Upstream Manufacturing Associate Jobs in Lexington, KY

Overview
Gray Construction is looking to add a Vice President, Quality to our leadership team.
The Vice President, Quality leads and advances Gray's national construction quality program, overseeing field quality assurance and control, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and the prevention of quality risks across design, procurement, and construction. In partnership with Business Excellence, this role drives execution of Gray's Total Quality Management System (TQMS) on active projects and ensures quality evolves as Gray grows.
As a strategic enterprise leader, the Vice President, Quality sets quality priorities across all business units, projects, and markets. Working across Engineering, Design, Procurement, Estimating, Operations, and Construction, this role influences senior leaders to address systemic issues before they reach the field, fostering a culture of quality, reducing risk, and driving continuous improvement. While Business Excellence defines the enterprise standard, this leader brings it to life in the field and uses project insights to strengthen the system for the future.
Responsibilities
Why Gray?
Gray is a fully integrated, global service provider deeply rooted in engineering, design, and construction, along with smart manufacturing and equipment manufacturing services. Consistently ranked as a leader in the industry, we focus on the following markets for domestic and international customers: Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Data Centers, Distribution, and Advanced Technology.
Founded in 1960, Gray's robust offering enables us to create one-of-a-kind solutions at the highest levels of customization, delivering unmatched precision and partnership to some of the world's most sophisticated organizations. Still, these areas don't define Gray-our people do. Passion, commitment, and a great team spirit all speak to the team members at Gray.
"Personal growth precedes Gray's growth." - Stephen Gray, President & CEO, Gray, Inc.
What We Expect

• Oversees and leads all aspects of construction quality control and assurance across every active project nationally.
• Leads and mentors a team of quality professionals embedded with project teams in the field.
• Designs and enforces quality assurance processes and inspections across all phases of construction.
• Owns project-level root cause analysis and drives corrective and preventive action.
• Accountable for reducing rework, warranty exposure, and quality-related business risk across the portfolio.
• Holds a formal seat in constructability reviews and equipment/material standards discussions with other Gray teams, with authority to flag and escalate systemic issues before they reach the field.
• Establishes quality standards, governance, and escalation paths, holding business units and project teams accountable for quality performance.
• Owns the feedback loop tracking defects, RFIs, and warranty claims back to upstream design or procurement decisions, and routes findings to the responsible department to drive standard updates.
• Drives a culture of collaboration and proactive defect prevention across design, procurement, and execution, not after-the-fact conformity checking.
• Owns and maintains the construction-specific section of Gray's Quality Manual as an extension of the enterprise TQMS governed by the Business Excellence department, covering site inspection procedures, phase-specific QC/QA, and root cause protocols.
• Partners with the Business Excellence department to align field practices with enterprise quality standards, KPI frameworks, and ISO 9001 requirements.
• Provides guidance and mentorship to team members, fostering their professional growth and developing future leaders in quality management.
• Communicates lessons learned and quality trends to company leadership and project teams.
• Alongside Gray's Learning & Development team, develops and implements training programs for team members on quality standards, best practices, and compliance requirements to foster a culture of quality throughout Gray.
• Develops, implements, and continuously improves inspection processes, root cause tracking, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive quality execution, proactively prevent issues, and measure project and business performance.
• Responsible for leading a team that provides project specific quality plans during a proposal phase that can be carried into execution.
• Other duties may be assigned.

Qualifications
Who We Want

• Bachelor's or technical/associate degree in a related field, and 15 years of related experience in construction; or the equivalent total of both.
• A minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role managing quality teams and multi-project or enterprise-level quality initiatives, not single-project oversight alone.
• Proven track record building or transforming a construction quality program at a comparably sized or larger design-build firm or general contractor.
• Deep proficiency in quality processes, inspection techniques, and regulatory requirements, and demonstrated experience partnering cross-functionally with design, procurement, and operations leadership to resolve quality issues upstream of the field.
• Familiarity with commissioning processes is a plus.
• Excellent communication skills and executive presence.

The new team member should be an energetic, self-motivated individual who enjoys a team environment, as well as a passion for collaboration and professional development. If you are a high achiever striving to exceed expectations in a fast-paced innovative company, then Gray is the place for you.
The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Physical Demands & Work Environment
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
This role is primarily based in a professional office environment. Frequent visits to active construction sites are required to observe operations, assess quality-related matters, and engage with project teams. The individual must be able to safely navigate construction sites, including walking uneven terrain, climbing stairs or ladders, and complying with all site-specific safety requirements. Must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 lbs, and occasionally lift or move up to 50 lbs. Specific vision abilities include accurate near and distant vision
Generally, normal office environment where noise level is moderate and temperature/humidity is controlled. Overtime may be required. This position requires travel to active project sites nationally, including the ability to fly or drive to job site locations as needed.
Supervisory Responsibilities
This position will have direct supervision of other team members within strategy, continuous improvement and TQMS functions.
Gray is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes everyone to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
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