Head of Quality – Energy Systems

Join the world leader in advanced energy storage solutions and be part of the success story of VARTA®!

Your contribution

The Head of Quality – Energy Systems is a senior leadership role with end-to-end accountability for product, process, system, and manufacturing quality across the Energy Systems Business Unit. The role covers low voltage systems, batteries, supercapacitors, electronics, and Battery Management Systems (BMS), spanning development centers, suppliers, and multiple production plants.

The position combines strategic BU-level quality governance with hands-on product, plant, and customer quality execution, ensuring full compliance with automotive standards (IATF 16949, ASPICE, VDA 6.3, ISO 26262) and meeting the highest OEM expectations for safety, reliability, and series production performance.

The role will be based in our EMEA HQ Office in Hannover, Germany.

What you will do

• Establish, govern, and continuously improve a robust Quality Management System across all Energy Systems plants and development organizations.

• Ensure flawless industrialization, launches, and series production quality for automotive battery and energy storage products.

• Achieve and sustain required quality maturity levels (ASPICE, customer-specific requirements, certifications).

• Prevent quality escapes and drive zero-defect manufacturing performance.

• Embed a strong, prevention-first quality culture across engineering, plants, and suppliers.

Core Responsibilities

Quality Strategy & Governance:

• Define and deploy the BU Quality vision, strategy, and governance model aligned with corporate standards.

• Serve as Quality leader within the BU leadership team and represent Quality in enterprise-level decisions.

Quality Management System & Standards:

• Own and maintain an IATF 16949-compliant QMS across all manufacturing sites.

• Ensure deployment and consistent use of APQP, DFMEA, PFMEA, Control Plans, PPAP, SPC, and MSA.

• Lead internal, customer, and certification audits.

Development & ASPICE Quality:

• Build and sustain ASPICE capability across system, software, and hardware development.

• Ensure full traceability from requirements to validation, manufacturing, and test.

• Drive quality gates from development through SOP.

Manufacturing & Plant Quality:

• Define plant quality strategies and governance aligned with OEM and BU requirements.

• Own plant-level quality KPIs (PPM, FPY, scrap, rework, COPQ).

• Lead launch quality, layered process audits, and management reviews.

Product & Customer Quality:

• Act as primary quality interface for OEM and Tier-1 customers.

• Lead customer audits, quality escalations, and structured problem-solving (8D, 5 Why, Ishikawa).

• Ensure compliance with product safety and regulatory requirements (UN 38.3, IEC 62660, ECE R100, EU Battery Regulation).

Supplier Quality:

• Define supplier quality requirements and approval criteria.

• Ensure APQP/PPAP deployment and supplier audits (VDA 6.3).

• Drive supplier development and escalation management.

Organization & Leadership:

• Build, lead, and develop a strong Quality organization across plants and regions.

• Develop quality leaders and product-specific expertise within the team.

• Promote a data-driven, continuous improvement culture (Lean, Six Sigma).

What we look for

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering or comparable technical discipline.

• 10+ years of automotive quality experience, including manufacturing and product quality leadership.

• Strong expertise in IATF 16949, ASPICE, VDA 6.3, and automotive core quality tools.

• Deep understanding of low voltage systems, electronics, BMS, and manufacturing processes.

• Proven experience managing OEM customer interfaces and multi-site quality organizations.

• Strategic and operational leadership credibility.

• Strong customer orientation and communication skills.

• Structured, data-driven problem-solving mindset.

• Ability to balance hands-on involvement with scalable system development.

• Comfortable operating in complex, matrix, and fast-evolving environments.

• Up to 25–30% across production sites, customers, and suppliers.

Benefits: What we offer

As a technology leader with strong brand (i.e. VARTA® and OPTIMA®), Clarios notably lives on the creativity, capability and satisfaction of its employees. Therefore, we offer people with drive and power many good reasons to join us:

• Enjoy working in a Modern office in our EMEA Headquarters.

• Exciting professional tasks and challenges in a diverse international environment with strong commitment to Integrity, Values, Social Engagement and Sustainability.

• Arrange your working hours and breaks flexible via our Flexible Working Hours model and combine your professional and private life even better according to our mobile work policy.

• Competitive Compensation: Enjoy an industry-leading salary that fosters both your professional and personal development. Our compensation structure rewards individual and team achievements.

• Your Well-being is very important to us: Take advantage of our preventive health care offers such as Fitness center, Physiotherapist, Healthy Canteen.

• Our well-advanced Onboarding process and buddy program supports you to quickly grow into the position and team. By using the offering in our Variety of Learning opportunities and programs, Learning Academy, LinkedIn Learning you will be able to further grow professionally and personally.

• Last, but not least we support you in Relocating and finding a flat in location surrounding if appliable and depending on individual factors.

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About Clarios:

Clarios is the global leader in advanced, low-voltage battery technologies for mobility. Our batteries and smart solutions power nearly every type of vehicle and are found in 1 of 3 cars on the road today. With around 18,000 employees in over 100 countries, we bring deep expertise to our Aftermarket and OEM partners, and reliability, safety and comfort to everyday lives. We answer to the planet with a rigorous sustainability focus – advancing best-in-class sustainability practices and advocating for them across our industry. We work to ensure 100% of our products sold are recyclable, and we recycle 8,000 batteries an hour in our network. You can find more information here (PDF). 

To All Recruitment Agencies: Clarios does not accept unsolicited agency resumes/CVs. Please do not forward resumes/CVs to our careers email addresses, Clarios employees or any other company location. Clarios is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/CVs.

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Clarios, LLC is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information, please view EEO is the Law, EEO is the Law (supplement), and Pay Transparency Non-discrimination. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please email Special.Accommodations@Clarios.com.

A Note to Job Applicants: please be aware of scams being perpetrated through the Internet and social media platforms. Clarios will never require a job applicant to pay money as part of the application or hiring process.