The Customer Quality team serves as the primary quality interface between ZF and Japanese OEM customers (JOEMs), ensuring customer satisfaction and protecting customer operations from quality-related risks. The team leads customer quality management activities throughout the product lifecycle, including product and process approvals, change management, launch support, and claim handling. Working closely with manufacturing plants, engineering, supplier quality, and customer representatives, the team drives continuous quality improvement and promotes a proactive quality culture across the organization.
What you can look forward to as Customer Quality Expert:
- Create and maintain strong relationships with customers regarding quality matters, ensuring Voice of Customer (VoC) feedback is effectively communicated and understood within the organization.
- Coordinate customer quality activities to prevent quality risks, including customer PPAP, change management, launch audits, and inspection data submissions.
- Handle 0km claims (technical and logistics) through SAP and facilitate structured problem-solving activities to achieve timely issue resolution.
- Drive prioritization of customer quality concerns within the organization, implementing immediate containment actions and long-term corrective measures to avoid escalations.
- Manage quality improvement activities in collaboration with source plant teams and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Deploy and ensure compliance with Customer Specific Requirements (CSR) based on customer quality manuals and internal quality standards.
- Conduct customer visits as required to support quality activities, issue resolution, and relationship management.
- Support occasional overseas business travel (approximately once per year).
Your Profile as Customer Quality Expert:
- College degree or higher in Engineering or a related technical discipline.
- More than 5 years of professional experience in Quality functions within the automotive industry.
- Experience working directly with OEM customers as a Tier-1 automotive supplier.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills with a risk-based mindset.
- Ability to work effectively in cross-functional and global environments.
- Knowledge of automotive quality tools and methodologies, including APQP, Control Plan, FMEA, SPC, MSA, and PPAP.
- Knowledge of quality management systems and customer requirements, including ISO 9001, IATF 16949, VDA, Customer Specific Requirements (CSR), and SAP.
- Business-level Japanese proficiency and intermediate English proficiency to communicate effectively with customers and global teams.
Why you should choose ZF?
- Annual Leave
- Hybrid Work Environment
- Flexible Working Hour
- A supportive and collaborative team environment
- Growth Opportunity
Be part of our ZF team as Customer Quality Expert and apply now!
Contact
Aoi Terasaka
aoi.terasaka@zf.com
