Quality Engineer

About the company

Brio Water Technology, a Home Organizers, Inc. company, is a market leading water products brand that has helped millions stay hydrated through its unique and innovative product line. We offer full home water solutions designed to elevate the way people hydrate, combining sophisticated technology with modern, top tier design to deliver exceptional performance, customer satisfaction, and enhanced functionality.

About the role

The Quality Engineer is responsible for developing test methods and protocols, validating supplier testing methods, and investigating technical issues with our water refrigeration and ice production products. This role serves as a critical link between engineering, manufacturing, and customer satisfaction—driving continuous improvement initiatives across all phases of the product lifecycle, from supplier qualification through final delivery.

A central responsibility of this role is the rigorous investigation and resolution of product quality issues. The Quality Engineer is expected to lead all troubleshooting efforts with a structured, data-driven mindset—rapidly diagnosing failures in the field or on the production floor, identifying true root causes (not symptoms), and driving permanent corrective actions that prevent recurrence. Speed, thoroughness, and technical depth in problem-solving are core performance expectations for this position.

What you'll do

Quality Systems & Standards

• Develop, maintain, and enforce Quality Management System (QMS) documentation including SOPs, work instructions, control plans, and inspection criteria in alignment with ISO 9001 standards

• Lead internal and external audits; coordinate third-party regulatory inspections including NSF/ANSI, UL, and applicable EPA/FDA compliance reviews for water contact materials

• Manage document control systems and ensure all quality records are current, accessible, and properly retained

Product & Process Quality

• Develop and execute inspection and test plans (ITPs) for refrigeration components, ice-making assemblies, water filtration systems, and compressor units

• Apply statistical process control (SPC) methodologies to monitor manufacturing processes and identify variation trends before they result in non-conformance

• Perform and oversee FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis) for new and existing products; develop and track risk mitigation actions

• Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) using 8D, 5-Why, Ishikawa, and DMAIC methodologies for field failures and in-process defects

Troubleshooting & Root Cause Analysis

• Serve as the primary technical lead for all product quality investigations, including in-process defects, warranty returns, field failures, and customer complaints related to ice production, water dispensing, refrigeration performance, and water quality

• Conduct thorough, structured troubleshooting of refrigeration and ice system failures—including compressor faults, refrigerant leaks, ice bridging, water system contamination, evaporator fouling, and electrical control malfunctions—using both hands-on inspection and data analysis

• Apply a systematic, layered RCA approach for every significant quality escape: begin with containment and symptom mapping, progress through data collection and hypothesis testing, and conclude with verified root cause identification before any corrective action is implemented

• Utilize the full suite of structured problem-solving tools as appropriate to failure type and complexity: 8D reports, 5-Why analysis, Ishikawa (fishbone) diagrams, fault tree analysis (FTA), DMAIC, and is/is-not analysis

• Distinguish consistently between root causes, contributing factors, and detection failures; ensure corrective actions address all three layers to prevent recurrence and strengthen the quality system

• Perform or coordinate failure analysis of returned units and components, including teardown and inspection of compressors, ice-making mechanisms, water inlet valves, sensors, and control boards; document findings with photographs, measurements, and written technical reports

• Analyze warranty and field failure data to identify systemic trends, failure patterns, and early warning signals; escalate repeat failures immediately and drive cross-functional response teams