Quality Engineer
Novanta · Irvine, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Quality
- Base pay
- $77k–$116k
- Travel
- 10%
- Degree
- Required
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 2 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level quality role at Novanta (industrial) in Irvine, CA. Design, develop, test, and optimize products and systems to meet customer and business requirements.
- They ask for
- degree required
- Tools it names
- Root cause, CAPA, GD&T, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), Supplier quality, Robotics
- Base pay
- $77k–$116k
- Day to day
- about 10% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $101k–$149k. This one lists $77k–$116k.
Median of the low and high ends of 96 live postings that list pay, out of 196 quality engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 195 other live quality postings in California.
- Base pay
- About 22% below similar roles
- Experience asked
- Not stated
Typical $100k–$148k, from 93 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 78%
- FMEA 54%
- ✓ Supplier quality 48%
- ✓ Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 46%
- AS9100 42%
- ISO 9001 38%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Robotics, Cost reduction, 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 Novanta
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?
- The posting says about 10% travel. Between which sites?
- 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: Novanta in Irvine
2 other open roles at this site.
- Director of Manufacturing Operations · Production · Director+
- Manager, Quality Engineering · Quality · Manager
Full description from NovantaAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Lead and execute engineering projects from concept through commercialization.
- ◆Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Engineering, Operations, Quality, Product Management, and Supply Chain to achieve project objectives.
- ◆Design, develop, test, and optimize products and systems to meet customer and business requirements.
- ◆Analyze technical issues, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions.
- ◆Support product improvements, cost reduction initiatives, and continuous improvement activities.
- ◆Develop and maintain technical documentation, specifications, and design records.
- ◆Participate in product verification, validation, and qualification activities.
- ◆Provide technical support for manufacturing, customers, and field-related issues as needed.
- ◆Ensure compliance with applicable quality, regulatory, and safety standards.
Required Experience, Education, Skills, Training and Competencies
- ✓Bachelor's degree in Engineering, preferably Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- ✓Experience leading or supporting CAPA investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective action implementation within a manufacturing quality environment.
- ✓Experience in quality engineering, manufacturing, supplier quality, or continuous improvement environments.
- ✓Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and drive solutions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
- ✓Experience partnering with suppliers and cross-functional teams to resolve quality and operational challenges.
- ✓Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, schematics, and GD&T.
- ✓Working knowledge of quality systems, process controls, supplier quality management, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Physical
Requirements
- ✓Ability to sit, stand, and move throughout manufacturing and office environments.
- ✓Ability to use a computer and standard office equipment for documentation, reporting, and analysis activities.
- ✓Ability to participate in manufacturing floor activities, inspections, and Gemba walks.
- ✓Ability to occasionally lift and carry materials or equipment associated with quality inspections and audits.
Travel
Requirements
- ✓Travel up to 10% as required to support suppliers, manufacturing sites, customer visits, training, or business initiatives.
- ✓Ability to travel domestically and occasionally internationally based on business needs.
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Build a career powered by innovations that matter! At Novanta, our innovations power technology products that are transforming healthcare and advanced manufacturing—improving productivity, enhancing people’s lives and redefining what’s possible. We create for our global customers engineered components and sub-systems that deliver extreme precision and performance for a range of mission-critical applications—from minimally invasive surgery to robotics to 3D metal printing.
Novanta is one global team with over 26 offices located in The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Looking for a great place to work? You have found it with a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and empowerment. Come explore Novanta.
At Novanta , our technologies help advance healthcare and manufacturing worldwide. As a Quality Engineer on our Precision Medicine team , you will ensure the quality, reliability, and performance of products that support critical healthcare applications and improve patient outcomes. In this highly collaborative role, you will partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Operations to solve complex challenges, drive continuous improvement initiatives, strengthen supplier quality, and implement sustainable solutions that enhance product performance, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction. If you are a hands-on problem solver who enjoys using data to drive meaningful improvements, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact in an innovative, mission-driven environment.
Novanta's Precision Medicine business develops advanced technology solutions that support life sciences, diagnostics, and medical device customers. Through innovative photonics, vision, precision motion, and automation technologies, the team helps enable critical applications including medical diagnostics, laboratory automation, drug discovery, genomic sequencing, and other healthcare advancements that improve patient outcomes around the world.
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