Quality Manager

Job Title: Quality Manager 

Department: Quality

Reports to: General Manager

Location: Sturtevant, WI

Position Summary 

The Quality Manager is responsible for building and sustaining the plant's quality management infrastructure. This is a foundational role in an active turnaround: the function does not yet have formal systems, documented processes, or baseline performance data. The Quality Manager will define what good looks like, put the systems in place to measure it, and establish the corrective action discipline required to hold those standards over time.

This role reports directly to the General Manager and operates with cross-functional authority over quality holds, corrective actions, and customer complaint resolution. The Quality Manager works closely with Production, Scheduling, Maintenance, and Sales to ensure quality accountability is embedded at the operator and supervisor level — not concentrated in a single function.

About Us

ND Paper is a leading manufacturer of high-quality pulp, paper, and packaging products in the United States, generating over half a billion dollars in annual sales. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited – the largest containerboard producer in the world – ND Paper is part of a global network committed to excellence and innovation. With two integrated pulp and paper mills in Rumford, Maine and Biron, Wisconsin, a packaging plant in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and two sheeting facilities in Langhorne, Pennsylvania and Fairmont, West Virginia, the ND Paper family produces nearly one million tons of products annually. Our 1,100 dedicated employees are the heart of our operations, and we are committed to fostering positive work environments where individuals can advance and thrive. At ND Paper, we are investing in our future, and that starts with our staff. 

Key Responsibilities & Expected Results:

• Demonstrate safety as a core value and establish a safe work environment by actively leading the safe execution of work. 

• Own implementation and maintenance of Quality Hold SOP, including hold initiation, disposition, and release protocol
• Develop and maintain quality standards for corrugated board (ECT, flute profile, caliper, moisture, print registration) and converted products (cut score, glue, stitch, die cut tolerance)
• Define and enforce defect reason code taxonomy across all production lines
• Establish and maintain a quality metrics dashboard with weekly reporting cadence
• Manage the plant's quality hold tracker — ensure holds are coded, dispositioned within defined timeframes, and do not linger without documentation
• Lead structured root cause analysis (RCA) on customer complaints, internal defect events, and repeat hold types
• Own the corrective and preventive action (CAPA) system — issue, track, verify, and close CAPAs within defined timelines
• Drive investigation rigor and corrective action documentation standards across production and quality functions
• Present corrective action summaries to the General Manager on a cadence appropriate to the plant's current complaint volume
• Serve as the primary internal point of contact for customer quality complaints
• Coordinate with Customer Service and Sales to ensure complaint acknowledgment within defined SLA
• Investigate, document, and communicate root cause and corrective action to customers in a professional and timely manner
• Track complaint trends by customer, product type, and defect category
• Conduct daily floor rounds on corrugator and converting lines; observe in-process quality at point of production
• Train operators and supervisors on quality standards, defect identification, and hold protocol — the goal is line-level ownership, not management-dependent compliance
• Support Converting and Corrugator Supervisors in building quality awareness into shift startup, in-process checks, and end-of-run documentation
• Own plant-wide fiber waste as a primary performance metric — track, report, and drive corrugator and converting waste to target
• Establish waste coding by loss category (setup waste, run waste, trim, downgrade, splice loss) so data is actionable, not just reportable
• Conduct regular waste walks with corrugator and converting supervisors; identify top waste drivers by line, shift, and product type
• Lead structured waste reduction projects — root cause, countermeasure, verification — on the highest-impact loss categories
• Partner with Scheduling to reduce setup-driven waste through order sequencing and run length optimization
• Maintain waste trend reporting for the General Manager on a weekly basis; flag deviations from target immediately
• Oversee color kitchen quality standards for ink mixing, draw-down approval, and press match process
• Coordinate with Design on print specification documentation and customer proof approval workflow
• Establish and maintain print quality standards consistent with customer expectations and order specifications
• Define incoming inspection standards for linerboard, medium, inks, and adhesives
• Document and escalate supplier quality issues to the General Manager with supporting data
• Maintain incoming inspection records as part of the plant's quality documentation system

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) 

• Baseline data exists for all core quality KPIs: hold volume, resolution time, hold-to-waste conversion rate
• Corrective action closure rate
• Customer return and complaint rate
• Waste %

Qualifications and Skills

Education and Experience

• 3+ years of quality management experience in corrugated, folding carton, flexible packaging, or comparable converting/manufacturing environment
• Working knowledge of corrugated board construction, flute profiles, ECT testing, and flexographic print process
• Demonstrated experience building or formalizing a quality management function — not just maintaining one that already existed
• Experience running structured root cause analysis (5-Why, fishbone, or equivalent) and managing corrective action to closure
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; ability to build and maintain quality tracking tools in Excel
• Effective communicator across operator, supervisor, and customer-facing contexts

Technical Skills

• Experience with AICC or Fibre Box Association quality standards, preferred
• Familiarity with SPC (statistical process control) or equivalent process control methodologies, preferred
• Bilingual English/Spanish, preferred
• CQE, CQM, or equivalent quality certification, preferred
• Experience implementing or maintaining an ISO 9001 or comparable QMS, preferred

Core Competencies

• Align competencies with expected outcomes
• Accountability for results
• Problem solving/root cause analysis
• Process discipline
• Data driven decision making

Success Profile

• Quality hold SOP (SOP-QA-001) fully implemented; hold tracker active; all supervisors trained on initiation and disposition protocol; waste coding categories defined and in use on all lines 
• Baseline data collection underway across all KPI categories; defect and waste reason codes active; first corrective action cycle documented end-to-end; weekly waste trend reporting live
• Baseline waste % established for corrugator and converting; top waste loss categories identified and under active reduction project; first CAPA cohort tracked to closure; customer complaint response within defined SLA
• Formal KPI targets proposed and approved including fiber waste targets; corrective action and waste reduction systems self-sustaining at supervisor level; quality function operating proactively, not reactively

Working Conditions

• Onsite at corrugated box plant

Attributes for Success

• Hard work – tackle each task with determination, passion and creativity; the willingness to put in whatever effort is required to successfully complete the job at hand.
• Pursuit of Excellence – strive to consistently exceed expectations in our day-to-day work and outperform our competitors in the marketplace, regarding work and company achievements as a collaborative goal with the desire to go above and beyond.
• Integrity - treat the company and teammates with upmost respect, operating on strong moral codes to drive company values and culture. 
• Sense of Urgency – drive forward each day with speed, agility, and flexibility to capture unrealized opportunities and avoid potential risks for the business. 
• Entrepreneurial Spirit – act like an owner, challenging the status quo, asking the right questions, and actively seeking ways to innovate and improve.
• Adaptability – be fluid with ND Paper’s continuous evolution while driving change in a fast-paced environment, equipped with the ability to acclimate quickly. 
• Servant Leadership – set an example by implementing meaningful leadership with heart, empathy, foresight and stewardship.

ND Paper Benefits 

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as voluntary benefits such as accident insurance, hospital indemnity, and critical illness for you and your family. 
• Financial protection benefits, including life insurance, disability insurance, and business travel accident insurance. 
• Tax advantaged accounts such as Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA). 
• Paid holidays, personal days, and vacation days to support work-life balance. 
• A 401K retirement plan with a company match and annual fixed contribution 
• Wellness programs with incentives and an on-site clinic available at our Rumford and Biron location. 

Enjoy competitive salaries, comprehensive health benefits, and paid time off. Discover more about our benefits and how we support our team by visiting 2026 Benefits. Come be a part of our team and grow with us!

Apply

Please submit your resume, and salary requirements to https://us.ndpaper.com/careers

No unsolicited resumes - ND Paper does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Any unsolicited resume you submit to us will immediately become the property of ND Paper. If you would like to become a recruiter for ND Paper, please contact us and we will agree in writing to terms and the specific job roles for which you are authorized to recruit.