Senior Director- Quality Engineering

Location: Plymouth, MN 55441

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Join the world's largest HVAC company, named by Forbes as one of America's Best-In-State Employers 2025!

Sr. Director Quality Engineering – Plymouth, MN - Hybrid

Make your mark at the world’s largest HVAC company

Daikin Applied is seeking an innovative and dynamic leader to serve as Sr. Director Quality Engineering.  This role is a transformational leader responsible for driving quality excellence across new and existing products. This role integrates quality engineering, robust design, product reliability, and compliance with industry standards. The Senior Director will develop and deploy advanced methods and tools, build and lead a high-performing team, and champion a culture of continuous improvement and technical rigor

Come be a part of an exciting journey at Daikin Applied, where innovation and excellence drive our every endeavor!

Location: Hybrid, Plymouth, MN

What you will do:

• Quality Engineering Leadership
  • Develop, implement, and continuously improve quality engineering strategies, processes, and metrics.
  • Lead the creation and deployment of methods and tools for design assurance, risk management, and defect prevention.
  • Engage with both operations and end customers to develop a robust understanding of their quality issues, and associated expectations of product quality.  Collect and understand both the quantitative and qualitative feedback.
• Robust Design & Product Reliability
  • Institutionalize robust design principles (DFSS, tolerance analysis, DoE) throughout the product lifecycle.
  • Set and track reliability targets; ensure field data and lessons learned are integrated into design and validation.
  • Oversee Design Verification & Validation (DVP&R) planning and test execution.
• Product Compliance
  • Ensure products meet or exceed all relevant standards (ISO, AHRI, ASHRAE, UL, ASME, etc.).
  • Embed compliance requirements into design reviews and gate criteria.
  • Prepare teams for successful internal and external audits.
• Talent Acquisition & Development
  • Hire, onboard, and develop top talent in quality engineering and reliability.
  • Design and deliver training programs to upskill the broader organization in quality, reliability, and compliance.
  • Build communities of practice and certification pathways.
• Organizational Training & Upskilling
  • Lead training initiatives to elevate quality and reliability skills across engineering and business units.
  • Mentor and coach teams in advanced quality methods, FMEA facilitation, and CAPA.
• Governance & Design Review
  • Act as the governance lead for design reviews, ensuring rigorous quality and CAPA closure at every stage.
  • Serve as the quality gatekeeper at technical milestones; maintain audit readiness and risk management discipline.
• Cross-Functional Partnership
  • Closely partner with Central Quality and Business Unit Quality teams to harmonize standards, plans, and accountability.
  • Jointly lead quality councils and publish unified quality plans and escalation paths.

What’s in it for you:

• The ability to make an impact and shape your career with a company that is passionate about growth
• The support of an organization that believes it is vital to include and engage diverse people, perspectives, and ideas to achieve our best

Minimum Qualifications:

• 15+ years in Quality, Design, or Manufacturing Engineering for complex electromechanical products
• 7+ years in senior leadership roles spanning quality engineering, robust design, reliability, and compliance
• Demonstrated experience developing and deploying advanced quality methods and tools.
• Critical thinking skills to objectively and robustly evaluate quality problems
• Knowledge and experience with tools and methods for quality and reliability:  DFMEA, DVP&R, FRACAS, Weibull, 8D/DMAIC, etc
• Understand quality related metrics:  DPPM, COPQ, ICQ, Warranty $ as % of sales, TCO, etc
• Proven success in hiring, developing, and leading high-performing teams
• Deep knowledge of relevant standards and regulatory requirements
• Experience partnering with central quality and business units in a matrixed organization

Preferred Qualifications:

• Six Sigma Black Belt/DFSS certification.

Benefits:

• Daikin Applied offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:
• Multiple medical insurance plan options + dental and vision insurance 
• 401K retirement plan with employer match
• Paid time off and company paid holidays
• Paid sick time in accordance with the federal, state and local law
• Tuition Reimbursement after 6 months of continuous service

The typical annual base salary for this position ranges from $162,500 - $277,500 plus a 30% bonus in Minnesota. The range displayed represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade which this position falls. Individual base pay will depend on a wide range of factors including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.  

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