Senior Director, Global Quality – Oxford, MA

IPG Photonics is seeking an experienced and strategic leader for newly created role of Senior Director of Global Quality, based at the company’s corporate headquarters in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President of Global Operations, this critical leadership role will be responsible for shaping and executing a world-class quality strategy across IPG’s global operations.

As a key member of the operations leadership team, the Senior Director will lead a comprehensive and integrated global quality program spanning all IPG product offerings. This individual will oversee quality operations across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, ensuring global alignment on excellence, compliance with international standards, and an unwavering focus on customer satisfaction across a diverse portfolio of laser technologies and manufacturing environments.

The Senior Director will play a pivotal role in embedding quality into all aspects of product development, engineering, and manufacturing. This leader will champion Lean, Six Sigma, and Operational Excellence methodologies across global teams and will be responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives through data analytics, SPC, and AI-enabled quality tools. The Senior Director will also establish and monitor global KPIs to measure quality performance, customer satisfaction, and progress against improvement initiatives. Additionally, the Senior Director will act as the global liaison with regulatory bodies, strategic customers, and business unit leaders, ensuring seamless collaboration and governance. The Senior Director will also lead global quality councils and be accountable for aligning quality programs with IPG’s ESG and sustainability goals. They will lead and mentor a global team of Regional Quality Managers and Engineers, while building a high-performance, culturally aware organization. This leader will also develop and deliver global training programs that reinforce process discipline and expand quality capabilities across regions.

Principal Responsibilities & Duties:

• Define and implement a global Quality Engineering strategy aligned with IPG’s corporate and regional objectives.
• Lead cross-regional quality teams in deploying standardized systems and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Develop and harmonize a global Quality Management System (QMS) across all manufacturing and R&D sites.
• Ensure compliance with international standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO/TS 16949) and regional regulatory requirements.
• Standardize quality processes, documentation, and audit practices across the enterprise to ensure efficiency and consistency.
• Reduce global Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) through preventive actions, process improvements, and enhanced design quality.
• Identify global trends in customer dissatisfaction and lead efforts to eliminate root cause.

The Candidate

IPG Photonics is seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking quality leader to serve as the Senior Director of Global Quality. A successful candidate will drive the development and execution of a unified global Quality Improvement Strategy, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, operational discipline, and innovation in quality engineering practices. This is a high-impact leadership opportunity to build and elevate a global quality organization that supports IPG’s growth and commitment to excellence.

The ideal candidate will bring over 10 years of progressive leadership experience in Quality Engineering, including managing global, multi-site operations. They will have demonstrated success leading diverse teams across multiple time zones and cultures, with strong cross-cultural communication skills and proven ability to drive change in complex organizations. The candidate must be able to travel internationally as required to support global operations. S/he will also be adept at leveraging data-driven insights to enhance quality processes and foster innovation across teams. A collaborative leadership style that inspires and empowers employees at all levels is essential to succeed in this role.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field (Master’s or MBA preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Quality Engineering, including global and multi-site operations.
• Proven success in deploying global continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, and Strategy Deployment.
• Experience in laser systems, photonics, optics, or other high-tech manufacturing environments highly desirable (familiarity with advanced manufacturing technologies such as precision optics, cleanroom operations, and automation preferred).
• ASQ certifications (e.g., CQE, CMQ-OE, CSSBB) strongly preferred.
• Experience with digital quality systems, global supplier quality management, and sustainability-driven quality initiatives is preferred
• Willingness to travel as needed

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