Optical Design Engineer Jobs in Houston, TX (NOW HIRING)

Amphenol Communications Solutions (ACS), a division of Amphenol Corporation, is a world leader in interconnect solutions for Communications, Mobile, RF, Optics, and Commercial electronics markets. Amphenol Corporation is one of the world’s largest designers and manufacturers of electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors and interconnect systems, antennas, sensors and sensor-based products and coaxial and high-speed specialty cable. ACS has an expansive global presence in research and development, manufacturing, and sales. We design and manufacture a wide range of innovative connectors as well as cable assemblies for diverse applications including server, storage, data center, mobile, RF, networking, industrial, business equipment, and automotive.

Position: Customer Quality Engineer

Location: Houston, TX & Guadalajara, MX

Amphenol High Speed Products Group is the market leader for high speed, high bandwidth electrical connectors for the Telecom/Datacom market (Mobile Networks, Storage, Servers, Routers, Switches, etc.). Our products help to enable the electronics revolution and remain a key enabler for all the major Tier 1 OEMs globally. We have design, sales, and manufacturing locations globally and are currently seeking a Customer Quality Engineer to join our Cable Backplane Solutions team located in Houston, TX or Guadalajara, MX.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

We're hiring a Customer Quality Engineer (CQE) to be the primary technical interface between our customers and internal teams on all product quality topics. You'll lead customer issue resolution, drive corrective and preventive actions, analyze data to spot trends, and champion the Voice of the Customer (VoC) across design, manufacturing/operations, and support. Your work reduces defects and escapes, improves customer satisfaction, and protects our reputation in market.

• Customer Advocacy & Communication
  • Serve as the customer-facing owner for quality topics, ensuring timely, clear, and professional updates on issues, risks, and resolutions.
  • Translate customer feedback (VoC) into actionable requirements, defect reports, and improvement projects.
  • Manage customer portals/scorecards, track performance, and coordinate responses to audits and surveys.
• Issue Management & Root Cause
  • Lead structured problem solving (8D, 5 Whys, Ishikawa/Fishbone, DMAIC) for customer complaints, field returns, and escalations.
  • Own CAPA lifecycle (containment, root cause verification, corrective & preventive actions, effectiveness checks).
  • Define and track SLAs/SLOs for response and resolution; escalate risks early.
• Quality Planning & Risk Control
  • Partner with Design/Engineering, Manufacturing/Operations, and Supplier Quality to prevent recurrence and design in quality.
  • Maintain risk artifacts (e.g., FMEA, Control Plans, APQP); ensure change control and deviation/waiver handling reflect customer commitments.
  • Manufacturing/Hardware - SPC, MSA/Gage R support first-article inspections and process validations.
• Data, Metrics & Continuous Improvement
  • Build and maintain dashboards for DPPM/PPM, defects per release, complaint rate, escape rate, turnaround times, warranty/return trends, and customer scorecards.
  • Identify and prioritize systemic improvements that reduce variation, cycle time, and cost of poor quality (COPQ).
  • Collaborate with Supplier Quality on supplier-caused issues impacting customers; ensure closed-loop corrective action.
  • Compliance & Audits (as applicable)
  • Lead Gemba walks and introduce 5S methods
  • Train and lead on Six Sigma methods and practices using the DMAIC structure.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Must-Have

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Electrical, Quality) or closely related field; or equivalent experience.
• 37+ years in quality engineering or customer-facing technical roles with direct ownership of escalations and CAPA.
• Demonstrated expertise in root cause analysis (8D, 5 Whys, Ishikawa), corrective actions, and data-driven decision making.
• Strong communication skillsable to engage customers credibly, synthesize technical detail, and influence cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with quality/statistical tools (e.g., Minitab/JMP, Excel/Power Query; familiarity with Power BI/Tableau is a plus).

Nice-to-Have

• ASQ CQE, Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, or Certified Internal Auditor (ISO 9001).
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, FMEA, Control Plans, SPC, and MSA (manufacturing) or with incident postmortems, SLAs/SLOs, defect triage, and telemetry/observability (software).
• Familiarity with customer portals and enterprise systems (e.g., Salesforce/Service Cloud, ServiceNow, JIRA).
• Knowledge of GD&T, metrology/CMM, tolerance analysis, reliability testing, and field failure analysis (FA).

Attributes for Success

• Customer-first mindset with excellent follow-through and accountability.
• Analytical, organized, and calm under pressure; skilled at prioritizing multiple issues.
• Confident facilitator able to align cross-functional teams on corrective plans and timelines.

Amphenol Corporation is proud of our reputation as an excellent employer. Our focus is to provide the highest level of support and responsiveness to both our employees and our customers, the world's largest technology companies. Amphenol Corporation offers the opportunity for career growth within a global organization. We believe that Amphenol Corporation is unique in that every employee, regardless of his or her position, has the ability to positively impact the business.

Amphenol is an “Equal Opportunity Employer” - Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin. For additional company information please visit our website at https://www.amphenol-cs.com/