General Manager - Quality - Automotive Industry

: We are looking for an experienced General Manager - Quality to lead the organization's quality strategy and governance across multiple manufacturing plants. The role will be responsible for standardizing quality systems, improving customer and supplier quality, driving zero-defect manufacturing, reducing COPQ, and leading quality transformation initiatives across the organization. - Develop and execute the organization-wide quality strategy aligned with business and customer requirements. - Establish standardized quality systems, processes, KPIs, and best practices across all manufacturing plants. - Lead quality transformation initiatives focused on prevention, zero-defect manufacturing, operational excellence, and Quality 4.0. - Drive customer quality performance by reducing customer PPM, complaints, warranty costs, and COPQ. - Lead customer audits, assessments, escalations, and complaint resolution using structured methodologies such as 8D and root-cause analysis. - Partner with customers during new business development and new product introduction to ensure quality requirements and launch readiness. - Standardize manufacturing quality controls across plants, including process capability, Cp/Cpk, FPY, control plans, SPC, MSA, LPA, and Poka-Yoke. - Lead supplier quality strategy, including supplier audits, qualification, development, incoming quality improvement, and supplier PPM reduction. - Govern APQP and PPAP activities for new product development, including review and approval of PFMEA, DFMEA, control plans, and launch readiness. - Ensure compliance with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and applicable Customer Specific Requirements (CSR). - Lead certification, surveillance, customer, internal, process, product, and supplier audits and ensure timely closure of findings. - Drive continuous improvement through Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, DOE, SPC, MSA, and other quality improvement methodologies. - Lead COPQ reduction, warranty improvement, rejection and rework reduction, and optimization of inspection and quality-related costs. - Establish plant-level quality governance through regular performance reviews, benchmarking, cross-plant best-practice sharing, and corrective action tracking. - Implement digital QMS, real-time quality dashboards, analytics, and predictive quality initiatives to improve visibility and decision-making. - Build, mentor, and develop Plant Quality Heads and quality teams while strengthening technical and leadership capabilities across the organization. - Establish succession planning and capability development programs for the quality function. Required Candidate Profile: - 20 - 25 years of progressive experience in Quality, with 5 - 7+ years in a senior quality leadership role managing multiple manufacturing plants. - Mandatory experience in the Indian automotive component manufacturing industry. - Experience with leading Indian or multinational auto-component manufacturers supplying to passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or off-highway OEMs. - Strong hands-on experience in precision machining, including CNC machining, turning, milling, grinding, honing, and assembly. Exposure to forging/casting followed by machining is an added advantage. - Deep expertise in IATF 16949, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA/DFMEA, SPC, MSA, 8D, CAPA, Root Cause Analysis, Customer Quality, Supplier Quality, and Plant Quality Management. - Proven track record of reducing customer PPM, COPQ, warranty costs, rejection, and rework. - Strong experience in customer and supplier audits, OEM/Tier-1 quality requirements, and customer-specific standards. - Experience in standardizing quality systems and driving quality transformation across multiple manufacturing locations. - Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Production, Industrial, Automobile, or related Engineering discipline. Master's degree is an advantage. - Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt and IATF 16949 Lead Auditor certification are preferred. - Strong leadership, analytical, problem-solving, communication, stakeholder management, and change-management skills.