CQE Manager

Customer Quality Team Lead - APAC

Job Title: Customer Quality Team Lead – APAC

Department: Customer Quality Assurance Competence Center

Employment Type: Full-time / Regular

Location: Shanghai, China

Position Overview

As the Customer Quality Team Lead – APAC , you will serve as the executive voice of quality and trusted advisor to our strategic automotive and industrial customers across the APAC region. Positioned at the critical intersection between top-tier clients and our global organization (Sales, Engineering, Operations, and Manufacturing), you will lead the regional CQA team, drive high-touch customer relationships, manage high-stakes escalations, and systematically elevate customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Relationship & Advocacy: Serve as the primary quality contact and champion for key APAC accounts, establishing strong, trust-based relationships with customer quality leadership and engineering teams.
• Executive Escalation Management: Lead high-visibility customer escalations with urgency and diplomacy—translating complex technical diagnostics into clear, executive-level 8D reports, containment plans, and long-term resolutions.
• On-Site & High-Touch Support: Conduct direct customer visits, quarterly quality reviews (QBRs), and technical deep-dives to represent manufacturing and design teams, ensuring full alignment on customer-specific requirements (CSRs).
• Cross-Functional Customer Champion: Leverage customer feedback to drive cross-functional accountability across global Engineering, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, and Sales to protect client timelines and production lines.
• Team Coaching & Customer Governance: Mentor the regional CQA team in client-facing communication, negotiation tactics, and customer-centric problem-solving, while continuously reducing PPM, 8D cycle times, and repeat complaint rates.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Microelectronics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience: 8+ years in semiconductor, automotive electronics, or high-tech manufacturing, with a heavy emphasis on direct, client-facing Customer Quality Engineering (CQE) or technical account management.
• Customer Interface Skills: Proven track record of managing tier-1 automotive/industrial clients through technical crises, failure analysis reviews, and complex Return Material Authorizations (RMA).
• Leadership: Experience leading teams or driving cross-functional project teams in high-pressure, customer-critical environments.
• Quality Frameworks: In-depth knowledge of automotive standards (IATF 16949, VDA 8D, APQP, PPAP, FMEA) with a focus on delivering customer-aligned documentation and root-cause transparency.
• Languages: Professional fluency in Mandarin Chinese and English (written and spoken) for daily engagement with regional customers and global leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• First-hand experience with semiconductor ICs, sensors, or complex automotive electronic modules.
• Deep familiarity with APAC OEM/Tier-1 automotive customer quality expectations and operational dynamics.

Key Competencies

• Customer-Centric Diplomacy: Ability to manage difficult conversations, negotiate resolution timelines, and maintain trust under intense customer scrutiny.
• Technical Translation: Skill in converting deep technical failure analysis into clear, impactful business and quality narratives for client stakeholders.
• Matrix Influence: Ability to rally internal global teams to prioritize and resolve customer issues rapidly without direct reporting authority.