APQP Engineer

About the role

Join ZF LIFETEC’s safety‑focused team in Lourdes, Colon as an APQP Engineer. You will drive automotive quality initiatives, ensuring products meet stringent customer and regulatory standards throughout the development lifecycle.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare and submit complete PPAP packages on the first attempt to achieve green status from customers.
• Conduct line readiness and release audits on schedule during the development phase.
• Coordinate 8D analyses for claims and manage risk mitigation and PFMEA activities.
• Monitor customer APQP processes, guaranteeing all quality gates and deliverables are met before SOP.
• Implement robust control plans across prototype, pre‑serial and serial stages.
• Participate in customer and quality system audits, including IATF 16949 compliance.
• Perform statistical validation of measurement equipment (Cp/Cpk, Gage R&R, reliability studies, DOE, etc.).
• Apply basic quality and managerial tools such as histograms, Pareto charts, fishbone diagrams, affinity diagrams, and process decision charts.

Required profile

• Engineering background, preferably with 5 + years in the automotive industry.
• Proven experience with APQP, PPAP, and automotive core tools.
• Familiarity with IATF 16949, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 9001 standards.
• Strong knowledge of statistical methods and problem‑solving techniques (8D, A3, Green Belt, fault tree analysis, 5 Why, etc.).
• Ability to work with VDA 6.3 and customer‑specific requirements.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and fluent English (minimum 90%).

Required skills

• APQP and PPAP processes
• Automotive Core Tools: MSA, SPC, FMEA, Control Plan
• IATF 16949, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 9001
• Statistical analysis: Cp/Cpk, Gage R&R, reliability studies, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, DOE
• Problem‑solving: 8D, A3, Green Belt, fault tree analysis, 5 Why
• VDA 6.3 auditing
• Microsoft Office suite
• English (professional proficiency)