Overall Purpose: Will support the administration and continuous improvement of the company's quality management processes. This position focuses on quality documentation, customer communication, nonconformance management, corrective actions, and maintaining compliance with applicable quality standards and customer requirements. The Quality Assurance Specialist will work closely with customers and internal departments, including sales, customer service, operations, and purchasing, to investigate quality concerns, coordinate timely resolutions, maintain accurate records, and prevent recurring issues. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Quality Systems and Documentation

· Maintain quality management system documentation, including procedures, work instructions, forms, records, and other controlled documents.

· Ensure quality records are accurate, complete, organized, and maintained in accordance with company procedures and applicable requirements.

· Prepare and maintain certificates of conformance, material certifications, quality reports, and other customer-required documentation.

· Assist with maintaining compliance with ISO 9001 requirements and applicable customer-specific quality standards.

· Coordinate document updates, revisions, approvals, and distribution to ensure employees have access to current documentation.

· Support internal and external quality audits by organizing records, gathering documentation, and coordinating responses to audit findings.

· Maintain tracking logs and reports for customer complaints, nonconformances, corrective actions, and other quality-related activities.

Customer Quality Support

· Serve as a primary point of contact for customer quality inquiries, documentation requests, and quality-related concerns.

· Communicate with customers to gather information, clarify specifications or requirements, and coordinate the resolution of quality issues.

· Coordinate responses to customer complaints and ensure appropriate internal personnel are engaged in the investigation and resolution process.

· Prepare and submit customer responses, corrective action reports, and supporting documentation within established deadlines.

· Monitor open customer quality issues and provide timely status updates to customers and internal stakeholders.

· Maintain professional, responsive relationships with customers while helping protect customer satisfaction and confidence in Gallagher Fluid Seals.

· Partner with sales and customer service to ensure quality requirements and customer expectations are clearly understood and communicated internally.

Nonconformance and Corrective Action Management

· Document and track nonconformances, customer complaints, supplier issues, and internal quality concerns.

· Coordinate root cause investigations with relevant departments to identify contributing factors and determine appropriate corrective actions.

· Facilitate the assignment, implementation, and follow-up of corrective and preventive actions.

· Monitor corrective action due dates and verify that required documentation and supporting evidence are completed.

· Assist in evaluating the effectiveness of corrective actions and identifying opportunities to prevent recurrence.

· Escalate overdue actions, recurring issues, and significant quality concerns to management.

· Maintain organized records of investigations, resolutions, and lessons learned to support continuous improvement.

Continuous Improvement and Reporting

· Compile and analyze quality-related data, including customer complaints, nonconformance trends, corrective action status, and recurring issues.

· Prepare periodic quality reports and performance metrics for management review.

· Identify trends and opportunities to improve processes, documentation, communication, and customer satisfaction.

· Support process improvement initiatives in collaboration with operations and other departments.

· Assist with the preparation and coordination of management reviews and quality improvement initiatives.

· Help promote consistent adherence to quality procedures and a culture of accountability throughout the organization.

Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent; an associate degree or additional relevant education is preferred.
• Experience in quality assurance, quality systems, customer service, manufacturing administration, or a related role.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate professionally with customers.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple issues, deadlines, and follow-up activities simultaneously.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to coordinate investigations across departments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook.
• Ability to maintain accurate records and handle customer and company information professionally.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting an ISO 9001 quality management system.
• Familiarity with corrective and preventive action processes, root cause analysis, and nonconformance reporting.
• Experience preparing customer corrective action responses, such as 8D reports, or similar documentation.
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial distribution, gasket fabrication, or industrial sealing products.
• Familiarity with certificates of conformance, material certifications, customer specifications, and supplier documentation.
• Experience with ERP systems or electronic document control systems.
• Exposure to internal audits, external audits, and management review processes.

Physical Demands:

• The employee is regularly required to move throughout the facility
• Presence at KOP facility is required on a regular basis
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• The employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• The employee is required to use hands and fingers to pick, feel, and/or inspect material. The employee will also reach with arms and hands as needed.
• Ability to lift 25 – 50 pounds on occassion