Quality Engineer

GARY E. SCHWARZ

*** ******* ***., ******* ****, CA, 91320, 805-***-****, 805-***-****, ************@*******.***

SUMMARY

I am an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer with a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Design. I have extensive experience in Quality Engineering and Supplier Quality Management in the highly regulated Aerospace and Defense industry. I have developed many tools, specifications, procedures and policies that have solved problems, improved product quality, and reduced cost. I hold an active DoD Secret clearance.

EXPERIENCE

COOPER INTERCONNECT/G&H TECHNOLOGIES, Camarillo, CA 2009 - Present

Electrical Connectors, Sole Source for U.S. Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile Program, AS9100, Lean

Principal Quality Engineer - QE responsibility for in-house & supplier quality performance. Perform internal audits to AS9100 and Lockheed Martin Nuclear Weapon Standards. Interface with DCMA and Prime Contractor Representatives.

• Successfully lead cause investigations on issues that were preventing first article approval of very tightly toleranced molded components.

• Through audit findings and subsequent preventive action initiatives, I facilitated improvements to the QMS, QA and Manufacturing processes that eliminated contract compliance risks and improved customer satisfaction.

ITT, FORCE PROTECTION SYSTEMS, Thousand Oaks, CA 2007-2008

Defense Communications and Electronic Countermeasures; AS9100 & IPC Certified, Lean, Six Sigma

Supplier Quality Engineer - Program QE responsible for supplier development and performance improvement, perform supplier audit and for-cause investigations. IPC-A-610D & IPC-A-620A Certified Specialist. 50% travel.

• Performed cause and corrective action on several long-standing supplier quality issues, resulting in the elimination of certain product delivery schedule obstacles.

• Developed and implemented SOPs for Documentation Practice, Cause and Corrective Action, Material Review and other quality standards.

AIRBORNE TECHNOLOGIES, INC, Camarillo, CA 2005-2006

Manufacturer of Aircraft Parts and Assemblies; a Lockheed-Martin Certified Supplier

Quality Assurance Supervisor - Develop and continuously improve the quality management system; Provide training; conduct audits, approve MP’s, WO’s, FAI’s, and manage the Change Control process; Disposition of CAPAs and U.S. Government compliance issues. Responsible for 5 FTEs

• Eliminated a chronic inspection backlog by increasing throughput and reduced the incidence of QC errors by 92%. This was accomplished by adjusting task responsibilities and process flow.

• Established the quality performance database and metrics for the determination of improvement opportunities.

• Established intranet site for control of, and easy access to SOPs, process specs, and drawings. Established mandatory application of First Article and in-process inspections.

AMGEN, Newbury Park, CA 2003 - 2005

Biotechnology – Human Therapeutics; cGMP, Six Sigma

Quality Specialist I, Corporate Supplier Quality Management - As a Lead Auditor, plan, execute and close audits of critical GMP raw material suppliers; 15% travel. As an IPT Lead, manage a high volume and broad range of change control issues and supplier performance improvement initiatives.

• Developed an improved relationship with critical suppliers to investigate and resolve quality issues impacting production. As a result, several recurring quality issues that posed a risk to product quality and production schedule in 2004, had been eliminated in 2005.

• Recognized for my high level of responsiveness to customer needs at all Amgen sites, and effectively utilizing cross-functional team resources to resolve raw material change issues in a timely manner

• Developed a powerful Excel based project management tool which facilitates the setting and meeting of incremental task due dates. The result is that all projects are moving towards closure, all the time, and a significant reduction in the cycle time of CAPAs, changes, audits, and other projects

KAVLICO, A SOLECTRON COMPANY, Moorpark, CA 2002 - 2003

Automotive - Hybrid PCB Pressure Transducers – AS9100 Certified

Supervisor, Quality Engineering - Responsible for validation, Gage R&R, CpK, and Six Sigma SPC of automated high volume manufacturing lines. Perform process and product validation, and DOE to optimize yield of automated production lines and resolve complex production issues. Perform backfill as a Manufacturing Engineer to resolve process and product reliability issues. Work to IPC-A-610 and MIL-PRF-38534 (PWB, PCB, hybrids).

• Troubleshot, developed and successfully implemented changes in new product development, design and production tooling which effectively eliminated two failure modes responsible for approximately $94K in returned product from a valued customer.

• Established a strong relationship with a problematic supplier. Developed material accept/reject criteria thereby eliminating subjectivity. This resulted in the elimination of a production bottleneck that had a recurring impact on shipping commitments to another valued customer.

VITESSE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION, Camarillo, CA 2000 - 2002

Telecommunications - Integrated Circuits; ISO Certified

Reliability Engineer – Responsible for addressing manufacturing, test, RMAs and CAPAs. Responsible for planning and managing the qualification of new manufacturing process technologies, assembly vendors, and product. Worked to MIL-STD-883 (accelerated life testing) and J-STD-001 (Solder, Microcircuit die attach, ball bonding, substrate mounting, wedge bonding, welding).

• My root cause analysis disproved a faulty product claim that saved the company’s integrity and protected current and future product revenues in excess of $2M.

• Developed a project management tool for managing the progress of all qualification activities, averaging about 65 in number at any one time. This system enabled the easy identification and monitoring of critical paths and bottlenecks. This effectively eliminated qualification related new product launch delays.

BOEING, ROCKETDYNE Div., Canoga Park, CA 1979 - 2000

International Space Station (ISS) Electrical Power System and the Primary Liquid Fuel Rocket Engines for the Space Shuttle, Atlas, Delta, and Peacekeeper Programs; ISO Certified

ASQ Certified Quality Engineer- Principal QE on the Solar Array Wing & Thermal Control System product teams. Participate in CDRs and support design validation, qualification, and acceptance testing of ISS EPS components. Review and approve ECR's, FMEA/CIL’s, WO’s and verified configuration control. Member of MRB.

• Led highly visible Failure Review Board Investigation at a prime supplier after a series of nonconformances that had Space Shuttle launch schedule impact. Identified systemic issues and recommended C/A’s that have since been adopted. My effort contributed towards winning the 1999 NASA Award Fee.

Chairman - Corrective and Preventive Action Boards - Train and mentor the root cause analysis and corrective action process. Validate cause investigations and measure effectivity. Generate, analyze and present metrics at monthly QMR. This was a highly visible position where I routinely interacted with all levels of division management and the program engineering staff.

• Under my leadership, reduced the incidence of repetitive nonconformance by 60%. Reduced mean corrective action process cycle time by a factor of 4. Reduced and maintained the MRB backlog from 130 to under 5.

Quality Assurance Inspector - Assembly, Test & Engineering Development Laboratory, – Utilizing precision measurement devices, ultrasonic, radiographic, mag particle, and dye penetrant; static & dynamic load test, hydrostatic/dynamic, electrical, mass spectrometry, vibration, and spin balancing. QA responsibility over fabrication, assembly and overhaul of valves, turbopumps, and rocket engine final assemblies.

• Authored shop production planning that resulted in the manufacturing organization taking much greater responsibility for product quality. These changes enabled manufacturing to correct certain nonconformances on the spot. This had a direct impact on reducing cost and meeting production schedule.

EDUCATION & MEMBERSHIPS

ACADEMIC B. A. in Industrial Design - Product Design, California State University, Northridge, 1989

PROFESSIONAl American Society for Quality - Certified Quality Engineer

Six Sigma – Green Belt; DOE, SPC & Knowledge Based Management; MS Office, Project, Visio, Continuous Process Improvement, Robust Design, Kepner Tregoe Problem Solving & Decision Making, deBono's Six Thinking Hats, GD&T (ANSI Y14.5), IPC-A610D Certified Specialist, experienced with precision measurement NDI & NDT methods.

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