Supplier Development Engineer

Caterpillar Inc.•Mossville, IL

3d•$112,710 - $169,060

About The Position

This role has been created to support continued expansion and the introduction of new technologies across Caterpillar’s electrical components portfolio, including sensors, electronic control modules (ECMs), and communication systems. As new technology initiatives accelerate, this position plays a critical role in managing both new product introductions and the ongoing performance of existing suppliers, with a strong focus on quality and capacity to meet business demand. On a day-to-day basis, this role monitors supplier performance using PowerBI and other data tools to understand defect trends, rejection causes, and failure modes. You will work directly with global suppliers at their manufacturing facilities to ensure product quality and requirements are met. This will include approving Production Part Approval Process (PPAP’s) for new and changed parts, tracking and approving Process Change requests from suppliers, driving corrective actions to resolve defects received in our facilities, and validating supplier production capacity is adequate to meet our demand. The role includes weekly performance reviews, ongoing supplier communication, and monthly capacity discussions. You will be part of a highly collaborative, global team with regional representation across the U.S., India, Europe, China, and Mexico. While team members support different suppliers and regions, they work closely together to share best practices, reduce risk, and minimize travel through regional support. This role is closely aligned with the engineering product design team in Mossville, working side-by-side with engineering counterparts to support product development and deliver high-quality, cost-effective solutions leveraging our global supply base.

Requirements

Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
Quality Orientation: Knowledge of quality management methods, tools, and techniques; ability to create and support an environment that meets the quality goals of the organization.
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP): Knowledge of Production Part Approval Processes (PPAP) elements, submissions, and objectives; ability to determine whether a supplier can manufacture products that meet the quality requirements and standards of their customers consistently.
Supplier Management - MFG: Knowledge of processes and methods to effectively manage business relationships and transactions with suppliers of raw materials or product components; ability to apply related knowledge, experience and skills into real practice.

Nice To Haves

A bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent hands-on experience in manufacturing engineering or electrical component manufacturing.
Experience using PowerBI to analyze data, build reports, and support quality or operational decision-making.
Working knowledge of APQP and PPAP processes, including supporting new products or component introductions through production approval.
Experience with built-in quality (BIQ) concepts, ensuring quality is designed into processes rather than inspected at the end.
Familiarity with Lean manufacturing principles and applying them to improve quality, efficiency, and consistency.

Responsibilities

Generating reports on supplier quality, by monitoring their defect rates and areas that can lead to potential flaws; Guiding suppliers to reduce these defect rates.
Researching the potential vendors, assessing their manufacturing environment, practices, and procedures; Conducting supplier quality control audits to ensure compliance with organizational and federal policies and standards.
Supporting suppliers in improving their performance through process enhancements, implementing process controls, and developing quality assurance plans.
Ensuring the quality of material produced by developing supplier inspection, testing, and evaluation mechanisms.
Managing supplier recalls when defective material is found that needs to be reworked or removed from Caterpillar.
Partner with suppliers to ensure they have the capacity and capability to meet Caterpillar’s demand requirements.