Sr. Engineer - Testing Quality & Compliance
Work Mode:Onsite
Location:?Onsite, four days per week ? Kohler, WI
Opportunity
For over 150 years, Kohler Company has been a global leader in boldly reimagining the spaces where people live and work. Today, we continue that legacy by pushing the boundaries of design, engineering, and innovation?and we?re looking for a passionate leader to help bring the next generation of ideas to life.
We are seeking a Sr Engineer ? Testing Quality & Compliance to provide technical leadership in testing standards, laboratory quality, measurement assurance, accreditation, and global laboratory correlation. In this role, you will help establish and advance the systems that ensure Kohler?s engineering testing capabilities produce consistent, traceable, and technically defensible results.
As a trusted technical partner to engineering, testing, quality, codes and standards, and global laboratory teams, you will interpret applicable industry standards, lead measurement system and repeatability & reproducibility (R&R) activities, coordinate inter-laboratory and round-robin testing, and lead ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation and audit activities. You will work across functions and geographies to identify variation, strengthen test methods, and establish common practices that enable confidence in engineering test results.
This is an opportunity to have broad technical impact across Kohler ? connecting external and internal standards and laboratory best practices to practical engineering application, strengthening the integrity of our testing capabilities, and helping establish a globally consistent foundation for product development and innovation.
Specific Responsibilities
Testing Standards & Methodology: Serve as the technical subject matter expert for the application of applicable engineering and laboratory testing standards within Kohler\'s testing environment. Partner with Codes & Standards and engineering teams to translate external requirements into practical test methods, laboratory controls, and testing practices.
Laboratory Quality System: Own the technical health and continuous improvement of applicable laboratory quality systems, including ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. Establish and maintain processes that ensure testing activities are controlled, documented, traceable, and technically defensible.
Accreditation & Audit Management: Lead preparation and technical support for laboratory accreditation, certification, internal, customer, and third-party audits. Coordinate responses to findings, drive corrective actions, and ensure sustained compliance with applicable requirements.
Measurement Systems & R&R: Develop and implement measurement assurance practices, including repeatability and reproducibility (R&R), measurement system analysis (MSA), calibration, traceability, and measurement uncertainty as applicable. Evaluate measurement capability and identify opportunities to improve confidence in engineering test results.
Global Laboratory Correlation: Lead inter-laboratory comparison and round-robin testing programs across Kohler\'s global engineering and quality laboratories. Analyze test-result variation, identify sources of discrepancy, and facilitate corrective actions and method harmonization to improve global consistency and comparability.
Testing Compliance & Certification: Partner with Codes & Standards, Quality, Engineering, and external certification organizations to ensure laboratory capabilities and test methods satisfy applicable certification and compliance requirements. Identify gaps and coordinate actions needed to maintain or expand testing capabilities.
Data & Statistical Analysis: Apply statistical methods to evaluate laboratory performance, test-method variation, measurement systems, and inter-laboratory results. Establish meaningful quality metrics and use data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
Cross-Functional & Global Collaboration: Partner with Testing & Prototyping, Engineering, Codes & Standards, Quality, Product Development, and global laboratory teams to establish consistent testing practices and resolve technical quality issues. Influence stakeholders across functions and geographies without direct authority.
Technical Risk & Corrective Action: Identify and assess risks that could compromise the validity, repeatability, or comparability of engineering test results. Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for testing-related nonconformances, recurring variation, and audit findings.
Continuous Improvement: Drive improvements to laboratory processes, test methods, quality systems, and measurement practices that reduce variation, improve testing efficiency, strengthen compliance, and increase confidence in engineering data.
Skills/Requirements
- Bachelor?s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or related technical field.
- Minimum five years of experience in engineering testing, laboratory operations, quality, or related technical discipline.
- Experience working within an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory or comparable laboratory quality system.
- Experience with measurement systems, R&R/MSA, calibration, measurement traceability, and statistical analysis.
- Experience interpreting and applying engineering or laboratory testing standards and requirements.
- Experience supporting laboratory audits, accreditation, certification, or compliance activities.
- Experience developing, validating, standardizing, or improving test methods.
- Product development experience and understanding.
- Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple technical initiatives simultaneously.
- Must possess a keen analytical mind, be strong on planning, detail, and accuracy, and be a demonstrably creative thinker, adept in problem-solving, and root-cause analysis.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence across functions and geographies without direct authority.
- Operates with candor, enthusiasm, commitment and drive to achieve business results.
- Collaborative mindset, capable of building trust and creating an engaging environment.
Preferred
- Experience leading inter-laboratory comparisons, round-robin testing, or proficiency testing programs.
- Experience with measurement uncertainty and statistical methods for laboratory testing.
- ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO 19011 auditor or lead auditor training/certification
- ASQ or similar quality, measurement, reliability, or auditing certification.
- Experience working with global laboratory networks and harmonizing testing methods and practices.
- Experience in product testing, consumer durable goods, plumbing, or related manufacturing industries.
- Lean / Six Sigma training or certification.
- Working knowledge of laboratory information management systems (LIMS), quality management systems (QMS), or related digital laboratory tools.
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Why Choose Kohler?
We empower each associate to #BecomeMoreAtKohler with a competitive total rewards package to support your health and wellbeing, access to career growth and development opportunities, a diverse and inclusive workplace, and a strong culture of innovation. With more than 30,000 bold leaders across the globe, we?re driving meaningful change in our mission to help people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives.
About Us
It is Kohler?s policy to recruit, hire, and promote qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. If, as an individual with a disability, you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact . Kohler Co. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
