Job Description

Did you know KONE moves over one billion people every day? We employ over 60,000 professionals in over 60 countries worldwide joined together by a shared vision to ‘Deliver the best people flow experience’. As a global leader, we provide elevators, escalators, automatic building doors as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their lifecycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people’s journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings.

Job Title – Assistant General Manager / Senior Manager - ECU Quality (ISU)

Job Location – Chennai, India

Reports to – Manufacturing Director / Plant Head

Purpose of the Role

The ECU Quality Manager is responsible for managing, maintaining, and continuously improving the quality performance of the ECU (Elevator / Escalator Component Units) in line with factory, business unit, and KONE quality objectives. The role acts as the management representative for quality and ensures the implementation of robust quality management systems, proactive quality culture, and continuous improvement methodologies across the organization.

The ECU Quality Manager drives defect prevention, customer satisfaction, process excellence, compliance, and quality capability development while collaborating across functions to achieve world-class quality performance.

Are you the One?

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Quality Management, or related discipline.
• Master's Degree or professional certification in Quality Management is preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 20 years of experience in Quality Management within manufacturing, industrial, or engineering environments.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing quality teams.
• Experience in multinational and multicultural organizations.
• Proven experience in Quality Management Systems, continuous improvement, and customer quality management.
• Experience managing audits, compliance programs, and cross-functional quality improvement projects.

Technical Skills

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (minimum)
• Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001)
• Lean Manufacturing & Six Sigma
• Statistical Quality Control
• Process Auditing
• Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA/CAS) Management
• Root Cause Analysis Techniques (8D, 5 Why, Fishbone, etc…)
• FMEA, APQP, PPAP
• Customer Complaint Management
• Quality Data Analytics & Reporting
• Microsoft Power BI / SAP Quality Modules
• Project Management Skills
• Risk Assessment and Compliance Management
• Change Management Skills

Preferred

• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
• Lead Auditor Certification (ISO 9001)
• Exposure to Manufacturing Excellence Programs

KONE Values & Expectations

The ECU Quality Manager will:

• Act as the champion of quality excellence within the ECU.
• Represent the voice of the customer in all operational decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement and defect prevention initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with KONE Quality, Safety, and Environmental standards.
• Develop a capable and engaged quality organization.
• Support KONE's sustainability, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction objectives.

What will you be doing?

Quality Leadership & Management

• Serve as the ECU Management Representative for Quality.
• Promote and foster a proactive quality culture throughout the organization.
• Ensure alignment of ECU quality objectives with global KONE quality targets.
• Act as the voice of the customer and champion customer-focused quality improvements.
• Drive quality ownership and accountability across all functions.
• Ensure compliance with customer requirements, KONE standards, and regulatory obligations.

Quality Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Analyze customer feedback, field performance data, warranty issues, complaints, audits, and operational quality metrics to identify improvement opportunities.
• Lead corrective and preventive action programs to eliminate root causes of quality issues.
• Drive continuous improvement projects focused on reducing defects, improving reliability, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
• Monitor and ensure effectiveness of improvement initiatives and quality action plans.
• Drive reduction of Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ), scrap, rework, warranty costs, and other quality-related losses.
• Facilitate Quality Improvement Teams (QITs) and support cross-functional continuous improvement activities.

Quality Management System (QMS)

• Manage and continuously improve the Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with ISO standards and KONE requirements.
• Ensure effective integration of Quality, Safety, and Environmental Management Systems.
• Develop, implement, and maintain quality procedures, standards, and controls.
• Monitor QMS effectiveness through reviews, audits, KPI tracking, and management reporting.
• Ensure compliance with internal, customer, statutory, and certification requirements.

Audits & Compliance

• Plan, conduct, and oversee internal quality audits and process compliance assessments.
• Coordinate external audits, certification audits, customer audits, and regulatory inspections.
• Lead closure of audit findings and non-conformance actions.
• Monitor compliance with quality standards and drive process discipline across manufacturing and support functions.

Quality Competency Development

• Develop quality awareness and capability across the organization.
• Conduct training and coaching on quality tools, problem-solving methodologies, corrective action systems (CAS), and root cause analysis techniques.
• Promote Lean Six Sigma practices and structured problem-solving approaches.
• Build a culture of continuous learning and operational excellence.

People Leadership

• Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to the ECU Quality team.
• Set clear individual and team performance objectives.
• Drive employee engagement, competence development, and succession planning.
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on quality excellence and customer satisfaction.

1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Customer Satisfaction

• Quality Feedback Rate (FBR)
• First Year Call Out Rate (FYCOR)
• Customer Complaints Reduction

Product & Process Quality

• First Pass Yield (FPY)
• Internal Defect Rate
• Few Product/ Change Quality

Financial Performance

• Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ)
• Scrap and Rework Reduction

Quality Management System

• Internal Audit Compliance
• External Audit Results
• Non-Conformance Closure Effectiveness

Continuous Improvement

• Corrective Action Closure Rate
• Quality Improvement Project Success Rate
• Lean Six Sigma Project Benefits Realization

People Development

• Quality Training Completion
• Team Competency Development
• Employee Engagement Scores

1. Competency Profile

Behavioral Competencies

• Customer Perspective

Understands customer needs and expectations, continuously improving products, processes, and services to enhance customer satisfaction.

• Impact and Influencing

Communicates effectively, builds strong stakeholder relationships, and influences decisions that improve quality performance.

• Quality Focus

Maintains high quality standards and promotes a culture where quality is embedded in everyday activities.

• Managing Change

Drives and supports organizational improvements, effectively managing change initiatives and ensuring successful implementation.

• Analysis and Problem Solving

Applies analytical thinking, structured problem-solving, and data-driven decision-making to address complex quality challenges.

• Drive and Persistence

Demonstrates commitment, resilience, and determination in achieving quality objectives despite challenges.

• Environmental Awareness

Promotes sustainable practices and ensures environmental considerations are integrated into quality and operational decisions.

What do we offer?

• Career progression and opportunities within a global organization
• Total reward elements that engage and motivate our employees and help us make KONE a great place to work
• Comprehensive learning and development programs covering a wide range of professional skills
• You are surrounded by fun colleagues and a lively working environment within Business Services team and KONE Front Line. The best part is all leaders are great and open-minded

Click on apply if you have a passion for meeting up with people and a desire to make an impact in the elevator and escalator industry.

At KONE, we are focused on creating an innovative and collaborative working culture where we value the contribution of each individual. Employee engagement is a key focus area for us and we encourage participation and the sharing of information and ideas. Sustainability is an integral part of our culture and the daily practice. We follow ethical business practices and we seek to develop a culture of working together where co-workers trust and respect each other and good performance is recognized. In being a great place to work, we are proud to offer a range of experiences and opportunities that will help you to achieve your career and personal goals and enable you to live a healthy and balanced life.

Read more on https://kone.com/global/en/careers.html