Our client is a North American-headquartered, growth-stage deep-tech company operating in advanced photonics and semiconductor-related manufacturing environments. The organization is transitioning from technology validation and early commercialization into global manufacturing scale-up, with operations spanning Asia and North America. As the company scales its product deployment, supplier network, and manufacturing footprint, product quality, reliability discipline, and formal quality governance are becoming critical to commercial success, customer confidence, and long-term scalability. The company is now establishing its first global Quality, Reliability and Assurance leadership function. This role will define, build, and institutionalize quality systems, standards, and operating discipline across the organization.
Global Head, Quality, Reliability and Assurance | 0 - 1 Global Quality Build Mandate
Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer
Work Location: Singapore
Regular international travel required as part of global mandate
ABOUT THE ROLE
This is the first global Quality, Reliability and Assurance leadership hire.
The role requires one person who has done both:
A. Personally built and implemented formal quality systems (including ISO frameworks) in a scaling manufacturing or technology environment
B. Personally owned product quality and reliability outcomes in a real production and supplier ecosystem
This role is NOT suited for leaders who have primarily operated within mature, steady-state multinational environments maintaining established quality systems. It requires a hands-on 0 - 1 builder who can create structure from ambiguity, establish discipline where it does not yet fully exist, and elevate the organization's quality maturity without compromising speed, pragmatism, or stakeholder alignment. The successful candidate will build the company's global quality assurance framework & foundation from the ground up, drive adoption across functions, and act as the senior quality authority for the business globally - while simultaneously owning product quality performance and reliability outcomes.
MANDATE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
1. Global Quality Assurance System Build, Certification and Institutionalization (Primary Focus 35 - 40%)
This function will serve as the backbone of the company's Quality Assurance framework, ensuring system integrity, compliance, and process discipline globally.
- Build and implement the company's first global Quality Management System (QMS) from ground up
- Lead ISO establishment and certification readiness, including ISO9001 (initial build and certification), ISO14001 and other relevant standards as required
- Define global quality policies, SOPs, governance standards, and escalation pathways
- Establish structured CAPA, root cause analysis, audit, and compliance disciplines
- Build a quality operating rhythm that can scale across geographies, teams, and external partners
This role goes beyond system administration. The successful candidate will design, implement, and institutionalize a global quality system that is adopted, enforced, and sustained across the organization.
2. Product Quality and Reliability Ownership(Critical 30 - 35%)
- Own the quality and reliability agenda for the company's products across development, manufacturing, and post-release performance
- Drive defect reduction, failure analysis, corrective action, and reliability improvement
- Partner closely with R&D, engineering, and manufacturing to embed quality into design, qualification, release, and change control
- Ensure quality decisions are grounded in product performance, NOT only documentation or audit readiness
Product quality is the priority focus of this role. Customer quality, supplier quality, incoming, in-process, and outgoing quality all matter, but the centre of gravity is product quality.
3. Supplier and Contract Manufacturing Quality Governance (20 - 25%)
- Build and enforce supplier quality standards across a globally distributed external manufacturing and supplier network
- Drive quality alignment with contract manufacturers and key suppliers across multiple countries
- Implement practical controls for incoming quality, process quality, outgoing quality, and supplier corrective actions
- Escalate and resolve quality breakdowns across external manufacturing partners without compromising business credibility
This role requires someone who is comfortable operating in outsourced and contract manufacturing environments, NOT only within captive factory settings.
4. Change Leadership, Stakeholder Influence and Quality Culture (Cross-functional)
- Educate internal stakeholders on quality expectations, trade-offs, and quality risk through a business lens
- Challenge requests, timelines, or decisions that compromise product integrity, customer trust, or company reputation
- Influence cross-functional leaders firmly and credibly, including senior stakeholders where necessary
- Drive adaptability, process discipline, and buy-in in an organization that is still building its quality maturity
- Foster a culture of quality excellence while maintaining pragmatism, speed, and operational effectiveness in a scaling environment
MUST-HAVE REQUIREMENTS
1. 0 - 1 Quality Build Experience
- Personally built or materially established a formal Quality Management System (QMS) from the ground up
- Proven experience leading ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 implementation from initial build stage across multiple sites, NOT merely inheriting and maintaining certification
- Experience establishing quality processes, governance, documentation, audit readiness, and operating discipline in a scaling, early-stage environment
2. Product Quality and Reliability Depth
- Strong track record owning product quality and reliability in semiconductor, photonics, electronics, or other high-precision manufacturing environments
- Hands-on experience in failure analysis, root cause investigation, defect reduction, and reliability testing improvement
- Strong command of quality and reliability methodologies including FMEA, CAPA, Six Sigma, Structured problem-solving framework
3. Supplier Quality and Contract Manufacturing Experience
- Experience managing quality in outsourced, supplier-driven, or contract manufacturing environments
- Ability to work across geographically dispersed suppliers and manufacturing partners
- Demonstrated capability to enforce standards externally, not only internally
4. Leadership and Experience
- Master's degree or PhD in Engineering, Quality, Reliability, or a related technical discipline
- Minimum 15 years of relevant quality, reliability and assurance (QRA) experience
- Minimum 8 years in leadership roles
- Experience in semiconductor, photonics, optoelectronics, or similarly complex manufacturing environments
- Demonstrated ability to build or lead global / multi-sites quality teams, install structure, and raise capability in environments that are not yet mature
- High personal energy, strong execution drive, and willingness to operate hands-on rather than through hierarchy alone
5. Stakeholder Strength and Personal Credibility
- Strong enough to challenge the status quo and push back on decisions that are not feasible or quality-sound
- Able to influence cross-functional stakeholders across engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain through judgement, credibility, and commercial understanding rather than compliance language alone
- Able to balance firmness with practicality, and business acumen with integrity
- Demonstrated ability to drive change across diverse regions and cultures
SUCCESS PROFILE
- A builder with the ability to create systems from zero personally - not a caretaker
- A product-quality-led QRA leader, not a compliance-only leader
- Credible with engineers, manufacturing teams, and suppliers
- Firm enough to challenge poor decisions, yet practical enough to drive adoption
- Comfortable operating across geographies and willing to travel as required
- High in execution intensity, with a hands-on operating style
- Able to build quality maturity without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy
NOT SUITABLE FOR THIS ROLE
- steady-state quality leaders from highly mature multinational systems
- audit-heavy or documentation-heavy quality professionals without deep product quality ownership
- leaders without hands-on ISO build experience
- highly corporate senior executives who are unwilling to roll up their sleeves
- technically strong specialists who cannot influence stakeholders or lead organizational change
- Highly hierarchical leaders who are not willing to operate hands-on
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
EA: PrimeStaff Management Services Pte Ltd| 95C5411
EAP: Consultant's name | Jenn Tan |R1106595
