Head of Quality Assurance

Head Quality Assurance & Quality Excellence Experience: 1522 Years Industry: Heavy Engineering / Process Equipment / Heavy Fabrication / Industrial Manufacturing Employment Type: Full-time Role Overview We are looking for a senior and transformational Quality Leader to head the complete Quality function of a leading engineering and heavy fabrication manufacturing organization. This is a leadership and transformation role, not purely a QA/QC or inspection position. The successful candidate will be expected to lead a large Quality organization, manage senior Quality managers, develop future leaders, drive organization-wide Quality transformation and establish a strong culture of ownership, accountability and continuous improvement. The role requires a leader who can combine deep manufacturing Quality expertise with strategic thinking, people leadership, customer orientation and measurable business transformation. Leadership Responsibilities Provide overall leadership and strategic direction to the complete Quality organization.Lead a Quality organization comprising 25+ white-collar Quality professionals.Manage and develop approximately 68 managerial-level direct reports.Build a high-performance Quality leadership team across Manufacturing Quality, Customer Quality, Supplier Quality, Quality Systems and Continuous Improvement.Coach and mentor Quality Managers and Engineers rather than simply managing day-to-day activities.Develop second-line leadership and succession plans for critical Quality positions.Build a culture of ownership, accountability, discipline, transparency and continuous improvement.Influence Production, Engineering, Supply Chain and other functions to drive Quality as an organization-wide responsibility.Lead organizational change and drive transformation despite resistance.Represent the Quality function with senior management, key customers, suppliers and external stakeholders.Drive measurable improvement in Quality performance and ensure that Quality contributes directly to business performance.Quality & Transformation Responsibilities Develop and deploy the organization's overall Quality Strategy and Quality Excellence roadmap.Lead Quality Assurance across incoming materials, fabrication, welding, assembly, glass lining, GMP, jacketing, painting, packing and final inspection.Drive a Zero Defect and First-Time-Right culture.Lead TQM, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Quality Circles, QRQC and continuous improvement initiatives.Reduce COPQ, rejection, rework, scrap and customer complaints, with measurable P&L impact.Lead Customer Quality, including complaints, RCA/CAPA, FATs, audits, warranty issues and major customer escalations.Drive Supplier Quality through supplier audits, development, performance management and capability improvement.Ensure compliance with ASME, PED, DIN, ISO/IMS and applicable international Quality standards.Drive structured problem solving through 8D, RCA, FMEA, SPC, MSA and APQP.Lead Quality governance, Management Review Meetings and Quality Councils.Drive Digital Quality initiatives through dashboards, analytics, ERP, IoT and Power BI.Leadership Experience Mandatory Candidates should have: 1522 years of manufacturing Quality experience.Minimum 5 years as Head of Quality or in an equivalent senior Quality leadership position.Proven experience leading a sizeable Quality function, rather than only handling QA/QC execution or inspection.Experience managing at least 25 white-collar Quality professionals.Experience with approximately 68 managerial-level direct reports.Demonstrated ability to build teams, coach managers and develop future Quality leaders.Experience driving cross-functional and organization-wide Quality transformation.Ability to influence senior leadership, customers, suppliers and manufacturing teams.Strong track record of converting Quality initiatives into measurable business results.Technical Requirements Strong background in Heavy Engineering / Process Equipment / Machinery / Heavy Fabrication / Railways or similar manufacturing industries.Strong exposure to fabrication, welding and NDT Quality.Strong Customer Quality and Supplier Quality experience.Experience with TQM, Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma.Knowledge of ASME Codes & Standards and international Quality systems.B.E./B.Tech/ME/M.Tech in Mechanical, Production, Metallurgy or equivalent.Six Sigma Black Belt / Lead Auditor Certification preferred.Transformation Track Record Candidates must be able to demonstrate at least five significant Quality transformation achievements, preferably covering: Quality transformation / maturity improvementCustomer satisfaction improvementCOPQ reduction impacting P&LTQM / Lean implementationSupplier Quality improvementDigital Quality deploymentTeam capability buildingFor each major achievement, candidates should be able to explain: Situation Before Leadership Action Result After Timeline Measurable Business Impact Key Skills Quality .