Supplier Quality Engineer, Camera Component -

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. The people here at Apple don't just create products - they create the kind of wonder that's revolutionized entire industries. It's the diversity of those people and their ideas that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts. Join Apple and help us leave the world better than we found it.

We are seeking the individual to drive supplier quality, component reliability, and material readiness with skills to identify technical risks, improve manufacturing processes, and ensure robust quality performance throughout development and mass production. Through supplier quality management and closely collaboration with product development, Operations and component suppliers, we strive to provide customers an experience of enduring quality products which is so integral with our lives.

Description
This role owns quality and manufacturing capability of suppliers from material development through qualification and production ramp. Working closely with cross-functional teams, a motivated, technical oriented supplier quality engineer drives root cause resolution, process improvement, and supplier accountability to ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes across the product lifecycle.","responsibilities":"Lead supplier quality programs and innovation across new product development, driving DFM, inspection system qualification, and OK2send readiness to ensure suppliers meet the highest quality and reliability standards with self-driven curiosity to explore raw quality/manufacturing data without a predefined problem statement.
Own incoming and outgoing quality control by setting up incoming material inspection/sampling plans and OQC testing processes, while partnering with suppliers to implement CTQ controls on the production line.
Drive root cause resolution of supplier manufacturing and reliability issues using DOE and statistical analysis, and lead failure analysis on customer returns to feed insights back into process and product improvements.
Manage supplier performance and audits, publishing production data reports, conducting regular process audits against POR parameters, and building digital quality systems to track and elevate supplier results.

Preferred Qualifications
Deep expertise in semiconductor component materials (substrates, interconnect materials, metal components, ceramic materials) with experience leading material quality management.
Business-level proficiency in Japanese and English, with proven ability to lead high-stakes technical discussions, supplier reviews, and problem-solving meetings independently.
Demonstrated ability to analyze current-state supplier and manufacturing data to identify latent inefficiencies and improvement opportunities - not just react to escalated issues - and translate those insights into new quality strategies, tooling, or process innovations across suppliers and cross-regional teams.
Proven track record of proactively mining manufacturing and supplier data (beyond routine monitoring) to uncover hidden patterns, and using AI/ML or automated analytics to design novel quality tools, early-warning systems, or process innovations - rather than solely responding to known defects.
Primary working location is Tokyo, Japan.

Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Supplier Quality Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Process Engineering, or equivalent practical experience in fundamental imaging technologies.
Hands-on experience in supplier quality management, driving quality issue resolution and process ownership within semiconductor or camera manufacturing.
Proven senior-level experience leading failure analysis, root cause investigation, and process characterization efforts, including ownership of cross-functional resolution to closure.
Advanced proficiency in statistical and data-analysis methods (SPC, process capability analysis, DOE, MSA, correlation analysis) with demonstrated ability to apply structured problem-solving to complex, ambiguous supplier issues.