What does a senior supplier quality engineer do?
A senior supplier quality engineer is in charge of overseeing the delivery of supplies in a company, ensuring its quality and efficiency by designing and developing quality assurance systems and procedures. Their responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data, analyzing existing systems to identify areas needing improvement, and implementing solutions against problem areas. They may also monitor the performance of the suppliers, building positive relationships with them. Furthermore, a senior supplier quality engineer must maintain an active communication line with staff, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
Senior supplier quality engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior supplier quality engineer resumes:
- Lead Kaizen events at suppliers and internally to resolve issues and promote teamwork.
- Manage MRB team of non-conforming parts disposition and work closely with suppliers and internal cross-functional departments to resolve quality issues.
- Program manage inter-departmental NPI activities.
- Process validation include SPC testing and validation using MiniTab.
- Maintain product integrity by ensuring parts provide to manufacturing meet quality standards for engineering specifications, including ISO standards.
- Train suppliers in constructing FMEA's.
- Combine DFMEA and PFMEA to identify lower cost process alternatives.
- Maintain corrective action plans to support customer requirements & FMEA.
- Implement APQP methodology for suppliers with new commodities on vehicle launches.
- Source inspection of in-process and final acceptance of UTAS aerospace hardware.
- Audit (AS9100) casting/machining suppliers and lead project teams to implement countermeasures.
- Prepare CAPA/SCARS/8D/RPN reports and PCN/ECN documents and update product specific document in QMS.
- Assist with inspections from regulatory agencies or notify bodies, such as the FDA.
- Perform root cause analysis and identify action plan to develop, implement and monitor CAPA.
- Save more than two hundr thousand dollars by identifying and facilitating suppliers in six sigma projects.
Senior supplier quality engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Senior Supplier Quality Engineers are proficient in Continuous Improvement, Sigma, and ISO. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Supplier Quality Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Continuous Improvement, 8%
Conduct and define company agreements with suppliers for component qualification, testing, quality/reliability requirements, continuous improvement and product delivery.
- Sigma, 6%
Process Validations - System Medical device manufacturing at extensive level - Six sigma improvement projects with suppliers.
- ISO, 5%
Develop partnering relationships with domestic and international suppliers to improve operational excellence and implement ISO 9001:2000 quality-management systems.
- Product Quality, 4%
Managed and evaluated domestic and international Fortune 500-1000 supplier product quality to ensure products adhered to contractual specifications and requirements.
- Supplier Performance, 4%
Provided engineering support for continuous supplier quality improvement, supplier selection, supplier process auditing and maintenance of supplier performance metrics.
- Quality Standards, 3%
Spearheaded, negotiated, and implemented production quality standards within OEM manufacturing facilities in Japan and Thailand.
"continuous improvement," "sigma," and "iso" are among the most common skills that senior supplier quality engineers use at work. You can find even more senior supplier quality engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior supplier 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." Senior supplier quality engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "support the supplier development initiative through assessments, lean, supplier management, process control and inventory. "
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior supplier 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 senior supplier quality engineer resume, here's how senior supplier quality engineers can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "communicated feedback from the shop floor to suppliers on their product quality. "
Math skills. senior supplier quality engineers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior supplier 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 senior supplier quality engineer resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "change control, gmp, risk analysis, statistics, etc. )"
Speaking skills. A big part of what senior supplier quality engineers do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to senior supplier 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 senior supplier quality engineer tasks: "facilitated and presented supplier quality metrics at design and production management reviews. "
Writing skills. Another common skill required for senior supplier quality engineer responsibilities is "writing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior supplier quality engineers all the time, as "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." An excerpt from a real senior supplier quality engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior supplier quality engineer does: "supported the business by writing and revising corporate and group quality system procedures. "
Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what a senior supplier quality engineer does. Senior supplier 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 senior supplier quality engineer duties rely on this skill: "supported advanced product quality planning engineer who coordinated permanent resolution of trim quality non conformance issues. "
See the full list of senior supplier quality engineer skills
The three companies that hire the most senior supplier quality engineers are:
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Compare different senior supplier quality engineers
Senior supplier quality engineer vs. Packaging engineer
A Packaging Engineer plans and implements packaging designs to ensure product integrity and appeal. Their primary duties include supervising and managing the complete packaging development process, analyzing engineering drawings, and conducting periodic vendor reviews.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior supplier quality engineer are more likely to require skills like "continuous improvement," "product quality," "supplier performance," and "quality standards." On the other hand, a job as a packaging engineer requires skills like "cad," "project management," "solidworks," and "astm." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Packaging engineers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $100,934. On the other hand, senior supplier quality engineers are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $99,035.The education levels that packaging engineers earn slightly differ from senior supplier quality engineers. In particular, packaging engineers are 7.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior supplier quality engineer. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior supplier 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 senior supplier quality engineer responsibilities requires skills like "continuous improvement," "sigma," "product quality," and "supplier performance." 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 senior supplier quality engineers, but engineers earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $97,672. On the other hand, senior supplier quality engineers receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $99,035.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior supplier quality engineers. In fact, they're 4.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior supplier 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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior supplier quality engineers are more likely to have skills like "supplier performance," "pfmea," "sr," and "supplier selection." But a quality supervisor is more likely to have skills like "corrective action," "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, senior supplier quality engineers have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $99,035.When it comes to education, quality supervisors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior supplier quality engineers. In fact, they're 7.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior supplier 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior supplier quality engineers and quality leads, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior supplier quality engineer might have more use for skills like "supplier performance," "pfmea," "sr," and "gd." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of quality leads require skills like "project management," "quality issues," "customer service," and "corrective action. "
In general, quality leads earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $92,715. The highest-paying industry for a senior supplier quality engineer is the health care industry.quality leads reach similar levels of education compared to senior supplier quality engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 4.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of senior supplier quality engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
