Staff Supplier Quality Engineer - Special Processes

Job description

### **Company Overview** Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world’s most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations. The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions. Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Catalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we’re quickly scaling for international expansion. Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we’re hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers. We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values: **Pragmatic Optimism.** Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth. **Excellence without Ego.** We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors. **Proactive Collaboration.** The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers. More information can be found at [](http://www.mainspringenergy.com/) ### **Job Overview** Mainspring Energy is scaling production of a first-of-its-kind linear generator, a fundamentally new approach to power generation with the potential to replace combustion turbines globally. As we transition from development into volume manufacturing, supplier quality is a critical lever. This role owns the quality gate for a portfolio of suppliers producing complex components and special process parts from NPI qualification through steady-state production. You will operate with significant autonomy, serve as the subject matter expert on special processes for the broader SQE team, and work cross-functionally with Design Engineering, Materials & Process, and Supply Chain to build quality into the supply chain from the start, not through inspection. This is a senior individual contributor role with real accountability and real scope. ### Responsibilities - Build and maintain trust-based relationships with assigned suppliers, serving as the primary quality point of contact and representing Mainspring's quality expectations clearly and consistently across cultures and geographies, including APAC and international suppliers as we scale - Own the supplier quality gate from New Product Introduction (NPI) through steady-state production, including control plan development, PPAP review and approval, and process capability studies (Cp/Cpk) for assigned suppliers - Issue and drive closure of Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs) using structured root cause analysis methodology (8D), holding suppliers accountable to corrective action timelines and validating effectiveness - Review and approve material and process deviation requests from suppliers, coordinating with Materials & Process Engineering and Design Engineering as required - Conduct supplier process audits and site visits to assess compliance to control plans, quality system requirements, and Mainspring standards - Own incoming inspection disposition and NCR management for assigned suppliers, making timely and defensible quality decisions to keep production moving - Maintain SPC monitoring and control plan updates in steady-state production, escalating negative trends before they become escapes - Act as subject matter expert and internal resource for the SQE team on special processes, providing guidance on qualification approaches, audit methodology, and deviation disposition ### The Ideal Candidate - You have successfully launched into volume production complex components and assemblies using advanced quality planning through product development, prototype into mass production - You can thrive in structured and unstructured environments and are not dissuaded at the prospect of making hard decisions about what is important and urgent against a backdrop of limited resources - You have effectively used your background in geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) per ANSI Y14.5 to interpret manufacturing drawings and make independent disposition decisions. You have working knowledge of advanced measurement systems including CMM and laser scanning - You have deep working knowledge of three or more special processes: welding, coating, heat treatment, cladding, thermal spray, electronics/PCBA manufacturing or precision machining at the level of auditing supplier process controls, reviewing process FMEAs, and approving PPAPs. Automotive, aerospace, or industrial power generation background preferred - You have used data collection, analysis, and dashboarding to inform effective decision making - You have a working knowledge of ISO 9001, AS9100 or IATF 16949 quality management system requirements - You have coached or mentored less experienced quality engineers and are comfortable being the person others come to when the problem is hard or the answer is not in the playbook ### Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or Materials Engineering, or a related technical field required - Minimum 7–10 years of Supplier Quality Engineering experience, with demonstrated progression into roles with independent ownership of supplier qualification programs - Proven experience as a quality decision-maker on PPAP approvals, deviation dispositions, and Supplier Corrective Action Report (SCAR) closure for complex components or assemblies - Experience coaching or mentoring less experienced quality engineers, formally or informally - Deep working knowledge of at least two special processes (welding, coating, heat treatment, brazing, NDT, or electronics/PCBA) at the level of auditing supplier process controls, not just awareness - Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with Design Engineering, Materials & Process, and Supply Chain to drive quality outcomes without direct authority over those teams - Ability to travel 25–50%, including international travel to APAC suppliers