Quality Manager at Nortek, Dyersburg, TN

Quality Manager at Nortek in Dyersburg, TN. Full-time. Est. up to $160k. Apply with swipeandhired.

Maximize your potential. Minimize your footprint.
Nortek Data Center Cooling builds the systems that keep modern data centers running — from liquid cooling to large‑scale air solutions. Our work supports some of the world’s most demanding AI and hyperscale environments, and we solve those challenges with engineering depth and practical execution.
We keep things simple here. We communicate early, stay close to the details, and follow through. When issues come up, we address them directly, not with layers of process. Customers count on us because we do what we say and we keep projects moving.

Our culture is hands‑on and collaborative. People take ownership, move quickly, and help each other. If you like working with teammates who are straightforward and accountable, you’ll feel at home.

With the backing of Madison Air, we have the scale, stability, and manufacturing footprint to support complex, high‑growth programs.

Job Summary
The Quality Manager is responsible for leading quality strategy, culture, and execution for Nortek Data Center Cooling's Dyersburg manufacturing facility. This role serves as a key business partner to Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Customer Quality, ensuring products consistently meet customer expectations while driving operational excellence throughout the organization.
The Quality Manager will champion a proactive quality culture focused on prevention, process capability, and continuous improvement. Success in this role requires strong technical expertise, sound business judgment, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams to solve problems, improve performance, and eliminate recurring quality issues.
This leader will balance customer requirements, manufacturing realities, and business objectives while developing sustainable systems that support growth, improve product quality, and strengthen customer confidence.

Key Outcomes
Within the first 12-24 months, the Quality Manager will:

• Build and sustain a "Right First Time" culture where quality ownership exists throughout the organization.
• Improve first-pass yield and reduce defects, rework, scrap, and cost of poor quality.
• Strengthen process capability through effective controls, standard work, and preventive quality practices.
• Improve responsiveness and effectiveness of containment, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Reduce customer defects, warranty issues, and quality escapes.
• Improve supplier performance and incoming material quality.
• Develop a high-performing quality organization capable of supporting ongoing business growth and manufacturing scale.
• Increase visibility to quality risks, trends, and performance metrics that enable faster and more effective business decisions.

Responsibilities
Quality Management System & Compliance

• Lead implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement of the facility Quality Management System in alignment with company requirements and the intent of ISO 9001:2015.
• Ensure required procedures, work instructions, forms, records, and document controls are current, accessible, and followed.
• Plan and support internal, customer, and third-party audits; document findings, assign actions, and verify sustainable closure.
• Monitor compliance obligations applicable to the products and processes manufactured at the site and escalate gaps or risks promptly.
• Promote disciplined change control so engineering, process, material, and supplier changes are reviewed and implemented with appropriate quality controls.

Manufacturing Quality & Process Control

• Provide visible floor leadership for incoming, in-process, final inspection, end-of-line testing, packaging, and shipment release activities.
• Ensure inspection and test plans, acceptance criteria, check sheets, control plans, and workmanship standards are defined and consistently applied.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to identify process weaknesses, implement preventive controls, and reduce defects, rework, scrap, and disruption.
• Establish appropriate hold, quarantine, disposition, and release controls for nonconforming material and product.
• Confirm measuring and test equipment is suitable, controlled, calibrated, and used correctly.
• Assess manufacturing, shipping, packaging, installation, and service feedback and provide actionable recommendations to the responsible functions.

Corrective Action, Problem Solving & Improvement

• Lead or facilitate containment, root-cause analysis, corrective and preventive action, and effectiveness verification using structured problem-solving methods.
• Maintain strong governance of nonconformance, MRB, CAPA, deviation, and quality-improvement actions through closure.
• Analyze recurring defects and process trends; prioritize improvement work based on customer impact, risk, and business performance.
• Capture and communicate lessons learned and ensure applicable improvements are incorporated into future builds and processes.
• Support operational reviews with quality status, risk, aging actions, trend data, and recovery plans.

Customer, Project & Field Quality

• Serve as the site quality representative for customer reviews, witness testing, audits, escalations, and quality-related project meetings.
• Coordinate quality deliverables for assigned customer or project requirements, including quality plans, inspection records, test documentation, punch lists, and turnover records.
• Support evaluation of field issues, warranty concerns, service parts needs, installation deficiencies, and methods of procedure when site quality involvement is required.
• Ensure customer-facing responses are fact-based, timely, technically supported, and aligned with approved business positions.
• Provide quality feedback to manufacturing and engineering based on customer, commissioning, installation, and service experience.
• Supplier & Incoming Quality
• Partner with Supply Chain and Engineering to define supplier quality requirements and acceptance criteria.
• Support supplier qualification, issue escalation, corrective action, and performance improvement for critical materials and components.
• Ensure incoming inspection priorities are risk-based and aligned with supplier performance and product criticality.
• Contribute quality input to procurement decisions, sourcing changes, and supplier recovery plans.

Leadership & Culture

• Lead, coach, and develop quality personnel while establishing clear expectations, accountability, and growth opportunities.
• Develop and scale the site's quality systems, processes, and organizational capabilities to support increasing production volumes, operational complexity, and customer expectations.
• Build strong partnerships across Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Service, and Commercial teams.
• Drive a culture where quality issues are identified early, addressed directly, and prevented from recurring.
• Foster an environment where employees feel empowered to raise concerns, challenge assumptions, and continuously improve processes.
• Lead through visibility, engagement, and data-driven decision-making.
• Promote a mindset of ownership, urgency, and continuous improvement across the manufacturing organization.

Success Metrics

• Customer defects, complaints, escapes, and repeat issues
• First-pass yield, rework, scrap, and cost of poor quality
• Nonconformance, CAPA, audit finding, and MRB aging and closure effectiveness
• Inspection and test completion, record accuracy, and shipment-release readiness
• Supplier defect trends and corrective-action performance
• Training completion and demonstrated competency for quality-critical work
• Completion of site quality objectives and improvement plans

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Operations, or a related technical discipline or equivalent directly relevant experience.
• Progressive quality leadership experience within a manufacturing, engineered-to-order, or industrial equipment environment, including responsibility for leading teams, driving process improvement, implementing quality management systems, and delivering measurable improvements in product quality, process capability, customer satisfaction, and operational performance.
• Demonstrated success leading teams and driving measurable improvements in product quality, process capability, customer satisfaction, and operational performance.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems.
• Experience leading root-cause analysis, CAPA programs, nonconformance management, audit readiness, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, bills of material, test procedures, and manufacturing documentation.
• Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to think independently, challenge assumptions constructively, and make fact-based business decisions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in HVAC, data-center cooling, air-handling, refrigeration, electrical-mechanical equipment, or other complex configured-to-order manufacturing.
• Formal auditor training or certification; ASQ certifications such as Certified Quality Engineer or Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence are beneficial.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, 8D, 5-Why, fishbone analysis, PFMEA, control plans, statistical process control, and layered process audits.
• Experience supporting customer factory witness testing, commissioning, installation, warranty, or field-service quality activities.
• Experience using Autodesk Construction Cloud/BIM 360 or similar platforms for project documentation and issue tracking.
• Prior experience working in a regulated or customer-controlled project-delivery environment.

Leadership Competencies

• Independent thinker who exercises sound judgment and applies practical decision-making in complex situations.
• Courage to challenge assumptions and escalate risks when product quality, customer satisfaction, or compliance is at stake.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance quality, cost, delivery, and customer requirements.
• Data-driven problem solver with expertise in root-cause analysis and continuous improvement.
• High degree of accountability with a demonstrated bias toward action and execution.
• Collaborative leader who builds trust and credibility across all levels of the organization.
• Continuous improvement mindset focused on prevention, process capability, and sustainable results.
• Effective coach and developer of people who creates strong teams and future leaders.

Work Environment & Position Requirements

• Primarily based at the Dyersburg manufacturing facility with regular presence on the production floor.
• Ability to work safely in an active manufacturing environment and use required personal protective equipment.
• Ability to inspect equipment and work areas, which may require standing, walking, bending, reaching, or accessing production and test locations.
• Occasional travel may be required for customer, supplier, field, audit, training, or other company needs.
• Work schedule flexibility may be required to support production priorities, customer events, containment activity, or critical quality issues.

Why Join Nortek Data Center Cooling?

• Help shape and scale quality systems within a rapidly growing business serving the expanding AI, cloud computing, and hyperscale data center markets.
• Lead quality initiatives that directly impact customer success, operational performance, and business growth.
• Work alongside experienced leaders in engineering, operations, and manufacturing who value accountability, ownership, and practical problem solving.
• Help shape the future of quality within a growing organization backed by Madison Air and supported by significant manufacturing scale and resources.
• Influence products that power mission-critical infrastructure relied upon by some of the world's largest technology companies.