Head of Quality & Continuous Improvement in East Syracuse, New York at INFICON

About INFICON

INFICON is a global leader in instrumentation, sensor technologies, and Smart Manufacturing solutions that help customers improve productivity, quality, and operational performance across semiconductor, industrial, life science, and advanced manufacturing markets

About the Role

INFICON is seeking a transformational Head of Quality & Continuous Improvement to serve as a strategic change agent for our ISS Business Unit. Reporting to the Vice President of Operations, ISS Division, you will unite Quality Excellence and Lean Continuous Improvement under a single, integrated vision. This is a build role: you will create the systems, standards, culture, and operating discipline that elevate product and process quality, eliminate waste, strengthen industrial engineering capabilities, and establish a model that can scale across INFICON globally.

Leading a team of approximately 1520 professionals across Quality Systems, Process Quality, Sustainability & Compliance, and Lean Continuous Improvement and Industrial Engineering, you will create alignment across historically separate functions while driving improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, productivity, and customer experience.

Success in this role will require building a culture of continuous improvement, strengthening root-cause-based quality problem solving, advancing Lean Daily Management and industrial engineering practices, accelerating AI-enabled quality and operational capabilities, and developing leaders and operating standards that drive sustainable performance improvement.

What You'll Build

• A unified Quality, Lean Continuous Improvement, and Industrial Engineering organization operating under a single, integrated vision and serving as a model for future deployment across INFICON globally.
• A culture of continuous improvement that develops managers into coaches, technicians into problem solvers, and engineers into teachers.
• An AI-enabled Quality & Continuous Improvement capability that accelerates problem detection, root cause analysis, and productivity improvement across operations.
• A next-generation visual factory where wins, gaps, and opportunities are visible, creating alignment and focused productivity improvement.
• Scalable playbooks, standards, methods, and training that can be deployed consistently across global manufacturing sites.
• A pipeline of Lean and Quality leaders capable of leading future transformation initiatives across the organization

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the ISS Division's Quality Systems, Process Quality, Sustainability & Compliance, and Lean Continuous Improvement and Industrial Engineering functions, driving a unified vision that advances quality, productivity, and customer experience.
• Oversee Quality Systems including QMS, BPMS, ISO 9001/14001, CAPA, audits, supplier and customer quality processes, and regulatory compliance, driving improvements in product quality and process performance.
• Build and embed a culture of continuous improvement through Lean Daily Management, visual factory principles, and disciplined problem solving, driving waste elimination, productivity improvement, and operational excellence.
• Lead CI and Industrial Engineering initiatives including process flow improvement, time studies, material flow optimization, and facility layout planning.
• Provide leadership for sustainability, ESG reporting, environmental management systems, and compliance programs.
• Drive the adoption of AI-enabled Quality and Continuous Improvement capabilities, including predictive quality analytics, computer vision and automated inspection, intelligent SPC, and AI-assisted root cause and CAPA.
• Develop scalable standards, methods, training, tools, and playbooks while building future Lean and Quality leaders capable of supporting improvements across global sites and future business growth initiatives.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Quality, Operations, or a related technical discipline.
• Master's degree preferred.

Required Experience

• 10+ years of progressive Quality and/or Operational Excellence leadership in complex manufacturing, including 5+ years leading managers.
• Demonstrated track record across both Quality (ISO 9001/14001/27001, supplier/customer quality, 8D, CAPA, SPC) and Lean / CI (VSM, Kaizen, 6S, LDM, SMED, TPM).
• Demonstrated experience advanced manufacturing operations.
• Proven success leading and influencing in a global, multi-site, multi-cultural environment; willingness to travel as initiatives scale globally.
• Executive communication skills, with the ability to influence effectively from the shop floor to the boardroom across regions and cultures.

Preferred Experience & Qualifications

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt strongly preferred.
• ISO Lead Auditor / Management Representative experience required.
• Hands-on experience leading or enabling AI / digital transformation in operations, such as predictive analytics, machine vision, smart inspection, and/or AI-assisted process and quality systems.
• Experience in semiconductor equipment, vacuum technology, instrumentation, analytical technology, or related industries.

A reasonable estimate of the current range is: $120,000 to $180,000 annually. In addition, INFICON employees are eligible for a profit-sharing bonus with a target of 10% as well as 401K match up to 8% (vesting schedule). The actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law.

INFICON provides a dynamic work environment that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our employees experience ongoing green initiatives, flexible work hours, and a variety of health and wellness programs.

INFICONs forward-thinking approach offers countless opportunities to design, support, and manufacture a diverse product portfolio that expands globally. Our Lean and Agile work environment offers competitive compensation, relocation assistance, a discretionary bonus, and generous employee benefits; major medical, dental, health, vision, 401K, vacation and sick time, tuition reimbursement, and more!

INFICON is committed to ensuring that our online application process provides an equal opportunity to all job seekers that apply without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, gender, age, protected veteran status, disability status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic. A notice describing Federal equal employment opportunity laws is available here to reaffirm this commitment. Any contact that would like to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact us.careers@inficon.com.

INFICON, Inc. strictly complies with all aspects of the Export Administration Regulations ('EAR'), including those sections dealing with deemed exports to foreign nationals.