Types of manufacturing quality engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
