Senior Director, Quality Assurance

United States·North America/usa/missouri/st. Louis - Ccpsenior

OtherQuality Assurance

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Overview

We begin with dreams. Dreams drive our motivation. Dreams are our future. The world's dreams, people's dreams, our dreams. Our passion creates ideas that make dreams come alive.

Technical Tools

OtherQuality Assurance

We begin with dreams. Dreams drive our motivation. Dreams are our future. The world's dreams, people's dreams, our dreams. Our passion creates ideas that make dreams come alive. Technology and products that were only dreams become reality.

Nidec is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric motors, drives, and controls, powering nearly everything that spins and moves, from smartphones and household appliances to electric vehicles, factories, data centers, aircraft, and critical infrastructure.

Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, Nidec operates more than 300 group companies across 40+ countries, with over 100,000 employees worldwide. Rooted in Japanese craftsmanship and continuous improvement, we combine global capability with local expertise to solve complex challenges and keep the world moving.

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Director, Quality Assurance to lead quality governance and assurance across our Motion & Energy (MOEN) business unit. This role is responsible for defining, governing, and assuring Quality Management Systems (QMS), standards, policies, and practices across a global, multi‑segment industrial organization.

This role provides independent oversight and advisory leadership to strengthen quality rigor, consistency, and risk management across critical functions—including engineering, new product development, sourcing, and manufacturing engineering—while ensuring protection of both Nidec and its customers.

Operating at the business unit level, this role focuses on QMS governance, quality assessments and audits, standards creation, training and advisory support, monitoring, and continuous improvement, while remaining intentionally removed from day‑to‑day execution.

This role is empowered to shape MOEN‑wide quality standards and provide independent visibility into quality risk to executive leadership.

Responsibilities

~1 min read

Define, establish, and maintain MOEN‑wide Quality Management Systems (QMS) aligned with Nidec corporate and regulatory standards
Align core quality principles with the unique operational needs of each business segment
Establish consistent quality expectations across engineering, new product development, sourcing, and manufacturing interfaces
Partner closely with MOEN Technology and Operations leadership to embed quality rigor across the lifecycle

Lead cross‑segment quality assessments, audits, and maturity reviews
Evaluate engineering and product quality rigor, including design controls, change management, and root cause effectiveness
Identify systemic risks, trends, and recurring issues impacting product integrity and customer outcomes
Ensure corrective actions are implemented and validated to prevent recurrence

Provide expert guidance on complex engineering quality challenges, failure modes, and prevention strategies
Influence engineering and operational decisions through data, governance frameworks, and technical credibility
Improve quality outcomes across the full product lifecycle—from concept through production

Define MOEN‑wide QMS and quality training strategies based on capability gaps and audit findings
Promote consistent application and adoption of quality practices across business segments
Drive knowledge sharing, benchmarking, and continuous improvement of quality capabilities

Define quality KPIs, dashboards, and review cadences across MOEN
Analyze performance trends and identify early risk indicators
Drive MOEN‑wide continuous improvement initiatives informed by QMS performance and audit outcomes

Partner with executive leadership, platform leaders, and segment teams to embed quality as a business priority
Coordinate with Nidec Corporation Japan (NCJ) and peer Quality leaders across Nidec business units
Support executive decision‑making by translating quality performance and risk into clear, actionable insight

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Systems, or similar required); advanced degree preferred.
15+ years of progressive experience in engineering, quality, or technical leadership roles within industrial, manufacturing, or engineering‑driven organizations.
Demonstrated success leading multi-site or multi‑business quality assessments, audits, or transformation efforts
Deep expertise in Quality Management Systems (QMS) and engineering quality disciplines across the product lifecycle
Strong knowledge of design controls, change management, and root cause methodologies (e.g., DFMEA, PFMEA, 4M, Six Sigma)
Proven ability to influence senior leaders and cross‑functional stakeholders without direct authority
Experience operating effectively in complex, matrixed, global organizations
Ability to translate quality data and risk into clear, executive‑level insights and decisions
Strong analytical, communication, and leadership presence
Ability to work across diverse cultures and geographies
Fluency in English required

This role requires up to 50% travel and involves a combination of factory‑based engagement and corporate collaboration. While some work can be performed virtually, success in this role will depend on building strong, in‑person relationships across manufacturing sites, engineering teams, and leadership groups.

This role is critical to strengthening quality rigor across MOEN by:

Ensuring consistent and effective QMS implementation
Driving alignment with corporate quality expectations
Identifying and mitigating systemic risks early
Elevating long‑term product, engineering, and operational quality performance

Nidec will not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to Nidec job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers. Pre-approval from the Nidec Talent Acquisition team is required before any external candidate can be submitted and such candidate must be submitted to the Nidec Talent Acquisition team.