Senior Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE)

Location:

Fremont, CA

Travel:

Approximately 30–40%, primarily Asia-Pacific

Department:

Quality / Supplier Quality

Reports to:

VP Quality

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced

Senior Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE) to join our Quality organization and provide technical leadership across our global supplier base supporting semiconductor fabrication equipment and related subsystems.

This role will be responsible for driving supplier quality performance, developing and qualifying suppliers, conducting Quality Management System and manufacturing process audits, leading root cause and corrective action activities, and ensuring that suppliers consistently meet demanding quality, reliability, delivery, and technical requirements.

The ideal candidate will have significant experience working within the semiconductor capital equipment supply chain, with a strong understanding of the manufacturing processes and failure modes associated with precision-machined components, mechanical assemblies, PCB/PCBA, integrated circuits, semiconductor packaging, and other high-technology components.

This position is highly cross-functional, and will work closely with Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Procurement, Supplier Development, Reliability Engineering, and Quality teams. The Senior SQE will be expected to work directly with suppliers to identify systemic issues, implement sustainable corrective actions, improve manufacturing processes, and establish robust quality controls.

Approximately

30–40% travel is expected, primarily to suppliers and company factory sites located throughout Asia, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and other locations, as required.

Key Responsibilities

Supplier Quality Management

• Own and manage the quality performance of assigned strategic and critical suppliers.
• Establish supplier quality requirements, quality agreements, inspection criteria, control plans, and acceptance standards.
• Monitor supplier quality metrics, including

  PPM, defects, escapes, yield, corrective action closure, process capability, and on-time delivery

  .
• Develop and implement supplier improvement plans for suppliers that do not meet established quality requirements.
• Partner with Procurement and Engineering during new supplier selection, qualification, development, and ongoing supplier performance management.
• Support supplier sourcing activities, including technical assessments, manufacturing capability reviews, and supplier risk assessments.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives throughout the supply base.

Quality Management System Auditing

• Conduct supplier Quality Management System (QMS) audits and manufacturing process audits.
• Evaluate supplier compliance with applicable quality standards and customer-specific requirements.
• Assess supplier processes for effective implementation of

  ISO 9001

  and, where applicable, other relevant industry standards.
• Perform process/product audits, layered process audits, special process audits, and supplier capability assessments.
• Identify systemic risks and ensure audit findings are addressed through effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Verify the effectiveness and sustainability of corrective actions through follow-up audits and objective evidence.

Root Cause / Corrective & Preventive Action

• Lead supplier

  Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Corrective Action and Preventive Action (CAPA)

  activities for significant quality issues.
• Drive structured problem-solving using methodologies such as:
  • 8D
  • 5-Why
  • Fishbone/Ishikawa
  • Fault Tree Analysis
  • DOE
  • Pareto analysis
  • Statistical analysis and process capability studies
• Challenge superficial or containment-only corrective actions and ensure suppliers identify and eliminate

  true systemic root causes

  .
• Establish clear containment, corrective action, preventive action, and effectiveness-verification requirements.
• Escalate chronic or high-risk supplier issues when appropriate.
• Communicate quality issues and corrective-action status effectively to internal stakeholders and senior management.

Manufacturing Process & Product Quality

Provide technical quality oversight across a broad range of supplier manufacturing processes, including:

Precision Machining / Mechanical Components

• CNC machining
• Turning, milling, grinding and precision finishing
• Tight-tolerance mechanical components
• Surface finishes and coatings
• Dimensional inspection and metrology
• Cleanliness and contamination control
• Welding, brazing and other joining processes
• Mechanical assemblies

PCB / PCBA

• PCB fabrication
• SMT and through-hole assembly
• Soldering and reflow processes
• Component placement and workmanship
• Electrical test and functional test
• AOI, SPI and X-ray inspection
• PCB/PCBA failure analysis
• Component traceability and counterfeit/quality risk mitigation

Semiconductor / Integrated Circuits

• Integrated circuit manufacturing and supplier quality
• IC assembly and packaging
• Semiconductor package technologies and associated failure mechanisms
• Wafer/die-related quality considerations
• IC packaging, assembly and test processes
• Electrical and mechanical failure modes
• Reliability testing and qualification
• Failure analysis and corrective action

GD&T / Metrology / Inspection

• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of

  Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T)

  and its application to complex precision components and assemblies.
• Interpret engineering drawings, specifications, tolerances, datums, and inspection requirements.
• Evaluate supplier measurement systems and inspection methodologies.
• Review and approve inspection plans and

  FAI/First Article Inspection

  documentation.
• Support

  source inspection

  and supplier inspection activities for critical components.
• Work with suppliers to establish appropriate measurement methods, sampling plans, and acceptance criteria.
• Evaluate CMM, optical measurement, surface measurement, and other dimensional inspection techniques.

SPC / Process Capability

• Establish and evaluate

  Statistical Process Control (SPC)

  methodologies at suppliers.
• Review control charts and process performance for critical characteristics.
• Analyze

  Cp, Cpk, Pp, Ppk

  and other process capability metrics.
• Identify process variation, trends, shifts, and sources of instability.
• Partner with suppliers to establish appropriate control plans and reaction plans.
• Apply statistical techniques and data-driven approaches to improve process capability and reduce variation.
• Support DOE and other statistical methodologies where appropriate.

Reliability / Failure Analysis

• Work with suppliers and internal engineering teams to investigate product failures and reliability issues.
• Understand common failure modes associated with

  ICs, semiconductor packaging, electronics, PCBA, mechanical components, and assemblies

  .
• Support development and execution of reliability testing and qualification programs.
• Review reliability test plans, results, and failure analysis reports.
• Participate in failure analysis activities, including identification of physical, mechanical, electrical, thermal, contamination, and process-related failure mechanisms.
• Ensure lessons learned are incorporated into supplier processes and product controls.

Supplier Inspection & Qualification

• Perform and/or coordinate

  source inspection

  at supplier facilities.
• Define inspection requirements for critical, high-risk, or first-time-build components.
• Support First Article, prototype, qualification, and production-release activities.
• Develop supplier inspection strategies based on product criticality and risk.
• Review supplier inspection data, certificates, material certifications, test reports, and traceability records.
• Support supplier process qualification and production readiness reviews.
• Ensure critical characteristics are properly identified and controlled throughout the supplier's manufacturing process.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with

  Design Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Reliability, Operations, Procurement, and Program Management

  .
• Represent Supplier Quality in new product introduction (

  NPI

  ) and design transfer activities.
• Participate in design reviews and provide Design for Manufacturability/Design for Quality feedback.
• Identify supplier-related risks early in the product development process.
• Translate engineering requirements into practical supplier quality and inspection requirements.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to other Supplier Quality Engineers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in

  Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline

  .

• 7+ years of experience in Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality, Quality Engineering, or Supplier Development

  , preferably within the

  semiconductor fabrication equipment, semiconductor, electronics, or high-precision manufacturing industries

  .
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing

  Asian-based suppliers

  .
• Strong understanding of

  Quality Management Systems and supplier auditing

  .
• Proven experience leading

  RCA, 8D, CAPA, and corrective-action investigations

  .
• Strong working knowledge of

  GD&T

  and engineering drawings.
• Hands-on experience with

  SPC, process capability analysis, control plans, MSA/Gage R&R, and statistical problem solving

  .
• Experience with

  source inspection, First Article Inspection (FAI), supplier qualification, and production part approval

  .
• Demonstrated ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, electrical specifications, and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience with

  precision machined components and assemblies

  .
• Experience with

  PCB/PCBA manufacturing, inspection, testing, and failure modes

  .
• Experience with

  integrated circuits, semiconductor packaging, reliability testing, and failure analysis

  .
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to use data to identify process and quality trends.
• Ability to independently lead supplier quality investigations and drive issues to closure.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally approximately

  30–40%

  , primarily throughout Asia.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience directly supporting

  semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment / semiconductor capital equipment

  .
• Experience with semiconductor equipment OEMs, subsystem suppliers, or critical component manufacturers.

• Mandarin language proficiency

  strongly preferred or considered a significant plus.
• Experience working with suppliers in

  China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, or other Asia-Pacific manufacturing regions

  .
• ASQ

  Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)

  , Supplier Quality Engineer, or related certification.
• Lead Auditor certification or formal training in

  ISO 9001

  auditing.
• Experience with

  AS9100, IATF 16949, ISO 13485, ISO 14001

  , or other quality standards is a plus, depending on supplier commodity.
• Experience with

  FMEA/PFMEA, Control Plans, MSA, DOE, DFM/DFA, and APQP

  .
• Experience with semiconductor

  IC assembly, packaging, burn-in, electrical test, environmental testing, and reliability qualification

  .
• Knowledge of semiconductor equipment cleanliness and contamination-control requirements.
• Experience with

  vacuum components, precision motion systems, RF components, power electronics, sensors, thermal systems, or other semiconductor equipment subsystems

  .
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP and supplier quality management systems.
• Experience using statistical and quality-analysis software such as

  Minitab

  or equivalent.

Core Competencies

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Technical depth:

  Ability to understand complex manufacturing processes, product requirements, and failure mechanisms.

• Supplier leadership:

  Ability to influence suppliers and drive sustainable improvement without relying solely on contractual escalation.

• Problem solving:

  Strong analytical approach to identifying root causes and preventing recurrence.

• Quality mindset:

  Relentless focus on prevention, process control, variation reduction, and continuous improvement.

• Communication:

  Ability to clearly communicate technical issues and recommendations to engineers, suppliers, executives, and cross-functional teams.

• Cultural awareness:

  Ability to build productive relationships across different cultures and business environments, particularly throughout Asia.

• Ownership:

  Willingness to personally engage with difficult supplier issues and drive them through resolution.

• Travel flexibility:

  Comfortable spending significant time at international supplier and factory locations.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success will be demonstrated by:

• Improved quality performance and reduced defect rates across assigned suppliers.
• Reduction in supplier escapes and recurring quality issues.
• Timely and effective closure of supplier corrective actions.
• Increased supplier process capability and stability.
• Successful qualification and development of new suppliers.
• Robust implementation of SPC, control plans, inspection strategies, and preventive quality controls.
• Early identification and mitigation of supplier quality risks during NPI.
• Strong supplier relationships coupled with clear accountability for quality performance.
• Consistent delivery of high-quality components and assemblies required to support complex semiconductor manufacturing equipment.