Quality Manager at Whisker in Juneau, WI

Description

Whisker is redefining what it means to live with cats—designing intelligent systems that remove friction, elevate the everyday, and celebrate the quiet brilliance of feline companionship. Today, Litter-Robot leads the category. Tomorrow, an entire ecosystem that expands what’s possible for cats and the people who love them. We believe the future is feline. And we’re imagining that future today.

We work onsite with our team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Juneau, Wisconsin. Our team of 700+ passionate pet people thrives on collaboration, innovation, and the occasional office cameo from a four-legged friend.

What You'll Do:

The Quality Manager is responsible for leading the Whisker Quality Management Department, ensuring all incoming and outgoing products, parts, and accessories meet Whisker’s high Quality standards.  The Quality Manager will work with cross-functional teams to ensure that solutions are developed, projects are completed, and issues are resolved, all with a focus on effectiveness and efficiency.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as deemed necessary.

• Leads and develops a team of engineers and technicians
• Establishes and drives a vision for the facility's Quality Department and related methodologies, works to support company vision / directions and align with plant goals.
• Develops and leads all Quality related project plans and schedules, and ensures the appropriate Quality plans are followed, implemented, and communicated
• Performs independent technical assessments on product Quality, performance, and post-market product Quality analysis:  audits, PER pilot runs, first article inspections, process / equipment qualification, etc
• Leads internal and external Quality related problem solving activities to drive to root cause identification and issue resolution and prevention
• Follows best practices and operational policies in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.  Creates processes and standards when needed
• Serves as a liaison between vendors and Whisker management to identify quality issues and develop solutions, provides technical advice and guidance to suppliers to reduce defect rate
• Works with the Corporate Advanced Quality Team, Product Engineers, IT, and Program Managers to understand and create Quality control objectives to facilitate successful New Product Development processes, product launches, and support through the lifecycle of the product
• Runs point for the plant when external auditors assess Whisker facilities / processes
• Ensures transactional accuracy for all nonconforming materials and segregation activities
• Tracks and reports out on Key KPIs: FPY, Customer Complaints, Incoming Inspection 
• Backs up other functions and performs additional responsibilities when required 

Leadership Responsibilities

Directly supervises the department. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with Whisker policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, training and hiring teams, planning, assigning and directing work, appraising performance, addressing team issues, and upholding safety and quality guidelines. 

Requirements

Requirements & Qualifications:

• BS degree in a scientific discipline aligned with Quality, and/or significant experience in the role
• Quality Engineering and/or Management experience in manufacturing and distribution operations
• Experience leading and developing teams
• Experience working on issues of diverse scope, where analysis of the situation or data requires evaluation of a variety of factors, including an understanding of current business trends
• Experience conducting and reviewing Root Cause Analysis and familiarity with various tools such as:  8-Discipline, DMAIC, 5-Why, Fishbone Diagrams, Fault Tree Analysis, Contradiction Matrices, etc.
• Experience managing through new product milestones
• Ability to effectively lead and manage people, including setting expectations, assessing performance, providing feedback, delegating tasks, having difficult conversations, and engaging and developing employees
• Experience in independently producing and completing Quality Engineering Documents
• Maintains confidentiality of proprietary information
• Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast-paced environment across multiple locations
• High degree of initiative, self-motivation and ability to motivate others

Not Required but Nice to Have!

• Experience with injection-molded plastics, consumer electronics (PCBs, harness, motors, etc)
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer or Certified Reliability Engineer
• Six Sigma Green or Black Belt Certification
• ASQ Certified Quality Auditor Certification
• Experience with ISO 9001 Certification
• Experience with creating or reviewing statistical justifications for sample size selection

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands outlined below represent those that a Team Member must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to sit, talk, and hear. The Team Member frequently uses their hands to handle or feel objects and occasionally stands, walks, and reaches with their hands and arms. The Team Member must be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds regularly and occasionally up to 75 pounds. Specific vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

The work environment characteristics described here represent those a Team Member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Benefits & Purrks: 

Join a tenacious, inventive company that empowers team members to chart their own path, lead by grounding decisions in the “why”, and has a strong sense of empathy and openness to new perspectives. Be a part of exciting growth, work with incredible people, and create tomorrow’s pet products—plus a whole lot of extras. You will also be provided with:

• Premium Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Whisker Parents Program
• 1 day "pawternity" leave for new pet adoption
• Pet Insurance Discount
• 401K match
• Flexible spending accounts
• Company-paid short-term disability and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Generous paid time off
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Top of the line equipment
• Pet-friendly office
• Whisker products and swag
• Continuing education Support
• On-site gym with Peloton
• Referral program

Statement of Inclusivity:

We believe different perspectives make Whisker better and strive to create a place where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.

Please ensure to regularly check your email spam folder for any communication from Whisker to avoid missing important updates regarding your application status. 

Whisker will not ask you to interview with an AI chat bot. We ask that all interviewees refrain from using any AI tools during interviews with Whisker team members.