Vice President, Quality & Continuous Improvement

Founded in 1898 and headquartered in Chicago, IL, GATX Corporation (NYSE: GATX) is an industry leader with 125+ years of success - success that is powered by our people. We are proud of our high-performance culture, hard-working and enthusiastic management team, and beautiful office space in the Willis Tower.

At GATX, we hire the best and offer our employees a dynamic, energetic, collaborative environment to enable them to make an impact from day one. Enjoy the perks and benefits of a global company with the close-knit culture and community of a much smaller one. In the same way we strive to empower our customers to propel the world forward, we are dedicated to providing our people with the tools and resources they need to advance in their careers.

The Vice President of Quality and Continuous Improvement provides overall direction to the development, implementation and execution of Quality Assurance (QA) and Continuous Improvement (CI) policies, processes, procedures and programs designed to meet or exceed regulatory and customer requirements for GATX North America.  Drives QA and CI culture with a loud voice such that every employee understands and embraces their role in achieving world class safety, quality, delivery, and cost.  Works in cooperation with executive management on operations strategy, execution, managing risk, and achieving compliance with regulatory requirements (AAR, DOT, and Transport Canada).

1. Plan and lead the corporate quality and CI functions for Rail North America

• Drive quality and CI culture and strategy
• Conduct or oversee quality and CI management meetings at all levels of the organization.
• Manage staff development and department budgets
• Deploy and support Hoshin planning methodology for Rail North America

2. Plan and oversee the quality and CI activities for the owned network of maintenance facilities

• Utilize a lean / continuous improvement management framework through data driven metrics and daily visual management
• Deploy and facilitate CI principles and problem-solving methods to identify variance, perform root cause analysis, and drive sustainable corrective actions.
• Provide guidance and support to the CI and quality site managers in execution of daily visual management (DVM), 5S, problem solving, quality controls, and training programs

3. Plan and administer the Quality Management System (QMS)

• Administer and sustain the quality management system and associated infrastructure(s) for the North American rail organization consistent with DOT, Transport Canada, and AAR M-1003 requirements
• Provide and manage a cross functional forum to review and address opportunity improvement reports (OIR’s) involving customer complaints and process failures
• Work with department heads and functional leaders to identify and control critical quality processes
• Conduct compliance audits of all critical processes, partnering with internally matrixed quality functions and 3rd party consultants as needed
• Deploy quality engineering to build quality into the process with a goal of achieving consistent readiness for external regulatory compliance and certification audits.
• Manage external audits conducted by the Association of American Railroads, Department of Transportation and Transport Canada

4. Develop and maintain quality and CI training programs

• Administer and continuously improve a training program that provides function specific training to employees at all levels of the organization for critical quality and CI processes
• Liaison with Human Resources department to identify and implement training strategy, considering human factors and use of technology

5. Administer and oversee a supplier quality function

• Support selection, auditing, and non-conformance resolution of a contract railcar repair network
• Work with component suppliers to identify, contain, and correct defects and non-conformances with purchased products
• Partner with New Car Inspection team to ensure newly purchased railcars comply with GATX and customer requirements

• BS in Engineering or technical discipline
• At least 10 years of progressive quality and CI management experience in manufacturing operations with a minimum of 5 years of executive leadership.
• Strong functional background in quality management systems and techniques (ISO-9000 or equivalent, root cause analysis, and problem solving)
• Strong functional background n lean tools and principles, including hoshin planning, six sigma, problem solving methodologies, and standard work.

Highly Desirable:

• ASQ Certified Quality Manager or Engineering (CQM, CQE)
• Background of maintenance or heavy manufacturing with knowledge of welding
• Must possess a strong functional background in modern quality techniques (TQM. ISO 9000 etc.)
• Strong Knowledge and experience with Lean, Six Sigma, change management and project management
• Experience in quality and compliance critical industry (e.g. automotive, aerospace, etc.)