Manager, Materials Quality Engineering

Manager, Materials Quality Engineering 

We are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Manager of Materials Quality Engineering (MQE), based in the Suwon office, to lead a regional team of individuals supporting critical raw materials and supplier quality activities across chemistry (organic and inorganic) and gas commodities. This role will provide people leadership, technical direction, and strategic oversight for team members in Korea, Taiwan, and China, strengthening a prevention-focused quality culture while ensuring strong execution across the four MQE pillars: Supplier Management, Raw Material Management, Management of Change, and New Product Development. 

The MQE Manager will lead a team and partner closely with Korea operations, regional MQE teams, Procurement, Operations, R&D, Customer Quality, and suppliers to drive robust material performance, disciplined change control, proactive risk mitigation, and aligned support for regional manufacturing and global MQE priorities. 

Key Responsibilities 

People Leadership & Talent Development 

• Lead, coach, and develop a regional team of Materials Quality Engineers supporting chemistry and gas commodities across Korea, Taiwan, and China. 

• Manage and support employees located both in-person and remote, ensuring inclusive communication, balanced workload distribution, and effective collaboration with local plants and global partners. 

• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development planning. 

• Build technical capability through structured training, mentorship, and knowledge sharing across chemistry, gas, supplier quality, and raw material management disciplines. 

• Promote collaboration, clear communication, and trust. 

MQE Pillar Leadership 

• Engage and influence Korea operations, Taiwan and China team members, global MQE partners, business stakeholders, Procurement, R&D, Customer Quality, and suppliers to build alignment, clarify decision rights, and drive timely execution across all pillars. 

• Communicate clearly and respectfully, translating complex technical and program information into concise, actionable insights tailored to engineers, leadership, suppliers, and customers. 

• Provide technical guidance on investigations and prevention across chemistry and gas commodities, including failure analysis, root cause, SPC, FMEA, control plans, and risk mitigation. 

• Represent MQE as a steady, credible, and solutions‑oriented leader during audits, escalations, supplier reviews, and cross‑functional forums, ensuring a consistent voice and disciplined follow-through. 

• Ensure consistent MQE support for Korea-based operations and regional supplier quality needs across Korea, Taiwan, and China, balancing local responsiveness with global standards and commodity alignment. 

Execution & Governance 

• Establish the operating rhythm to manage performance, risk, and improvement across the four MQE pillars for Korea operations and regional chemistry and gas supplier quality support. 

• Ensure timely reporting of status, risks, and deliverables, escalating issues early and enabling fact-based decisions. 

• Deploy best‑practice program management frameworks to drive cross-functional alignment, accountability, and on-time execution. 

External Engagement 

• Serve as an escalation point for supplier investigations, excursions, audits, and customer-facing quality issues tied to Korea-, Taiwan-, and China-supported chemistry and gas raw materials, ensuring disciplined containment, communication, and closure. 

• Ensure high-quality external communication packages (technical reports, OCAPs, 8Ds, and presentations) that align to customer expectations and internal standards. 

• Lead supplier quality engagements for chemistry and gas commodities, including corrective and preventive actions, audit readiness, process capability reviews, and sustained closure of systemic issues. 

Quality Systems & Operational Excellence 

• Ensure compliance with global quality policies, raw material control plans, supplier quality expectations, and management of change requirements across Korea-, Taiwan-, and China-supported chemistry and gas materials. 

• Maintain zero‑overdue CAR, OFIs, OCAPs, or CRs. 

• Monitor and improve key performance indicators (e.g., OOC%, QN/NCMR cycle time, SPC maturity, EQOS, change cycle time, and investigation timeliness) and drive corrective action when performance drifts. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred. 

• 10+ years industry experience; 3+ years people leadership required. 

• Fluency in Korean and English required; additional fluency in Mandarin or another regional language is a plus. 

• Experience managing employees across multiple locations and collaborating across global, cross-functional teams preferred. 

• Strong understanding of SPC, FMEA, supplier quality systems, materials characterization, chemistry, gas manufacturing, specialty gases, and raw material process controls. Six Sigma Green Belt desired. 

• Proficiency with Minitab, JMP, SAS, SAP, Power BI, Microsoft Office. 

Travel: Up to 20%, including travel between Korea operations, regional team locations in Taiwan and China, suppliers, and regional/global meetings as needed.