Principal Quality Engineer – Manufacturing Operations

About the role

The Operations Quality Engineer drives product, process, supplier, and operational quality throughout the manufacturing lifecycle. The role develops and deploys quality systems, leads structured problem solving, supports factory operations, and partners with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, global quality, and customer teams.

Key responsibilities

• Design and implement inspection, testing, and quality control methodologies for manufacturing and production equipment.
• Lead structured root‑cause investigations using 8D, CAPA, DMAIC, Fishbone, 5‑Why, Pareto analysis, and related quality methods.
• Support customer quality issues, escalations, containment activities and prepare technical summaries for quality reviews.
• Analyze operational data, build dashboards and KPIs, and lead Lean Six Sigma projects focused on quality outcomes.
• Influence cross‑functional teams without direct authority and mentor junior engineers, inspectors, and technicians.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing Engineering, Physical Sciences or related technical discipline (or equivalent Applied Materials experience).
• Experience in quality, manufacturing, product, supplier, customer, process, test or reliability engineering in semiconductor capital equipment or a comparable complex manufacturing environment.

Required skills

• Quality tools: 8D, CAPA, RCA, SPC, MSA, FMEA, Control Plans, First Article Inspection, ISO 9001.
• Data & analytics: Excel, Power BI, Tableau, JMP, statistical analysis, data visualization, Microsoft Copilot/AI‑assisted tools.
• Methodologies: Lean Six Sigma, DMAIC, Fishbone, 5‑Why, Pareto analysis.