OEM Quality Engineering Supervisor

Inside the Role

The OEM Quality Engineering Supervisor provides technical and operational leadership for OEM customer quality activities across across multiple OEM truck manufacturing facilities, including Portland, Saltillo, Santiago, and the Carolinas. This role serves as the primary liaison between manufacturing plants, customers, engineering, and quality organizations to ensure rapid containment, inspection, repair, and resolution of product defects impacting OEM customers.
The position provides leadership for field quality activities, customer complaint management, campaign execution, defect containment, and corrective action implementation while maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.
Because this role requires independent engineering judgment, specialized technical knowledge, and direct interface with customer engineering and manufacturing organizations, the position is intended for candidates with a formal engineering background and demonstrated capability to resolve complex technical quality issues in a high-volume commercial vehicle or powertrain environment.

Posting Information

We provide a scheduled posting end date to assist our candidates with their application planning. While this date reflects our latest plans, it is subject to change, and postings may be extended or removed earlier than expected.

We Take Care of Our Team

What you Drive

Technical Engineering Scope

• Apply engineering principles to evaluate engine, powertrain, electrical, mechanical, aftertreatment, chassis interface, and manufacturing-related quality concerns at OEM truck plants.

• Interpret technical drawings, engineering specifications, build records, test data, torque records, fault codes, diagnostic results, and manufacturing process documentation to support defect investigation and containment decisions.

• Perform technical assessment of failure modes, suspect populations, risk-based containment needs, repair strategies, and validation requirements for customer-impacting quality issues.

• Translate complex technical findings into clear action plans for technicians, plant teams, engineering groups, suppliers, and OEM customer representatives.

Team Leadership & Operations

• Directly supervise and develop Quality Service Technicians (QSTs) supporting OEM truck plants in Portland, Saltillo, Santiago, Cleveland, Mt. Holly, FCCC, and other assigned customer locations.

• Establish priorities, provide technical guidance, and ensure effective execution of inspections, containment activities, and repair actions.

• Monitor workload distribution and resource requirements across multiple customer locations.

• Manage technician performance, training, safety compliance, and professional development.

Customer Complaint Resolution

• Lead investigation and resolution of OEM customer complaints related to engines, powertrain components, and associated systems.

• Coordinate cross-functional teams consisting of Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing, Supplier Management, Product Development, and Operations to identify technical root causes, define engineering-based containment plans, and implement verified corrective actions.

• Provide timely communication and status updates to customers and internal leadership regarding quality concerns and resolution activities.

• Ensure customer concerns are documented, tracked, and resolved through established quality processes.

Defect Containment & Corrective Actions

• Manage containment activities for quality spills affecting OEM truck plants.

• Direct field inspections, audits, rework activities, and product evaluations to prevent defective products from reaching customers.

• Verify effectiveness of containment and corrective action measures through follow-up audits and validation activities.

• Drive issues to closure utilizing structured engineering problem-solving methodologies, including 8D, 5-Why, fault-tree analysis, statistical analysis, process capability review, measurement system evaluation, and verification of corrective action effectiveness.

Campaign Management

• Lead planning, execution, and closure of OEM quality campaigns and field containment activities.

• Develop suspect populations and coordinate inspection and repair strategies.

• Track campaign progress, repair completion rates, parts consumption, and overall campaign effectiveness.

• Communicate campaign status, risks, and recovery plans to customers, plant leadership, and senior management.

• Ensure campaign documentation, reporting, and lessons learned are properly maintained.

Material & Logistics Support

• Coordinate shipment of replacement parts, tools, inspection equipment, and repair materials to truck plants and customer locations.

• Ensure required resources are available to support containment actions and campaign execution.

• Work with logistics, warehouses, suppliers, and production teams to expedite critical materials when necessary.

Quality Improvement & Reporting

• Analyze quality performance trends and customer feedback to identify emerging issues and systemic opportunities for improvement.

• Develop and present quality metrics, campaign updates, and customer complaint summaries to leadership.

• Support continuous improvement initiatives aimed at reducing defects, improving customer satisfaction, and strengthening manufacturing quality systems.

• Participate in audits, customer visits, field investigations, and launch readiness activities.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline required.

• Minimum 5 years of progressive engineering experience in quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, product engineering, field quality, customer quality, powertrain systems, commercial vehicle systems, or related technical roles.

• Experience leading cross-functional problem-solving activities and corrective action implementation.

• Demonstrated ability to apply advanced engineering judgment to diagnose complex mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, assembly, and system-integration defects in a customer production environment.

• Strong understanding of quality management systems, root cause analysis, and defect containment processes.

• Proficiency interpreting engineering specifications, design intent, manufacturing process requirements, diagnostic data, quality records, and production test results to determine containment scope and corrective action requirements.

• Demonstrated leadership experience supervising technical teams or quality personnel.

• Experience with complex technical analysis, independent engineering judgment, and resolution of advanced quality, manufacturing, powertrain, and customer-interface issues
• Ability to serve as a technical subject matter expert for OEM quality engineering concerns, including defect containment, failure mode evaluation, root cause analysis, corrective action validation, and cross-functional engineering communication.
• Ability to travel regularly to OEM customer locations and manufacturing plants.

Preferred

• Experience supporting Class 8 truck, powertrain, engine, transmission, axle, or commercial vehicle manufacturing.

• Advanced knowledge of quality and engineering tools including 8D, PFMEA, DFMEA, control plans, SPC, process capability, MSA, PPAP, APQP, fault-tree analysis, boundary diagrams, process audits, and corrective action effectiveness validation.

• Experience managing campaigns, field actions, warranty investigations, or customer complaint resolution.
• Master's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline preferred where the role requires deeper technical investigation, system-level analysis, or leadership of complex customer-facing quality issues.

• Bilingual proficiency (English/Spanish) preferred for support of Mexico-based operations.

Where We Work

This position is open to applicants who can work in (or relocate to) the following location(s)-

Detroit, MI US. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

Schedule Type:

Onsite

At Daimler Truck North America, we recognize our world is changing faster than ever before. By listening to the needs of today, we’re building to solve with cutting-edge solutions in sustainability and future driving technology across electric, hydrogen and autonomous. These solutions, backed by years of innovative success and achievement, continue DTNA’s legacy as the undisputed industry leader. Our evolving brand portfolio is second to none, including Freightliner Trucks, Western Star, Demand Detroit, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis, and Financial Services. Together, we work as one team towards our envisioned future – building a cleaner, safer and more efficient tomorrow for all.

That is what we are working toward - for all who keep the world moving.

Additional Information

• Visa sponsorship will only be open to current Daimler Truck North America employees working under an existing U.S. Daimler Truck North America Visa

• All other applicants must be legally authorized to work permanently in the country the position is located in at the time of application

• Final candidate must successfully complete a criminal background check

• Final candidate may be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screen

• Contractors, professional services, or other contingent workers should confirm with their local agency if they are eligible to apply for FTE positions

• EEO - Disabled/Veterans

Daimler Truck North America is committed to workforce inclusion and providing an environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, marital status, family relationship, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (including transgender and transitioning status), genetic information, or veteran status.

For an accommodation or special assistance with applying for a posted position, please contact our Human Resources department at 503-745-8982 or toll free 800-206-3369. For TTY/TDD enabled call 503-745-2137 or toll free 866-355-6935.