Quality Manager
Life Fitness
Join us as we empower the world to work out, creating healthier lives together.
At Life Fitness / Hammer Strength, we’re not just building equipment—we’re shaping the future of fitness. Our legacy as pioneers in fitness innovation drives us to deliver the most durable, high-performance, and reliable solutions in the industry. As a Quality Manager at our Owatonna, MN, manufacturing facility, you’ll lead a team dedicated to ensuring every product carrying our name upholds the highest standards of performance, precision, and quality.
Reporting to the Plant Manager, you’ll set team direction, establish schedules, and define key objectives—balancing business needs, timelines, and functional goals. You’ll develop and coordinate a team that recognizes opportunities for quality and process improvements, guiding them through all required assurance and inspection activities to ensure the production of world-class quality products.
As our Quality Manager, you’ll oversee the full scope of quality functions within the manufacturing process, including Incoming Quality Control, the Metrology Lab, and Process Quality Assurance, and ensure conformity of products to specified quality standards by performing in-process visual, mechanical, and electrical inspections and testing. You’ll also play a key role in the product development cycle, ensuring quality is built into every new product.
As a Quality Manager at Life Fitness / Hammer Strength, you will:
- Drive change and improvements throughout the manufacturing facility.
- Manages a team of Quality Engineers and Technicians within a manufacturing facility with multiple shifts.
- Responsible for training and managing both the in-process and finished goods audit programs.
- Manages the cross-functional Material Review Board process within the facility in relation to nonconforming results/products.
- Responsible for managing the corrective action process within the facility in relation to any nonconforming KPIs.
- Responsible for reviewing plant specific KPIs, creating reports, and communicating any unfavorable findings during the various regularly scheduled team meetings.
- Manage product hold process for products that do not meet specified quality requirements.
- Ensures proper representation of Quality in the applicable product development teams.
- Participates in product development meetings to ensure product quality.
- Provides feedback, schedule, and budget details to the new product development teams.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
What Life Fitness / Hammer Strength is looking for in our Quality Manager:
Required
- BS or MS in Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Five years of experience in a leadership role in manufacturing environment
- Three years experience in quality assurance.
- Leadership skills including verbal and written communication skills, mentoring, and constructive feedback, ability to influence & negotiate at all levels, independent thinking, and strong organizational and planning abilities.
- Ability to multitask in a fast paced and dynamic production-related environment.
- Process-oriented, results-driven, and customer-focused with a positive can-do attitude.
- Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.
- Working knowledge of phased New Product Design process.
- Six Sigma / DFSS background, strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Proficient in standard MS Office software applications.
- Working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015
Preferred
- ASQ Certified Quality Manager (CQM) or Certified Quality Engineer (CQE).
- Oracle experience.
- Power BI experience.
- Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Green Belt, and/or Lean manufacturing/continuous improvement experience.
- Awareness of other third-party quality certifications like AS9100, IATF 16949, etc.
- Expert level working knowledge of multiple different quality tools including but not limited to 8D, 5Y, APQP, IFD, 4C, etc.
Working Conditions:
This role would be a combination of shop floor and office environment. The noise level in the office is generally moderate. The noise level on the shop floor is excessively noisy. Occasionally lift up to 35 lbs.
At Life Fitness / Hammer Strength, we think customer first, play as one team, and raise the bar on fitness innovation—in the gym and in every corner of our facilities. We persevere and get it done, with a clear purpose to inspire each other to live healthier lives. If you’re ready to bring out the best in people while powering the future of fitness manufacturing, we invite you to apply.
Want to take the next step in your career? Life Fitness / Hammer Strength takes pride in our talented employees and believes in providing opportunities for further growth and advancement. We encourage you to test your strengths, push your limits, and unleash your potential. If you feel the position is right for you, we invite you to apply. We’ll work with you closely to support you throughout the hiring process. If your CV/ resume shows that your skills and experience have synergy with the job description, then we’ll hop on a call to get to know you and your experience and discuss the position in more detail. If it’s not the right opportunity this time, we’ll always let you know.
Life Fitness / Hammer Strength offers a comprehensive package of benefits for full-time team members, including, but not limited to: a 401(k) savings plan with 4% employer match; medical, dental and vision insurance, parental, medical and military leaves of absence, paid time off, including 12 paid holidays throughout the calendar year, paid vacation days beginning at 13 days annually, paid sick leave as provided under state and local paid sick leave laws, company paid short-term disability and optional long-term disability, health savings account, health care and dependent care reimbursement accounts, employee and dependent life insurance and supplemental life and AD&D insurance, hospital indemnity; identity protection, legal services, adoption assistance, tuition assistance, commuter benefits, employee discounts, and an employee assistance program that includes free counseling sessions. Eligibility for benefits is governed by the applicable plan documents and policies.
Life Fitness / Hammer Strength is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply. Life Fitness / Hammer Strength complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding employment, recruitment and hiring. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
There continues to be a significant increase in phishing attempts across all industries where fraudsters are impersonating real employees and sending fictitious job offers to applicants in a scheme to obtain sensitive information. Please note that Life Fitness/Hammer Strength will never ask for your financial information at any part of the interview process, including the post-offer stage, and will only correspond through “@lifefitness.com” or "@indoorcycling.com" domain email addresses or “lifefitness@myworkday.com” for U.S. opportunities.
Life Fitness/Hammer Strength does not accept applications, inquiries or solicitations from unapproved staffing agencies or vendors.