Quality Engineer
Kennametal · Orwell, OH
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Quality
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 85+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 8 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level quality role at Kennametal (industrial) in Orwell, OH. Support & Lead new product qualification and PPAP efforts for flawless product launches to meet customer requirements.
- They ask for
- 85+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Six Sigma, Root cause, SPC, FMEA, PPAP, Control plans
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in Ohio: typical posted base $90k–$130k.
Median of the low and high ends of 7 live postings that list pay, out of 68 quality engineer openings in Ohio, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Ohio plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 67 other live quality postings in Ohio.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (85+ vs 5+)
Typical $90k–$130k, from 6 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 63%
- ✓ PPAP 47%
- ✓ FMEA 44%
- ISO 9001 44%
- Supplier quality 43%
- ✓ SPC 37%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for DOE, SAP, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Quality team at Kennametal
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Kennametal in Orwell
2 other open roles at this site.
- Staff Engineer - Controls and Automation · Controls · Senior
- Manufacturing Maintenance Technician - 3rd shift · Reliability · Technician
Full description from KennametalAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Job Summary
This position will cover job functions for the quality department supporting compliance to the Quality Management System for the assigned area. This includes customer satisfaction (complaints, response time, ePPM) and financial performance of Quality (scrap, first pass yield, rework) for his or her area of the campus (specific work centers, product families, etc).
- ◆Customer Satisfaction – Utilize the CRM system and generate 8D’s on time to customers after quality events which impact customers. Assist management to identify systemic opportunities for continuous improvement
- ◆Financial Performance of Quality (scrap, first pass yield, rework) – Utilize the MRB process to disposition suspect material and drive problem solving to prevent recurrence on major issues. Assist management to identify systemic opportunities for continuous improvement
- ◆Quality Management System – Work with management to maintain policies, procedures, control plans, failure catalogs, audits, metrology, et al, in a way that fosters an atmosphere of compliance in the area and continually improves customer satisfaction and quality financial performance
- ◆Flawless launch & change – Ensures risks are identified and mitigated ahead of launch for newly developed product or process or product changes in his or her assigned area
- ◆Weekend coverage / support may be required at times.
Key Job
Responsibilities
- ◆Lead and coordinate quality improvement efforts for targeted business metrics. Work with cross functional teams (site and corporate) to address root cause and drive improvement.
- ◆Facilitate and promote the use of appropriate problem-solving techniques for root cause analysis and successful corrective action.
- ◆Analyze product and process data to support improvement efforts.
- ◆Determine when process stability and capability studies should be performed on existing processes. Recommend changes to processes and perform follow up to verify effectiveness.
- ◆Disposition non-conforming products and recommend containment and corrective actions.
- ◆Coordinate with Sales, Engineering, and Production to resolve customer complaints utilizing the CRM system and 8D process. Support quality management in diagnosing top level causes of customer complaints to support continuous improvement efforts in his or her assigned area.
- ◆Perform duties in accordance with quality system
requirements
as the voice of Kennametal’s customers.
- ✓Provide support for updating, auditing, and maintaining the ISO Quality Management System. Engage with regional and global QMS leadership to ensure conformance to corporate procedures.
- ✓Participate in Internal Quality Audits and Layered Process Audits (LPAs).
- ✓Establish and maintain Process Control Plans
- ✓Provide technical assistance to develop and improve inspection methods. Utilize Measurement System Analysis (MSA) to verify measurement system capability.
- ✓Participate in the development of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
- ✓Support & Lead new product qualification and PPAP efforts for flawless product launches to meet customer requirements. This also includes verification of effectiveness on changes to existing products and processes.
- ✓Performs tasks utilizing quality core tools (root cause analysis, FMEA, Control Plan, SPC, LPA, MSA, DOE, etc)
- ✓Must have a base knowledge of ERP systems such as SAP
- ✓Must have strong problem-solving skills
- ✓Must be able to create process documents and audit processes to requirements, openly communicating findings
- ✓Must be able to work within cross functional teams through complex tasks exercising strong written and verbal communication skills
- ✓Must be able to communicate effectively with various levels of the organization (operators, supervision, plant leadership, engineering, quality management, operational excellence management, director levels) and customers
- ✓Basic project management skills required to drive actions for targeted improvement
Education, Work Experience, Skills, Certificates
- ✓3-5 years of relevant work experience required.
- ✓Must be able to use required computer software including but not limited to SAP, Microsoft Office.
- ✓3-5 years of experience required.
- ✓Requires Bachelors Degree or equivalent industry experience.
- ✓Knowledge of ISO standards and
requirements
- ✓Must be able to use gages and measurement devices that determine compliance to drawing and product specifications. Must be able to retrieve and interpret drawings & specifications
- ✓Must be able to read and understand insert identification chart, routings and operating procedures. Is able to use 30X scoMust be able to determine insert defect criteria with product engineering.
- ✓Applies experience and skills to complete assigned work within own area of expertise (core tools)
- ✓Works within standard operating procedures and/or scientific methods
- ✓Six Sigma, ASQ Certification, CQE preferred
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About Kennametal
With over 85 years as an industrial technology leader, Kennametal Inc. delivers productivity to customers through materials science, tooling and wear-resistant solutions. Customers across aerospace and defense, earthworks, energy, general engineering and transportation turn to Kennametal to help them manufacture with precision and efficiency. Learn more at kennametal.com . Follow @Kennametal: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Job Title: Quality Engineer
Location: Orwell, OH
