Quality Engineer Job Descriptions, Average Salary, Interview Questions

What Does a Quality Engineer Do?

A quality engineer monitors, tests, and reports on the quality of products. They also test systems and procedures to make sure they meet technical standards. Quality engineers work in a wide variety of industries, including transportation, textiles, software, and manufacturing. In many organizations, these engineers design the quality standards against which a company tests its products. If there’s an issue, the quality engineer documents the problem and works with other engineers to solve it.

In some cases, quality engineers are responsible for training workers in new processes. For this reason, a quality engineer must have high-level interpersonal communication skills in addition to skills and experience in engineering. Planning and analytical thinking are also vital parts of this role in order to solve problems and create plans for testing. In order to identify and address quality issues, they should have a solid understanding of industry quality standards, such as ISO 9001. They should also be able to use a variety of tools and techniques, such as statistical analysis and root cause analysis.

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National Average Salary

Quality engineer salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.

The average U.S. salary for a Quality Engineer is:

$82,680

Quality Engineer Job Descriptions

Crafting the perfect job description may be the key to finding an exceptional quality engineer. To help you with your recruiting search, our team has put together some examples from past openings.

Example 1

A quality engineer has the responsibility of ensuring the overall quality of a manufactured product. They create supporting documentation, inspect and test products, components, and processes, and produce quality control systems. Quality engineers must be critical thinkers, have excellent attention to detail, and possess solid analytical and communication skills. [Your Company Name] is looking for a quality engineer to take our company to new heights. You should have excellent troubleshooting skills and a proven ability to ensure processes and products consistently meet established quality standards.

Typical duties and responsibilities

  • Develop methods to inspect and measure product quality
  • Recommend changes to improve product quality
  • Work with team members and stakeholders to enhance products
  • Ensure products meet company and industry quality standards
  • Identify problems and brainstorm solutions
  • Create strategies to increase productivity
  • Document results and findings from inspections
  • Implement production systems to ensure consistency and accuracy

Education and experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in quality, industrial, or mechanical engineering
  • Extensive experience in a quality assurance environment
  • Master’s degree or PhD preferred for specific positions or career advancement

Required skills and qualifications

  • Analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills
  • Teamwork and interpersonal communication skills
  • Strong technical writing ability
  • Experience working with engineering and computer-assisted design software
  • Demonstrated skill in solving highly technical problems
  • Expertise in computer technology and systems operations
  • In-depth understanding of industry market trends and conditions

Preferred qualifications

  • Competent in TDD, BDD, ATDD approaches
  • Experienced in defining and executing manual test strategies, test plans, and effective regression testing
  • Practical usage and a good understanding of both top-down and bottom-up approaches
  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field of study

Example 2

We are currently recruiting for a Quality Engineer in our Quality Department. This will include responsibilities for supporting the QMS and improving key performance indicators (KPIs) for the company. The essential job functions will include:

  • Review and participate in New Product Development work including FAIs, GR&R, capability studies, documentation, etc. – 40%
  • Move development parts into active production status while maintaining yields and productivity. – 25%
  • Continuously improve productivity and quality by working closely with process engineering and production, developing monitors, reviewing scraps and rejects, etc. – 25%
  • Support the Quality Management System through: – 10%
  • Internal Audits
  • Document Control activities
  • Corrective and Preventive Action assignments

Desired skills and experience

  • BSIE or BS in Engineering with a demonstrated knowledge of process mapping and optimization
  • Experience with monitoring manufacturing processes that involve multiple products, multiple complexities, and different lot sizes
  • Project management ability: demonstrated ability to organize and lead teams of professional peers in accomplishing multi-priority projects
  • Equivalent combination of education/experience/knowledge may be substituted in lieu of degree or years of experience

Physical demands & work environment

  • Work is mostly performed in an office and manufacturing plant setting
  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, demonstrate manual dexterity, climb stairs, talk, hear, see
  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, demonstrate manual dexterity, talk, hear, and see
  • Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision and ability to focus

Example 3

Responsibilities:

  • Work with Quality Manager to develop and implement quality assurance and quality control procedures
  • 95% of the work day spent on the manufacturing floor solving quality issues, while working on a major project
  • Total responsibility for quality control, including parts, crating, and finished product
  • Maintain a continuous improvement mentality with focus on Kaizen (small change for the better)
  • Perform quality audits, quality admin inspections, and support staff with any quality related questions
  • Responsible for ensuring raw material and inbound part quality
  • Ensure quality assurance procedures are maintained and by all staff
  • Report directly to the Quality Manager for your facility

Requirements:

  • 0-10 yrs experience
  • 4-year technical degree, in an electrical, electronics, or mechanically oriented curriculum
  • Internship/co-op experience is preferred
  • Must enjoy hands on product exposure
  • Electrical skills and experience needed
  • AutoCAD or similar software a must
  • Multitasking, problem solving, and strong communication skills a must
  • Strong desire to please the customer with perfect product quality and to maintain a safe work environment

Example 4

Job summary:

Plans and conducts activities concerned with the quality control and quality assurance of industrial
processes, materials, and products

Essential job duties:

  • Design and implement audits, and control plans for products to ensure product quality targets are met
  • Establish, define, implement, maintain, and report on quality assurance key performance measures and standards
  • Investigate non-conformances and consumer complaints, lead completion of root cause analysis, implement corrective actions, and monitor progress and improvements
  • Drive continuous improvement on quality standards, requirements, and best practices
  • Create and maintain quality systems documentation, such as quality manuals, procedures, and work instructions
  • Devises sampling procedures and designs and develops forms and instructions for recording, evaluating, and reporting quality and reliability data
  • Applies statistical process control (SPC) methods for analyzing data to evaluate the current process and process changes
  • Prepares and presents technical and program information to team members and management
  • Directs technical and administrative workers engaged in quality activities
  • Maintains a working knowledge of government and industry quality codes and standards including ISO 9001
  • Entry-Level position within field
  • Conducts routine tasks as directed
  • Contributes to specific objectives and outcomes as directed
  • Closely supervised with little latitude for independent judgment
  • Works under clearly defined guidelines

Qualifications:

  • Must be able to access shared database with government programs (U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident of the U.S.)
  • Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering or other STEM field of study
  • Experience in CAPA, root cause analysis, and 8D
  • Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt
  • Experience in a clean room environment (Preferred)
  • ISO 9001 Internal auditor (Preferred)
  • Proficient with word processing software; statistical analysis software (SPC); graphics software; order processing software, and database software
  • Proficient with measurement, calibration, and test equipment

Work environment: 

  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to work near moving mechanical parts
  • The employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles
  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate

Physical demands: 

  • The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds
  • Specific vision abilities required by this job include Close vision, Color vision, Distance vision, and Depth perception
  • While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to walk and talk or hear
  • The employee is frequently required to stand; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms
  • The employee is occasionally required to sit; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, as well as taste or smell

Candidate Certifications to Look For

  • Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) – This certification program is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and proves a candidate’s understanding of the principles of product and service quality evaluation and control. Candidates are tested on their knowledge of the development and operation of quality control systems, application and analysis of testing and inspection procedures, their ability to use metrology and statistical methods to diagnose and correct improper quality control practices, and much more. To be eligible for this certification, candidates need 8 years of related on-the-job experience, with 3 of those years in a decision-making position. 
  • Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) – The American Society for Quality (ASQ) offers the CQA certification for professionals who prove their knowledge in the standards and principles of auditing and the auditing techniques of examining, questioning, evaluating, and reporting to determine a quality system’s adequacy and deficiencies. The exam includes multiple-choice questions and case studies covering audit fundamentals, audit processes, audit competencies, quality tools and techniques, and more. Eligibility requirements include 8 years of related experience, 3 of which are in a decision-making role.

Sample Interview Questions

  • Do you have experience working with quality management systems like ISO 9001?
  • How would you investigate production flaws?
  • When it comes to quality control, how do you balance it with the need to meet delivery or production deadlines?
  • To improve quality control processes, how have you applied statistical tools and techniques to analyze quality data?
  • In what ways do you communicate quality issues to production teams and senior management?
  • How would you implement a change needed to improve quality?
  • What are the methods you use to measure and track quality control effectiveness?
  • What is your experience with internal and external quality audits? What improvements did you make based on the results?
  • How do you handle customer complaints and issues?
  • Do you have experience implementing and maintaining quality control processes, such as FMEAs and Control Plans?
  • What is your experience working with cross-functional teams to ensure quality standards are met throughout the product development process?

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