Supplier Quality Engineer

Kaman Aerospace Corporation
United States, Connecticut, Middletown
217 Smith Street (Show on map)
Nov 11, 2025
At Kaman, we are always looking for a better way. Whether we are helping keep our troops safe or pioneering safer ways to fly the globe, we approach every challenge with an innovation mindset. We consider our people to be the key to our success and are looking for candidates who share our core values of Respect, Excellence, Accountability, Creativity and Honor (REACH). Find out more about us at Kaman.com/Careers. WE are currently seeking a talented Supplier Quality Engineer at our Middletown, CT facility. This role is fully onsite. The SQE ensures suppliers meet contractual/regulatory and internal quality standards for parts and materials. They will need to have exp performing audits, analyze supplier processes and products, conduct root cause analysis for issues with parts, drive corrective actions, and reject/do a part stoppage if they arrive with defects. They must be able to do supplier qualification, performance monitoring, development, and document first article inspections. They qualify and evaluate new suppliers and monitor performance, conduct audit of supplier facilities and processes to ensure compliance with ISO/AS9100 quality standards and contractual requirements. Investigate and analyze supplier defects. See description for more specific details. The SQE works under the general direction of the Manager, Program and Supplier Quality Assurance with minimum supervision performing supplier source inspections, first article inspections, supplier surveys and audits assuring supplier corrective action where required. Interface with procurement and other personnel within the procurement organization. Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following: Maintain the supplier rating system, which will define the total cost of ownership of products procured from suppliers. Implement and maintain a supplier approval system that will, in a cost-effective manner, qualify suppliers to do business with the company and meet varied purchase order requirements. Evaluates lean initiatives at supplier facilities and assists in implementing lean as necessary. Assures the means for procurement to issue purchase orders to qualified/approved suppliers and all requirements are included in the purchase orders. Manage the supplier corrective action system to identify and correct supplier problems in a timely manner. Coordinate Supplier Manufacturing Readiness Reviews and manage Supplier Request for Variance (when applicable). The Supplier Quality Engineer will conduct capability assessments that verify supplier qualifications, travel to assigned suppliers, and lead multiple projects to completion. Act as primary interface between the company and suppliers in resolving technical problems and performing source control inspections. Coordinate with functional departments and ensure that problems are resolved in a timely manner. Aid in determining the responsibility of discrepant hardware already received into the company and issued to the shop or shipped to customers. Establish and maintain effective communications with other operating departments and suppliers to facilitate problem identification/resolution and compliance with various specification requirements for supplier control. Prepare and maintain reports such as supplier performance, survey results, specification compliance, corrective actions, etc. Your responsibilities will include conducting audit, analyzing defect trends. Monitoring supplier performance and response times to ensure production continuity. Managing supplier corrective action reports. Developing and implementing supplier quality-related training programs for the quality and sourcing teams. Interface with cell managers to assure all applicable inspections/tests are performed and to assure that only acceptable hardware is received into the company. Collect and analyze supplier quality and delivery data. Develop and implement cost effective intervention plans to improve quality and on-time-delivery ratings. Maintain a list of approved suppliers. Monitor suppliers for continuous improvements. Ability to travel for supplier visits. Requirements: Broad knowledge of a general technical field such as electrical, mechanical, industrial engineering. BS degree in related engineering field. Thorough understanding of ISO 9000 regulations certification process. Fully Onsite 5+ years' work experience in Supplier Quality and Aerospace. Detailed-oriented, good communications skills, critical thinking, methodical, and organized. Kaman is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other protected characteristics protected by law. Kaman and all its related companies fully endorse equal opportunity for all. Kaman endeavors to make the careers website accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact the Corporate Human Resources department at 860-243-7384. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications. Notice Requirement: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.