Quality Director (Northvolt Gigafactory in Skellefteå)

Northvolt is seeking a Director of Quality to help build our world-class Team in Skellefteå, Sweden (Northvolt Ett).

This position is a key role in ensuring both product and production excellence in one of the first large scale European battery factories. The impact that Ett will have on the transformation of both the European automotive industry and the move to a carbon free society cannot be overstated.

This position will be in charge of all Quality aspects of the new site and factory. Key to this success will be to build and lead a competent and dependable Team from scratch.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

-
Continue to build a world class Team of Quality scientists, engineers, and technicians who are dedicated to the collective mission of energy system disruption.

-
Ensure the site is compliant with the Northvolt Quality Management System and ensure successful implementation and continued certification of ISO9001, ISO14001, IATF16949 and other relevant standards. This includes managing customer audits.

-
Use the methodologies and analyses developed in supporting the above compliances to drive continuous improvement (e.g. PFMEAs, control plans, Cpk, Kaizen principles, etc.). This is not a position about creating paperwork, it is about using the fundamentals of quality systems to consistently achieve product and production excellence.


-
Drive your Team to carry a proactive results-driven approach even in reactive situations (e.g. NC management, 8D completion, or customer complaints). Embrace quality science and use data to drive fact-based decision making.

-
Grow and feed the Team on a culture of continuous improvement and challenging assumptions. Build a high level of Team trust, and then ensure an open atmosphere where debate and professional conflict are encouraged. And, most importantly, in this case the “Team” is Northvolt.



Education/Experience

-
Strong working knowledge of various quality systems and methodologies (e.g. six sigma, 7 QC tools, 8D and root cause analyses). You are either an expert in these tools, or have a strong enough understanding of their value and implementation that you can drive a Team to utilize them to their full extent

-
Proven experience building and/or leading a strong Team. Engaging people to perform as a cohesive Team is probably the most important skill a leader can have

-
Ability to work under high pressure and tight deadlines, excellent time management

-
Excellent reading, writing, and speaking comprehension of English, Swedish is a plus. Due to Northvolt's multi-cultural roots, English is the common language in the workplace.


Specific Skills/Abilities

-
Direct experience working in production line environments, especially those involving a clean room or dry room environment

-
In depth knowledge and experience with IATF16949

-
Strong knowledge of battery cell technology and/or manufacturing.

-
Strong background in data and statistics. You have the experience to question and drive analyses of sampling rates and production data.



Northvolt was founded in 2016 with the mission to build the world’s greenest battery cell, with a minimal carbon footprint and the highest ambitions for recycling, to enable the European transition to renewable energy. Northvolt’s team of experts is building the next generation battery cell factory focused on process innovation, scale and vertical integration. Once completed, it will be Europe’s largest battery cell factory and produce 32 GWh worth of capacity annually.

The future needs high-quality, green batteries. And it needs lots of them.

We are currently in an exciting fast-growing phase and operate in a busy, fast moving environment, dealing with a wide range of stakeholders. We are staffing our international office in Stockholm, our R&D facility, Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, as well as our Gdansk facility for production of battery systems. We are also preparing for upcoming positions at the main factory, Northvolt Ett, in Skellefteå.

We want to work with experienced battery experts as well as talented and purpose driven people from all kinds of disciplines to make this happen. Those of us already on board share a bold streak and a passion for our mission. We are prepared to work hard in pursuit of excellence. We enjoy the ride and our main drive is to make a difference for real. We are a team dedicated to thinking new, working hard and having fun. Join us today!