Director, Global Quality

About The Role

The Leader of Global Quality is responsible for developing and executing the global quality strategy for datacenter rack manufacturing operations, ensuring sustained performance at 5 Sigma and beyond across all manufacturing sites, suppliers, and product lifecycle stages. This role owns end-to-end quality performance from incoming materials through final shipment, including new product introduction phases such as Engineering Validation Testing (EVT), Design Validation Testing (DVT), production validation, and mass production.

This executive leader will drive a culture of operational excellence, prevention-based quality, customer focus, and continuous improvement across a global manufacturing network. The role partners closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Reliability, Program Management, and key customers to ensure industry-leading quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities

Global Quality Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive global quality strategy aligned with business objectives, customer expectations, and manufacturing growth plans.
• Establish and maintain a quality management system that delivers and sustains >5 Sigma manufacturing quality performance.
• Lead quality teams across multiple regions, manufacturing sites, and supplier ecosystems.
• Build a culture centered on defect prevention, operational discipline, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive standardization of quality processes, reporting, governance, and best practices across all global locations.

New Product Introduction (NPI) Quality

• Own quality readiness and risk management throughout EVT, DVT, Pilot, and Mass Production phases.
• Establish quality gates and criteria for progression between development and production milestones.
• Lead DFMEA, PFMEA, control plans, reliability assessments, and validation strategies.
• Partner with Product Engineering and Program Management teams to ensure manufacturability, reliability, and quality requirements are incorporated early in the design process.
• Ensure lessons learned are systematically captured and deployed into future product generations.

Manufacturing Quality

• Drive world-class quality performance from receiving inspection through assembly, test, packaging, and final shipment.

• Develop advanced manufacturing quality controls utilizing SPC, process capability analysis, automated inspection systems, and data analytics.

• Monitor and improve key metrics including:

• Sigma performance

• DPPM/PPM

• First Pass Yield (FPY)

• Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY)

• Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)

• Escapes and field failures

• Customer returns and RMA rates

• Lead structured root cause investigations using methodologies including:

• 8D

• DMAIC

• Six Sigma

• A3

• Fault Tree Analysis

• Statistical Process Control

Supplier Quality Management

• Establish a global supplier quality strategy supporting critical datacenter rack, mechanical, electrical, thermal, cable management, and integration components.
• Drive supplier qualification, audits, process validation, and ongoing performance management.
• Lead supplier corrective action programs and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure supplier quality systems support aggressive quality and reliability objectives.
• Develop supplier quality scorecards and executive performance reviews.

Reliability and Customer Quality

• Own product reliability performance from development through field deployment.
• Partner with reliability engineering teams to define validation strategies and qualification requirements.
• Lead response to critical customer quality issues, escalations, and field reliability concerns.
• Drive closed-loop corrective and preventive actions across engineering, manufacturing, and suppliers.
• Serve as executive customer interface for quality and reliability discussions.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Champion Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies globally.
• Develop data-driven quality monitoring systems leveraging advanced analytics and predictive quality tools.
• Lead quality transformation initiatives that improve yield, reliability, throughput, and customer satisfaction.
• Drive reduction of quality-related costs while maintaining world-class quality standards.

Quality Systems and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable quality standards and customer requirements.
• Maintain global audit readiness and governance processes.
• Oversee quality documentation, process controls, change management, and CAPA systems.
• Ensure robust traceability, configuration management, and quality records management across the manufacturing network.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.

• Master's degree preferred; MBA a plus.

• 15+ years of progressive quality leadership experience in high-volume manufacturing.

• 8+ years leading global quality organizations across multiple sites and regions.

• Extensive experience in datacenter infrastructure, server, networking, electronics, electromechanical systems, or related manufacturing environments.

• Demonstrated success achieving and sustaining world-class quality performance at scale.

• Deep understanding of EVT, DVT, Pilot, Production Validation, and Mass Production quality processes.

• Strong expertise in quality methodologies including:

• Six Sigma

• Lean Manufacturing

• Statistical Process Control

• DOE

• FMEA

• MSA

• APQP

• PPAP

• Reliability Engineering

• Proven track record leading supplier quality and contract manufacturing ecosystems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification.
• Experience supporting hyperscale cloud, datacenter, server, storage, networking, or rack integration products.
• Experience working with ODM, EMS, and global contract manufacturing partners.
• Advanced knowledge of automated manufacturing, digital quality systems, and predictive analytics.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking and execution.
• Strong executive presence and customer engagement skills.
• Ability to influence across global organizations and executive stakeholders.
• Data-driven decision making.
• Strong change management and transformation leadership.
• Exceptional problem-solving and root cause analysis capability.
• Ability to build, mentor, and develop high-performing global teams.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Achieve and sustain >5 Sigma quality performance globally.
• Reduction in DPPM, field failures, and customer escapes.
• Improvement in FPY and overall manufacturing yield.
• Supplier quality and incoming defect reduction.
• Customer satisfaction and reliability metrics.
• Cost of Poor Quality reduction.
• NPI quality readiness and launch success.
• Audit and compliance effectiveness.
• Closure effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions.
• Overall operational quality maturity across the global manufacturing network.

Success in this role is defined by creating a globally consistent quality system that delivers industry-leading datacenter rack quality, predictable launch execution, exceptional customer satisfaction, and sustained 5 Sigma-plus manufacturing performance from supplier receipt through customer shipment.

About ZT Systems

At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, you'll get to do work you are proud of alongside smart, passionate people. Every day, there are opportunities to collaborate with the best in the industry to design, build, and deliver impactful solutions to world-class customers. Along the way, you will gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced environment that's challenging, rewarding, and career-defining.

A culture built around our values we work hard and think fast. We view challenges as opportunities-to do better, push harder, and be faster than we were the day before. When we fail, we learn from it and move on together. And when we succeed, we use the momentum to go even further. We create value with everything we do, building the foundation of today-and transforming the future of tomorrow.

Join ZT Systems and help us build technology infrastructure that connects the world.

What We Offer

At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, we believe that investing in our people is key to our continued growth and innovation. When you join our team, you'll gain access to a comprehensive and inclusive benefits package designed to support your well-being, financial security, and professional development-both now and in the future.

Compensation & Financial Security

• Competitive base salary
• Performance-based annual bonus eligibility
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Tuition reimbursement for eligible education programs

Health & Wellness

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with access to leading providers
• Mental health resources and employee wellness support programs-
• Company-paid life and disability insurance

Time Away & Work-Life Balance

• Paid time off (PTO) and company-paid holidays
• Parental leave and family care support programs

Growth & Purpose

• Structured training programs and on-the-job learning opportunities
• Matching gifts and volunteer programs to support causes you care about

These benefits are available to eligible employees and are designed to grow with you as your career evolves. Full benefits and eligibility varies by work location. Learn more about our benefits here.

ZT Group Int'l. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. ZT Systems provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Please be aware that certain positions may require the applicant to either 1) be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or 2) be eligible to obtain an export control license or license exception from the Bureau of Industry and Science & U.S. Department of Commerce. All offers of employment will be conditional subject to the foregoing.