Ball Corporation
Quality Specialist Launch Team
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Quality Specialist Launch Team
Further your career at Ball, a world leader in manufacturing sustainable aluminium packaging
Achieve extraordinary things when you join our team, and make a difference in your professional development, the community, and around the globe!
Ball is thrilled to receive Newsweek's 2023 Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplace award. As a sustainable product leader, we have over 16,000 global team members. From endlessly recyclable aluminium cans, cups, to aerosol bottles, our goal is to contribute to a better community, society, and world.
About the Role
Ball is seeking a Quality Excellence Specialist (Start-Up/Process Excellence) in [Location].
Primary Purpose of the Position
Working as part of a team of Process experts, the role is responsible predominantly for:
- New Build, New Line and Line Conversion start-up performance
- Ensuring compliance with environmental regulations
- Optimising processes relating to quality and chemical usage
- Driving efficiency, spoilage reduction, and overall start-up performance excellence
This position requires a proven track record in quality with outstanding performance in managing complex start-ups while maintaining alignment with approved performance curves.
Core Responsibilities
Quality and Performance Excellence
- Achieve efficiency and spoilage targets for all new builds, lines, and conversions, driving these towards stable and capable operations in alignment with approved ramp-up curves.
- Assume leadership for quality performance during the start-up phase, ensuring 100% compliance, consistency, and product specification adherence from first production through handover.
- Continuously monitor processes, materials, and outputs during start-ups to detect and resolve quality or food safety deviations in real time.
Process and Operational Support
- Head inspections and audits to ensure:
- Local quality teams implement procedural checks, material inspections, and product audits to standard requirements.
- Gauge and measurement equipment correctness through calibration, validation, and routine monitoring, supporting EMEA as the operational specialist.
- Track quality trends and performance indicators, proactively addressing signals of process variation and driving corrective or preventive actions.
Regulatory Compliance and Training
- Support the Plant Quality Manager in implementing and maintaining quality systems, including ISO 9001, HACCP, and other relevant food safety/quality compliance frameworks.
- Implement SOPs, SPC controls, and quality management tools during start-up to ensure process consistency and repeatability.
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Workforce Development and Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Train production and quality staff in:
- Process understanding
- Quality expectations
- Defect prevention and inspection standards
- Food safety practices
- Ensure trained backups for critical quality roles guarantee operational continuity post-launch.
Customer Focused Problem Solving
- Collaborate with Production, Engineering, and Maintenance to eliminate production defects, reduce variability, and bolster process robustness during the entire start-up lifecycle.
- Analyse customer complaints throughout the launch phase, contributing to root cause analysis, corrective actions, and supplier quality enhancements.
New Product Development and Expansion
- Support new product design introductions, ensuring quality and food safety requirements are fully implemented from trial through ramp-up to full-scale operations.
Operational Excellence
- Provide ongoing support for corrective interventions, leveraging:
- Problem-solving skills
- Technical troubleshooting
- Emergency breakdown resolution
- Lead size conversions, ensuring safe and flexible production model transitions that enhance long-term capability.
Legal and Operational Standards Implementation
- Drive implementation of Ball Operating Excellence (BOE) standards to Level 3, including:
- Safety
- Quality
- Business management
- Maintenance
Experience and Requirements
Education and Qualifications
- College degree/diploma in a related field OR
- Equivalent qualifications from high school plus relevant work experience.
- Minimum Train-the-Trainer qualification (effective training strategies mandatory).
Experience
- Minimum 5 years in can/aluminium packaging manufacturing, preferably with expertise in either:
- Line build-up strategy
- Process optimisation
- Quality assurance
- Experience within Quality Assurance or Field Service departments, with demonstrated expertise in:
- Lean manufacturing techniques
- Root-cause problem-solving
- SPC applications
- Continuous process improvement.
- 3+ years in a similar position with documented achievement, focusing on quality assurance, customer and technical support.
- Field experience preferred in line launches or rebuild projects.
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Key Competencies
| Technical | Soft Skills |
|---|---|
| Deep understanding of full can-making process (material, technology, and product specifications). | Passionate about employee development, mentoring, and coaching. |
| Specialised equipment understanding, troubleshooting capabilities and optimisation focus. | Win-win mindset: Mastery of autonomous and collaborative influential behaviours. |
| Advanced data-driven decision-making skills, including reporting, analysis, and reagents. | Formidable problem solver committed to continuous improvement. |
| ISO, food safety, audit, and compliance experience preferred. | Multicultural collaboration within cross-functional teams. |
| Certifications: Green Belt Certification (Lean or Six Sigma) preferred. | Proactive attitude with a results-driven approach. |
| Strong ability to encompass and instruct can-making processes, training others effectively. | High detail-oriented focus: Adept at identifying and acting on process oversight. |
Benefits and Culture
At Ball, we are committed to fostering a supportive, diverse and inclusive workplace that embodies our values.
What Makes Us Stand Out
- Global, ethical leaders in sustainable aluminium packaging – cans, cups, and aerosol solutions that shape a healthier planet through core focus on recyclability.
- Award-winning workplace recognised by Newsweek’s Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplace.
- Strong diversity and inclusion culture rooted in a belonging mindset.
- Opportunities for personal and professional growth within a worldwide network of over 16,000 team members.
Equal Opportunities Employment Aligned with Our Mission
Ball Corporation remains an Equal Opportunity Employer – welcoming applications without discrimination based on:
- Gender
- Age
- Ethnicity
- Faith
- Ability
- Orientation or background.
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