Why You Should Work Here
Since founder Don Kotula opened his garage door to the world in 1980, Northern Tool + Equipment has stayed true to a vision that has guided the company ever since — building lasting relationships by providing the right solution for our customers. Today, Northern Tool + Equipment has grown into a billion-dollar company that provides over 70,000 carefully chosen tools via catalogs, website and retail stores. We seek talented people who wish to share their initiative, ideas and expertise; we develop and support our teams and we put them in a position to succeed. We know our customer, we provide value and we act with integrity. We are True Northern.
- MN Top Workplaces recipient for 5 years in a row – recognized as a top scorer in work/life balance
- Work/life balance continually scores at the top in engagement surveys
- Remote work options
- Generous PTO plan
- Volunteer Time Off (VTO) – paid time off to volunteer
- Paid Holidays
- Paid Parental Leave
- Caregiving support – all employees eligible for a company paid membership to Bright Horizons to support finding resources and receive discounts to meet care giving needs
- Reasonable retail hours, no big box hours here!
- Member of Make Time to Vote organization – paid time off to vote
Job Description
Ensure products meet quality standards and compliance by establishing, following, and enforcing quality policies and procedures that align our design and manufacturing processes.
Day to Day Responsibilities
- Respond to quality issues that are encountered in company processes. Lead the coordination of activities to contain and communicate the issue, disposition the material, and develop short and long-term corrective actions.
- Utilize tools such as A3, 8D analysis, 5 Why, fishbone diagrams, cause and effect matrices and other problem solving methods such as Plan, Do, Check, Act or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (Six Sigma, DMAIC) to gather data and ultimately reach root cause and determine permanent corrective action.
- Perform various types of routine audits and process monitoring to find compliance with internal quality systems. Report on, communicate and address audit findings to ensure that processes follow established procedures and meet acceptable quality levels.
- Establish critical to quality characteristics and acceptance criteria of the product and develop or modify inspection and testing procedures and documentation.
- Gather and organize data collected from various sources to identify trends and opportunities to improve first pass yield and reduce service and warranty issues. Select and initiate quality improvement projects and lead cross functional teams to achieve the desired results.
- Create or revise quality documentation such as quality control plans, Process and Design Failure Mode Effects Analysis (PFMEA / DFMEA), process flow diagrams.
- Collaborate with others to determine needs for inspecting and collecting measurements on incoming purchased parts, performs first article inspections, and completes first article inspection reports and communicates findings to engineering, purchasing and materials.
- Issue and communicate quality alerts and make formal documented requests to internal and external suppliers for root cause and corrective action. Follow up on timeliness of response and determine when the response is satisfactory and can be closed out.
- Control the system of ensuring that all quality inspection and production tools are maintained and calibrated as required.
- Supervise and manage employees as it relates to all projects or related work, establish performance requirements, clarify responsibilities of those supervised, conduct performance appraisals and plans for individual employee development.
- Keep supervisor informed of important developments, potential problems, and related information necessary for effective management. Coordinate and communicate plans and activities with others, as appropriate, to ensure a coordinated work effort and team approach.
- Perform related work as apparent or assigned.
Minimum Years of Experience
Bachelor’s degree in quality engineering or other related engineering field. At least 3 or more years of related job experience in product quality engineering, new product engineering, or industrial / manufacturing engineering. At least 1 year of supervisory experience. American Society of Quality (ASQ) certification preferred. Six Sigma Certification preferred. Strong understanding of root cause and corrective action tools and templates. Ability to create process documentation and forms. Ability to clearly define the problem, measure and analyze data and interpret results, draw conclusions and make fact-based decisions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions / drawings with several abstract and concrete variables in mathematical or diagram form. Ability to properly use tools such as calipers, micrometers, protractors, tape measures and other measurement devices for the purpose of dimensional analysis. Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. Ability to compute rates, ratios and percentages and to draw and interpret charts and data. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite applications such as Excel, Word, Power Point. Proficient in Minitab or similar statistical analysis software. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with a wide variety of customers, suppliers, company personnel and others. Able to maintain a professional, ethical, and responsible image when dealing with suppliers and co-workers. Demonstrates Northern Tool + Equipment’s 12 Core Competencies.
Salary or Hourly Rate
Competitive
Benefits
Fun stuff:
- Annual summer picnic
- Team lunches + ice cream socials
- Holiday celebrations
- Casual/Dress for Your Day
- Interdepartmental team events and competitions – we love a little friendly competition
- Service awards + Core Values recognition program
Financial benefits:
- 401k with company match
- Life Insurance (company paid and provides 1X annual salary in coverage)
- Supplemental life Insurance available for employee, spouse, and children
- Travel Assistance program - benefits available for emergency situations while traveling
- Accident and Critical Care coverage
- Employee Discount at all Northern Tool companies
- Paid Time Off
- Annual Incentive Plan programs
Health & Wellness:
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision Plans
- 100% coverage for in network preventive care
- Disease prevention and management including weight loss support through Omada
- Tobacco cessation support
- Company sponsored fitness and wellness challenges
- Employee Assistance Program (includes 24/7 support and up to 3 in person counseling sessions at no cost)
- Short term + long-term disability (company paid, provides up to 60% of monthly covered earnings)
- Flex Spending Accounts for Medical and Dependent Care Expenses
- Grand Rounds – health care advocate to support employees with accessing quality care
- Learn to Live – mental health online support/resources for all employees and family members
Make an Impact:
- Volunteer Time Off – paid time off to volunteer!
- Charitable Matching Programs
- Community Health Charities sponsor
- Regular donations made to 360 Communities
- Member of Make Time to Vote organization
Career growth and advancement:
- Regular 1-1s and coaching
- Access to talent management technology to support individual career development and aspirations
- Access to many Learning + Development offerings online and in person
- Partnerships with many educational programs, organizations, and institutions
- Internship and apprentice offerings
- Stretch assignments and opportunity to try out new things!
- Tuition assistance
- Various leadership development programs for leaders at all stages in their management career
Application Information
All we need is your resume to start!
