Make your mark at the world’s largest HVAC company

 

Daikin Applied is hiring a Design Assurance manager to join our Plymouth, MN team.  Reporting to the Director of PMO, this position is responsible for leading the Design Quality Assurance (DQA) function across all engineering and product development projects. The Design Assurance Manager will ensure that our design processes, outputs, and deliverables meet defined quality standards, support business objectives, and comply with internal and external requirements.

 

This individual will play a key role in driving a quality-focused culture across engineering teams by establishing standardized quality metrics for New Product Introduction (NPI), process compliance, and product performance. The role is critical in promoting accountability, continuous improvement, and transparency across the product lifecycle.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Develop and implement quality metrics at three levels: NPI, process adherence, and final product performance. Engage with cross-functional engineering teams to embed Design Quality Assurance practices from concept through launch. Partner with all active projects to monitor compliance with engineering deliverables and ensure alignment to quality standards. Establish and manage a framework for DQA tracking, reporting, and audit readiness. Lead efforts to define and evolve both leading and lagging indicators for design and engineering from concept to validation and verification. Provide data-driven insights and regular updates to leadership on quality trends, risks, and improvement opportunities. Drive accountability for process execution and quality performance across project teams. Act as a quality gatekeeper at key milestones, ensuring all quality and compliance criteria are met before progressing. Support root cause analysis and corrective actions related to design quality issues.

 Relationship Management and Deliverables:

Foster a culture of ownership for quality within engineering teams. Champion consistency in quality practices across engineering functions. Collaborate with peers in Product Management, Operations, and Supply Chain to align on quality expectations. Track, analyze, and report key metrics for product quality and engineering process health. Serve as a subject matter expert for design compliance and best practices in quality assurance.

 Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Quality Management, or a related technical field 8+ years of experience in design quality, engineering quality, or related roles in a product development environment. 4+ years of people leadership experience Deep understanding of product lifecycle stages and design control frameworks. Demonstrated experience developing and deploying engineering quality metrics and performance indicators. Demonstrated experience in leading organizational change and driving cultural adoption of process excellence. Familiarity with industry standards and compliance frameworks (e.g., ISO 9001, AHRI, ASHRAE, UL, ASME). Strong analytical mindset with the ability to identify patterns and drive data-informed decisions. Excellent interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills.

Preferred Experience

Master’s degree in engineering, Quality Management, or a related technical field Proficiency in quality tools and methodologies (e.g., FMEA, Root Cause Analysis, CAPA). Experience working with PLM systems and quality management tools. Track record of driving enterprise-wide quality improvements or transformation efforts. Comfortable working in a fast-paced, matrixed environment with evolving priorities. Willingness to travel up to 10% annually, based on business needs.

 Daikin Applied offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements

Multiple Medical insurance plan options + Dental and Vision insurance 401K retirement plan with employer contributions matching 100% of the first 3% an employee contributes and 50% on the next 2% of employee contributions Company provided life insurance + optional employee-paid voluntary life insurance, dependent life coverage, and voluntary accident coverage. Short-term and long-term disability 120 hours (3 weeks) Paid Time Off for new employees + 11 company-paid holidays 40 hours (1 week) Sick Time

The typical salary for this position ranges from $100,800 - $145,000 + 15% variable bonus in  in MN plus a 25% annual variable bonus. The range displayed represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade in which this position falls. Individual base pay will depend on a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.