Senior Quality Engineer

Senior Quality Engineer

Salary: £55,000 – £62,000
Location: Harrow
Benefits: Bonus scheme, pension, medical cash plan and life insurance

The Company

We are working exclusively with a specialist UK manufacturer operating within the automotive chemicals sector. From a purpose-built manufacturing facility in Harrow, the business formulates, blends, bottles, packs and distributes technically regulated products to customers across the UK and international markets. Supplying major automotive, lubricant and petroleum-related organisations, the company has built its reputation around product quality, technical expertise and dependable customer service. It is now investing further in its quality function and is looking to appoint an experienced Senior Quality Engineer who can strengthen systems, improve manufacturing performance and help shape how quality is delivered across the business.

The Role

This is a genuinely influential position within the Technical function, working closely with Quality, Production, Supply Chain, Procurement, Laboratory, Warehouse and external partners. You will help maintain and continually improve the company’s Quality Management System, support its ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certifications and take ownership of investigations, corrective actions, audits and improvement projects. It is not a position for somebody who simply maintains documentation from behind a desk. You will be visible within manufacturing, working alongside production teams, examining problems properly and ensuring that corrective actions deliver lasting improvements. You will also have the authority to stop a process pending review where it is producing, or is likely to produce, non-conforming product.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and develop the company’s Business Operating System and Quality Management System.
• Support continued compliance and certification against ISO 9001 and IATF 16949.
• Participate in internal system, process and product audits, ensuring actions are followed through to effective closure.
• Monitor quality performance and produce clear reports for the management team.
• Analyse quality data to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead investigations into internal non-conformances and customer complaints.
• Apply structured problem-solving techniques to establish root causes and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Maintain and update Process FMEAs and other manufacturing risk assessments.
• Manage 8D reports, corrective action reports and supplier concern reports through to closure.
• Ensure customer-specific quality requirements are understood and consistently achieved.
• Provide customers with quality-assurance information and respond professionally to complaints, surveys and technical enquiries.
• Work with suppliers to improve performance and conduct second-party audits against ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 when required.
• Complete production inspections and maintain accurate inspection records.
• Support production teams in applying quality procedures, control plans and manufacturing standards.
• Promote customer and quality requirements throughout the organisation.
• Create, maintain and control quality documentation, reports and records.
• Lead or contribute to continuous improvement and quality performance projects.
• Support the Quality Manager and provide suitable cover during periods of absence.

Your Experience

For this position, you should have established experience within quality engineering or quality assurance in a manufacturing environment.

You will ideally demonstrate:

Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001 and IATF 16949.

Experience maintaining and improving certified Quality Management Systems.

Practical experience of internal, process, product and supplier auditing.

Confidence managing corrective actions and ensuring issues remain closed.

Experience investigating customer complaints and internal quality incidents.

Strong knowledge of 8D, FMEA, 5 Whys, SPC, root-cause analysis, mistake-proofing and cause-and-effect analysis.

Experience working directly with production teams to improve manufacturing quality.

The ability to analyse complex data, recognise trends and translate findings into practical improvements.

Previous involvement in customer and supplier quality activities.

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

A structured and methodical approach, supported by excellent attention to detail.

Experience within chemical manufacturing would be advantageous but is not essential. More important is a sound background in regulated manufacturing and the ability to quickly understand technical products and processes.

Qualifications

A degree or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Quality or a related discipline would be advantageous.

An Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor qualification covering ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 is preferred.

Formal training in quality tools such as FMEA, SPC and root-cause analysis would also be beneficial.

What Success Looks Like

The successful person will be expected to:

Reduce internal non-conformances and customer complaints.

Improve first-time-pass yield and production quality.

Strengthen audit performance and corrective-action closure rates.

Improve supplier quality and accountability.

Embed a structured approach to root-cause problem-solving.

Maintain strong QMS and Business Operating System compliance.

Support the successful retention of ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certification.

Increase customer confidence through consistent quality delivery.

The Person

We are looking for someone curious, proactive and prepared to take ownership. You should be willing to challenge existing methods constructively, listen to production colleagues and pursue problems until the true cause has been identified and resolved. The business values people who remain humble, share their knowledge, support colleagues and hold themselves accountable. You must therefore be technically credible without becoming territorial, the best quality professionals bring people with them. This Senior Quality Engineer opportunity offers the chance to join a growing specialist manufacturer, work closely with senior stakeholders and make a measurable difference to quality performance across the entire operation.

5S Recruitment

We have been nominated as the recruitment partner for this role so please apply today

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