Process & Quality Leader

Owens Corning - Rockford, IL

Full-time - Mid Level

Rockford, IL

10,001+ employees

Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing

About the position

The Process & Quality Leader at Owens Corning is responsible for providing technical leadership and hands-on guidance over the extrusion process and quality control within the manufacturing plant. This role involves interfacing with various levels of the plant and the foam network to address product manufacturing challenges, ensuring adherence to safety and quality standards, and driving continuous improvement initiatives. The leader will manage two direct reports and be a key member of the Plant Leadership Team, contributing to the development and deployment of strategies to meet business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Build and support a culture where safety is a fundamental value.
• Ensure a safe, clean, and environmentally compliant work environment.
• Adhere to and continuously improve all safety policies, procedures, and standards.
• Actively participate in and follow requirements for Process Safety Management (PSM).
• Develop safe work practices and job training that reduce risk for process-related tasks.
• Operate with zero environmental non-conformities to applicable company and government regulations.
• Lead plant extrusion process and technical excellence.
• Drive excellent performance in the 24/7 extrusion process.
• Deliver exceptional production performance and drive improvement in product characteristics and consistency.
• Engage hands-on with extruder WonderWare and Ignition systems.
• Establish repeatable recipes and settings for each product.
• Drive product changeover consistency and effectiveness.
• Deliver on KPIs for product density efficiency, yield, and pack rate.
• Create and implement best practices at the extruder level for process setup and control.
• Interface with divisional engineering to solve product and material challenges.
• Lead implementation of new processes, production codes, and raw material blends.
• Conduct process improvement trials and incorporate learning into technical improvement plans.
• Own and develop all plant product quality specifications to ensure customer Fitness for Use (FFU).
• Ensure all products meet ASTM, UL, R D Industries, and FM Global standards.
• Maintain master files and history on all internal product specifications and procedures.
• Educate plant leadership and primary employees on quality control requirements.
• Interface with regional Foam QC resources to ensure alignment with QC expectations.
• Develop and sustain practices to minimize Cost to Non-Quality (CONQ).
• Provide technical and process support to customers and sales support team as required.
• Lead and develop talent, including training and development for extrusion operators and quality technicians.
• Work with the TPM steering team to develop the master plan for the FI Pillar implementation.
• Utilize FI methodologies to drive continuous improvement and implement corrective actions.

Requirements

• 3-5 years of manufacturing experience required.
• Extrusion processes strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or other industry-related degree.
• Lean certification such as Six Sigma or other related methodology.
• Hands-on leadership and engagement in a high-performing manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success in coaching and leading teams in a high employee empowerment culture.
• Experience managing and delivering results through projects and initiatives.
• Knowledge of TPM, continuous improvement, root cause analysis, and other lean concepts.
• Experience utilizing computer programs and Microsoft Office products.

Nice-to-haves

• Ability to travel as required (10%).
• Conducts himself/herself with the highest ethical and moral standards.
• Learns concepts and new skills rapidly and applies learning to the job.
• Achieves results quickly, both individually and through teams.
• Understands deep and complex concepts and can troubleshoot problems based on abstract data.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• 401k retirement plan
• Paid holidays
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee discount programs