Customer Quality Engineer

The Customer Quality Engineer (CQE) is responsible for managing customer quality requirements, complaints, product failures, returns, and warranty-related issues. The role acts as a key interface between the customer and internal cross-functional teams, including Production, Quality, Design & Engineering, Supplier Quality, and NPD.

The CQE will ensure timely resolution of customer complaints, effective root cause analysis, implementation of corrective and preventive actions, and continuous improvement to enhance customer satisfaction and prevent recurrence of quality issues.

Key Responsibilities

1. Customer Complaint Handling

• Receive, register, and manage customer complaints related to product defects, failures, performance issues, and returns.
• Acknowledge customer complaints promptly and maintain effective communication throughout the resolution process.
• Coordinate with relevant internal teams to ensure timely containment and resolution of customer issues.
• Maintain proper records and tracking of customer complaints and their closure status.
• Monitor critical customer complaints and escalate issues to management when required.

2. Problem Investigation & Root Cause Analysis

• Analyze customer complaints, returned products, warranty parts, and field failures.

• Coordinate product inspection, testing, and failure analysis to identify the actual root cause.

• Use structured problem-solving methodologies such as:

• 5 Why Analysis

• Fishbone / Ishikawa Diagram

• 8D Methodology

• Why-Why Analysis

• Identify whether the root cause is related to process, material, design, supplier, manufacturing, or application/usage conditions.

• Ensure root cause validation through appropriate data and evidence.

3. Corrective & Preventive Action (CAPA)

• Develop and coordinate corrective actions to address customer quality issues.
• Implement preventive actions to eliminate the possibility of recurrence.
• Coordinate containment actions for affected products and ensure proper segregation where required.
• Track action implementation and verify the effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions.
• Monitor repeat complaints and ensure sustainable corrective actions are implemented.

4. Customer Reporting & Communication

• Prepare and submit 8D reports, RCA reports, CAPA reports, and other quality reports as required by customers.
• Communicate investigation findings, root causes, containment actions, corrective actions, and preventive measures to customers.
• Ensure customer reports are accurate, complete, and submitted within agreed timelines.
• Maintain professional communication with customers and build strong customer relationships.
• Respond effectively to customer queries related to product quality and corrective actions.

5. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with internal functions including:

• Production

• Quality Assurance / Quality Control

• Design & Engineering

• NPD / R&D

• Supplier Quality

• Manufacturing Engineering

• Service / Warranty

• Coordinate cross-functional teams to investigate and resolve customer complaints.

• Ensure action owners complete assigned corrective actions within agreed timelines.

• Facilitate problem-solving meetings for critical or recurring customer quality issues.

6. Customer Satisfaction & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor customer feedback, complaint trends, rejection rates, returns, and quality performance.
• Identify recurring issues and initiate continuous improvement activities.
• Drive initiatives to reduce customer complaints, returns, warranty claims, and field failures.
• Analyze quality trends and recommend improvements to products and manufacturing processes.
• Support initiatives aimed at improving overall customer satisfaction and product reliability.

7. Field Failure & Warranty Analysis

• Analyze field failure and warranty-related data to identify quality trends and recurring failure modes.
• Coordinate investigation of warranty-returned products and failed components.
• Identify patterns in field failures based on product, batch, model, application, or manufacturing location.
• Work with Engineering, Production, and Supplier Quality teams to identify and eliminate failure causes.
• Recommend product, process, material, or design improvements based on field data.
• Maintain appropriate records of warranty and field failure analysis.

8. Customer Audits & Customer Interaction

• Support customer audits, quality assessments, and customer visits.
• Coordinate preparation for customer audits and ensure required documents and records are available.
• Present customer quality performance, complaint trends, corrective actions, and improvement activities.
• Ensure compliance with customer-specific quality requirements.
• Participate in customer meetings, quality reviews, and technical discussions.
• Coordinate closure of customer audit findings within agreed timelines.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors degree / Diploma in Mechanical, Automobile, Production, Industrial, Electrical, Electronics, or related Engineering discipline.
• Additional qualification or certification in Quality Management will be an advantage.
• Good knowledge of Quality Management Systems and customer-specific requirements.
• Knowledge of IATF 16949 / ISO 9001 is preferred.