Salary: $60,000 - $100,000 per year
Location: La Porte, IN
Posted: September 30 2026
Minimum Degree:
Relocation Assistance: Available
Location: Northwest Indiana
Industry: Manufacturing
Compensation: Target base salary around $100,000, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate
Bonus: 10% annual bonus
Relocation: Assistance available
Position Type: Full-time, direct hire
Reports To: Quality Manager
Schedule: Primarily day shift
Our client is an established, international manufacturing company with a significant U.S. production operation in Northwest Indiana.
The facility employs approximately 230 people and operates 24/7 across four shifts. The company is investing in the location and expects continued expansion over the next five to ten years, including additional manufacturing capabilities and production capacity.
This is a stable organization with an established quality department, but they are specifically looking for someone who can bring stronger analytical and problem-solving capabilities to the team.
This is not a position where the Quality Engineer simply maintains paperwork, performs inspections and reacts to problems after they occur.
The company wants someone who can dig into quality issues, determine true root causes, identify trends in the data and put systems in place to prevent problems from happening again.
The current Quality Manager has strong knowledge of the company, its operations and its people and has successfully progressed through the organization. The Quality Engineer will complement that experience by bringing stronger technical quality, analytical and continuous improvement capabilities to the department.
The person hired will become an important technical resource within the quality organization and will help move the department from being primarily reactive to becoming increasingly proactive and preventative.
The most important qualifications are not tied to a particular manufacturing process or industry.
They need an experienced quality professional who is particularly strong in:
▪️ Root cause analysis and structured problem solving
▪️ Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA)
▪️ Analyzing quality data and identifying trends
▪️ Determining why repetitive quality problems are occurring
▪️ Developing and implementing systems to prevent recurrence
▪️ ISO 9001 quality systems
▪️ Internal auditing and supporting external certification audits
▪️ Continuous improvement
▪️ Working cross-functionally with manufacturing, engineering and other departments
The original specification calls for at least 3 to 5 years of relevant quality experience, with knowledge of SPC and problem-solving tools. ISO 9001 internal auditor certification is also identified as a qualification. Six Sigma Green/Black Belt and Lean experience are preferred but not required.
Plastics experience is NOT required. Candidates from other manufacturing industries are strongly encouraged to be considered.
The Quality Engineer will work closely with the Quality Manager and quality team to improve the overall effectiveness of the company's quality systems.
Responsibilities will include:
▪️ Investigate quality problems and perform detailed root cause analysis to determine why failures or nonconformances are occurring.
▪️ Lead and support CAPA activities, ensuring corrective actions address the actual root cause rather than simply treating the symptom.
▪️ Analyze quality data, recurring defects, customer issues and process performance to identify trends and potential problems before they become larger issues.
▪️ Develop and recommend preventative systems, procedures and controls to reduce recurring quality problems.
▪️ Troubleshoot daily quality issues and coordinate problem-solving activities with the appropriate manufacturing, engineering and support departments.
▪️ Serve as a key resource for the facility's ISO 9001 quality management system and function as a lead auditor.
▪️ Support preparation and execution of internal audits as well as annual ISO surveillance and recertification audits.
▪️ Conduct and support product and process audits to verify compliance with established specifications and quality requirements.
▪️ Review quality documentation, inspection requirements, engineering documents, sampling procedures and related records for accuracy and completeness.
▪️ Document nonconformances and establish methods for tracking repetitive problems.
▪️ Initiate and manage corrective and preventive actions when quality processes or products do not meet requirements.
▪️ Assist manufacturing and engineering during trials and process changes to identify appropriate quality requirements and testing procedures.
▪️ Support customer complaint investigations, including internal investigation, meetings, corrective actions and, when necessary, customer communication.
▪️ Participate in continuous improvement initiatives and special projects.
▪️ Train employees on quality requirements, procedures and important changes when appropriate.
These responsibilities align with the company's existing Quality Engineer specification, which includes audits, documentation, troubleshooting/root cause analysis, customer complaints, ISO 9001 audits, CAPA and continuous improvement.
This person will join a close-knit quality organization of approximately eight people once the position is filled.
The team consists of:
▪️ Quality Manager
▪️ Quality Engineer, this position
▪️ Quality Specialist
▪️ Five Quality Technicians
Four technicians support the plant's operating shifts, while one works days and handles special projects.
This is not a people-management position, but the Quality Engineer needs to have influence within the department.
The company specifically wants someone who works well with others and can help the existing team embrace improvements and changes rather than simply telling people what they are doing wrong.
The ideal candidate will have several years of progressively responsible quality experience and be comfortable operating in a manufacturing environment.
Manufacturing experience is strongly preferred, but the company is open to candidates from a variety of industries.
Previous successful candidates considered for the position had approximately 10 to 15 years of experience, and the company has already demonstrated that it will consider candidates outside of plastics manufacturing.
The strongest candidates will have experience with:
▪️ Root cause analysis
▪️ CAPA / corrective and preventive action
▪️ ISO 9001
▪️ Internal quality auditing
▪️ Quality data and trend analysis
▪️ SPC and quality/problem-solving tools
▪️ Continuous improvement
▪️ Manufacturing quality systems
▪️ Customer complaint investigation
▪️ Cross-functional problem solving
▪️ Microsoft Excel and other data-analysis/reporting tools
A bachelor's degree is preferred, not required.
The company will consider a strong candidate without a bachelor's degree if that individual has substantial relevant quality experience and can demonstrate the technical capabilities needed for the position.
The original specification lists a bachelor's degree in chemistry or a related discipline as preferred, but the company's current hiring criteria are broader than the original written description.
Technical ability alone will not get someone hired.
This is a tight-knit quality team, so the successful candidate needs to be collaborative and capable of building credibility with people across the organization.
They need someone who can:
▪️ Analyze a problem without immediately jumping to conclusions.
▪️ Work collaboratively with manufacturing, engineering and quality personnel.
▪️ Communicate findings clearly to both technical and nontechnical employees.
▪️ Influence people without having direct authority over them.
▪️ Introduce change in a way that gets people on board.
▪️ Be comfortable challenging existing processes when the data shows there is a better way.
▪️ Take ownership of problems and follow them through to resolution.
The company's target is approximately $100,000 base salary plus a 10% annual bonus.
There may be some flexibility above $100,000 for an exceptional candidate who closely matches the company's needs.
Recruiters should not automatically rule out a strong candidate slightly above $100,000. Submit the candidate with compensation expectations clearly identified and let us evaluate the overall fit.
The company is open to candidates outside the local market and relocation assistance is available.
Relocation assistance generally includes paying the cost of moving the candidate's household goods to the area. Depending upon circumstances, the company may also be able to provide temporary housing for approximately one month while the new employee gets settled.
The relocation program does not include purchasing the candidate's home.
Please do not limit your search to plastics or any particular manufacturing process.
I am much more interested in seeing candidates who can demonstrate that they have personally:
▪️ Investigated difficult quality problems.
▪️ Performed root cause analysis.
▪️ Led CAPAs through completion.
▪️ Used quality data to identify trends.
▪️ Implemented corrective actions that prevented problems from recurring.
▪️ Worked within an ISO 9001 quality system.
▪️ Conducted or led internal audits.
▪️ Worked effectively with manufacturing and engineering.
Someone who has spent their career primarily performing inspections, maintaining documentation or administering an existing quality system without strong hands-on problem-solving experience is probably not the right fit.
Along with the resume, please provide:
▪️ Current location
▪️ Current compensation
▪️ Desired base salary
▪️ Relocation requirements, if applicable
▪️ Reason for considering a change
▪️ Specific experience with ISO 9001
▪️ Internal or Lead Auditor certifications
▪️ Specific examples of root cause analysis and CAPA work
▪️ Experience analyzing quality data and identifying trends
▪️ Manufacturing industry experience
▪️ Bachelor's degree, if applicable
▪️ Six Sigma or Lean certifications, if applicable