Supplier Quality Engineering Lead

Supplier Quality Assurance Team Lead

Location: Southwest UK (fully site-based)

Walker Cole International has been engaged by a regulated manufacturing organisation to appoint a Supplier Quality Assurance Team Lead.

In this position you'll head up a group of supplier quality specialists and be accountable for how well the supply base performs against specification, regulatory expectations and internal standards. You'll act as the link between external partners and internal teams such as Operations, Supply Chain and QC, cutting down quality problems, lifting vendor performance and keeping the supply chain under firm control.

The position suits a quality professional who enjoys blending technical know-how with vendor relationships and people leadership to deliver tangible, measurable results.

What you'll be doing:

• Managing, coaching and growing the supplier quality team, setting daily priorities and handling performance.
• Working alongside vendors to embed good practice that stops defects occurring and strengthens their processes.
• Applying vendor scorecards and inspection results to set proportionate, risk-based goods-in inspection levels.
• Targeting the vendors that pose the greatest quality or supply risk with structured improvement plans, then tracking progress where standards are not being met.
• Overseeing supplier non-conformance investigations within the QMS and challenging root cause findings and corrective actions to prevent repeat issues.
• Spotting recurring vendor problems and trends together with QC, and flagging anything that could disrupt production or product availability.
• Running supplier review sessions and keeping senior leadership briefed on performance.
• Planning and carrying out vendor audits prioritised by risk and track record.
• Contributing to the selection, qualification, approval and change control of suppliers.
• Supporting new product launches by confirming suppliers have the capability and controls in place ahead of production.
• Keeping all activity aligned with ISO 13485 and relevant regulatory requirements.

What we're looking for:

Essential

• An engineering or scientific degree, backed by substantial quality engineering experience in a manufacturing setting.
• A background in supplier quality engineering and vendor development, including hands-on auditing and leading improvement work.
• Sound grasp of quality management systems and quality assurance principles.
• Proven capability in structured problem solving, root cause investigation and managing corrective actions.
• Confidence using vendor performance data to push continuous improvement.
• The ability to balance several suppliers, projects and quality issues at once.
• Strong communication and relationship skills, with comfort working with senior contacts at suppliers.

Desirable

• Exposure to medical devices or a comparable regulated industry.
• Practical knowledge of ISO 13485 and medical device regulations.
• Prior experience leading or managing people.

Supplier Quality | Supplier Quality Assurance | Team Lead | Supplier Auditing | Supplier Development | QMS | ISO 13485 | Root Cause Analysis | Medical Devices | Manufacturing