Automotive APQP Launch Quality Lead

Job Description

Job DescriptionAutomotive APQP Launch Quality Lead Location: Dublin, GA | Department: Quality

Reports To: Business Unit Management Dublin (Technical reporting to Business Unit Management ZF/SGU)

A day in this role

From the moment a customer RFQ lands to the day a new part ships flawlessly in series production, you are the quality voice at the table. Your morning begins aligning cross-functional teammates on APQP milestones. Midday, you’re reviewing supplier readiness and validating inspections. By afternoon, you’re driving PFMEA actions, checking capability results (Cp/Cpk), and preparing PPAP evidence for customer approval. You close the day coaching the line on CTQ controls and tracking launch metrics so the next build is better than the last.

What you’ll lead Advanced Quality Planning & Project Launch

• Own APQP through the full lifecycle—from quotation and feasibility to SOP and sustained series production.
• Plan and deliver all quality commitments to meet customer timing, cost, and performance targets.
• Support feasibility, risk assessments, and supplier technical evaluations tied to new business awards.
• Create and maintain project quality plans, control plans, inspection plans, and measurement system strategies.
• Define Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) characteristics and implement robust prevention and detection controls.
• Coordinate PPAP submissions and secure on-time customer approvals.

Customer & Supplier Quality Management

• Serve as the primary customer interface on project quality topics—launches, concerns, approvals, and corrective actions.
• Work directly with OEM and Tier 1 quality teams; represent Erdrich in audits, assessments, and process approvals.
• Collaborate with suppliers to meet APQP deliverables and quality requirements; drive qualification, development, and performance improvements.

Quality Engineering & Risk Management

• Lead PFMEA and structured risk analysis to proactively protect the customer.
• Leverage Lessons Learned, 8D, 5 Why, and Ishikawa to eliminate recurrence.
• Plan and execute capability work: Process Capability (Cp/Cpk), MSA, SPC, and gage/inspection equipment validation.
• Analyze inspection and measurement needs for both new and legacy products.

Continuous Improvement & Production Support

• Monitor launch and production KPIs: scrap, rework, internal defects, customer complaints, COPQ, and warranty/failure costs.
• Drive corrective and preventive actions; support engineering changes and production transfers.
• Coach production teams on inspection criteria, standards, and project-specific quality controls.

What you bring Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or related field preferred; equivalent automotive quality experience considered.
• Background in automotive quality, quality planning, launch/program management, or quality engineering.
• Experience with OEM and Tier 1 customers preferred; proven success in new product launches and serial production.

Technical & Manufacturing Expertise

• Deep knowledge of APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC, 8D, VDA 2, VDA 5, control plans, statistical analysis, root cause tools, and the Automotive Core Tools.
• Hands-on with SAP, Microsoft Office, Babtec (or similar QMS), and Qlik Sense (or comparable reporting platforms).
• Familiar with stamping/metal forming, assembly and joining methods, inspection/measurement systems, GD&T, and blueprint interpretation.

Strengths

• Customer-first mindset; strong relationship building and communication skills.
• Cross-functional collaboration in global environments; organized project leadership.
• Analytical problem solver; able to juggle priorities in a fast-paced automotive setting; self-driven with CI focus.

Why Erdrich USA

• Lead launches for major automotive programs and shape quality outcomes that matter.
• Work within a collaborative, international manufacturing network.
• Hands-on exposure to advanced technologies and continuous improvement culture.
• Grow your career inside a global organization dedicated to operational excellence and quality leadership.

Join us in Dublin, GA, and be the quality leader who turns great designs into robust, launch-ready reality.

Erdrich USA Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in the workplace.