The Vice President of Quality is the senior executive responsible for product quality, regulatory and contractual compliance, and the effectiveness of the enterprise Quality Management System across the company's CONUS and OCONUS operations. This executive will develop and execute a scalable quality strategy supporting the design, production, delivery, and sustainment of unmanned aircraft systems and related aerospace products. The role will establish consistent quality standards, processes, accountability, and performance across multiple manufacturing facilities, suppliers, and contract manufacturing partners. Working closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Programs, Flight Operations, and executive leadership, the Vice President of Quality will ensure products conform to engineering requirements, customer commitments, and applicable aerospace and defense standards.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the enterprise quality strategy in alignment with company growth, production objectives, customer commitments, and international expansion.
Establish a consistent quality operating model, governance structure, and performance standards across all manufacturing facilities.
Advise executive leadership on product quality, compliance exposure, operational risk, and quality-related business decisions.
Build a culture in which quality is owned throughout the organization and incorporated into design, sourcing, manufacturing, delivery, and sustainment.
Develop the organizational structure, leadership capability, systems, and resources required to support continued growth.
Own the development, implementation, certification, and continuous improvement of the enterprise Quality Management System.
Ensure compliance with AS9100, ISO 9001, contractual requirements, and other applicable aerospace, defense, regulatory, and country-specific standards.
Standardize core quality processes across CONUS and OCONUS facilities while addressing legitimate customer, regulatory, and operational differences.
Oversee internal and external audits, certification activities, customer assessments, regulatory inspections, management reviews, and corrective actions.
Ensure new facilities, acquisitions, international operations, and production transfers are incorporated into the enterprise QMS in a disciplined and timely manner.
Maintain effective controls for quality records, configuration, document management, calibration, product traceability, and change management.
Establish quality planning and assurance throughout the product lifecycle, from design and development through production, acceptance, delivery, and field support.
Ensure effective implementation of production-readiness reviews, first-article inspection, process validation, inspection planning, control plans, and product-acceptance processes.
Provide independent oversight of product conformity, testing, acceptance, release, and delivery documentation.
Oversee nonconforming-material controls, Material Review Board processes, root-cause investigations, and corrective and preventive actions.
Establish appropriate controls for special processes, critical characteristics, counterfeit-parts prevention, foreign-object damage prevention, and product safety.
Support disciplined production ramp-up while protecting product conformity, reliability, and customer requirements.
Lead or oversee investigations of significant product failures, quality escapes, flight anomalies, and field-reported issues.
Partner with Engineering to incorporate quality requirements into product designs, specifications, test plans, configuration baselines, and verification and validation activities.
Ensure manufacturing and supplier-quality risks are addressed early in product development and new-product introduction.
Participate in design reviews, configuration control, production-readiness decisions, product-safety reviews, and engineering change processes.
Ensure lessons learned from production and field performance are translated into improvements to designs, processes, training, and supplier controls.
Establish an enterprise supplier-quality strategy based on product criticality, supplier capability, and supply-chain risk.
Oversee supplier qualification, audits, surveillance, source inspection, performance management, and corrective-action processes.
Ensure appropriate flow-down and verification of technical, contractual, regulatory, and quality requirements.
Partner with Supply Chain and Engineering to develop supplier capability, resolve chronic performance issues, and reduce incoming defects and supplier escapes.
Maintain effective quality controls for outsourced manufacturing, special processes, and international suppliers.
Serve as the senior quality representative to customers, government agencies, certification bodies, and other external stakeholders.
Maintain effective relationships with government quality representatives and customer quality organizations.
Ensure compliance with contractual quality clauses, government oversight requirements, source inspection, product acceptance, conformity, and delivery requirements.
Lead the company’s response to significant customer concerns, corrective-action requests, findings, and product escapes.
Ensure material product-quality, safety, or compliance issues are reported accurately, transparently, and promptly.
Monitor applicable U.S. and international regulatory developments and ensure company quality systems remain compliant.
Implement common quality standards, metrics, and reporting across geographically dispersed operations.
Ensure OCONUS facilities comply with applicable local requirements while remaining aligned with the enterprise QMS.
Establish clear accountability between enterprise quality leadership and site quality organizations.
Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing global quality team, including site quality leaders, quality engineering, supplier quality, and QMS compliance personnel.
Establish executive dashboards covering first-pass yield, cost of poor quality, scrap and rework, supplier and customer escapes, corrective-action aging, audit findings, and customer satisfaction.
Use quality data, Lean principles, statistical methods, and structured problem-solving to reduce variation and improve process capability.
Conduct regular reviews of site performance, staffing, capability, audit results, and operational risk.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, quality, manufacturing, aviation, or a related technical discipline.
At least 15 years of progressively responsible aerospace, defense, or similarly regulated manufacturing experience.
At least seven years of senior quality leadership experience, including responsibility for multiple manufacturing locations.
Demonstrated experience leading quality for complex aerospace or electromechanical products.
Extensive knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, first-article inspection, configuration management, corrective action, supplier quality, and aerospace manufacturing controls.
Experience working directly with major customers, government quality representatives, regulatory authorities, and certification bodies.
Demonstrated success building or scaling an enterprise QMS across multiple facilities.
Experience supporting new-product introduction, production ramp-up, facility start-up, or manufacturing transfers.
Strong understanding of design assurance, manufacturing quality, supplier quality, product acceptance, and field-quality processes.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex investigations and make sound, risk-based decisions under pressure.
Ability to travel regularly within the United States and internationally.
Ability to obtain and maintain any security clearance or export authorization required for the position.

Nice to have

Master’s degree in engineering, quality, aviation, business administration, managementoperations, or a related discipline.
Experience with unmanned aircraft systems, aircraft production, avionics, propulsion, composites, or defense electronics.
Experience supporting Department of Defense programs and government source-inspection or product-acceptance activities.
Experience establishing or integrating quality systems at international manufacturing facilities.
Familiarity with applicable FAA, EASA, CAA, NATO, or military aviation requirements.
Experience with AS9145, AS9102, AS9115, AS13100, or comparable aerospace quality frameworks.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, Certified Quality Engineer, or comparable certification.

Benefits

Competitive total compensation package
Comprehensive benefit package options include medical, dental, vision, life, and more.
401k with company-match
3 weeks of paid time off each year
40 hours of sick time
12 annual company holidays