Job Title: Quality Manager
Goleta, CA, US, 93117
SUMMARY:
The Quality Manager is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating Quality Assurance and Quality Control processes, personnel, and systems for PDT. The role leads the AS9100-certified Quality Management System, supports compliance and audit readiness, oversees inspection, calibration, nonconformance, MRB, FAI, and source-inspection activities, and drives continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and quality performance across the organization.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Quality Management System (QMS):
- Lead and maintain compliance to the AS9100-certified Quality Management System, ensuring continuous improvement of quality policies, procedures, process controls, document control, CAPA, risk management, training, audits, and nonconformance management.
- Serve as the site Management Representative and lead certification, customer, regulatory, and internal audits while ensuring compliance with customer, contractual, aerospace, regulatory, and company quality requirements.
- Develop, monitor, analyze, and report key quality performance indicators including First Pass Yield, Cost of Poor Quality, defect rates, nonconformance trends, supplier performance, customer escapes, audit findings, and corrective action effectiveness to drive data-based decision making, operational excellence, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to improve quality, efficiency, cost, delivery, risk reduction, and customer satisfaction.
- Oversee incoming, in-process, and outgoing quality inspections, final verification, validation, product release activities, Certificates of Conformance, and calibration systems to ensure product conformity and compliance.
- Conduct and approve First Article Inspections in accordance with AS9102 and product qualification requirements.
- Review and approve quality-related ECOs and support engineering changes, new product introductions (NPI), production readiness reviews, and manufacturing process controls to ensure quality requirements are effectively implemented.
- Demonstrated ability and willingness to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, work quality, and to reduce costs. The successful candidate must be able to identify appropriate AI use cases and critically evaluate AI-generated outputs.
Personnel Management:
- Lead, coach, and develop Quality Assurance and Quality Control personnel to achieve quality objectives and support business needs.
- Establish team priorities, manage performance and workforce development, and promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and quality ownership.
- Collaborate with Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program Management to ensure effective quality planning and execution.
Customer Quality:
- Serve as the primary customer interface for quality-related matters, including audits, source inspections, corrective actions, complaints, and quality escapes.
- Ensure customer quality requirements are reviewed, communicated, and effectively deployed throughout the organization.
- Support new product introduction, engineering changes, product qualification, First Article Inspection (AS9102), production readiness reviews, and product release activities.
Supplier and Customer Quality:
- Partner with Supply Chain to develop, monitor, and improve supplier quality performance through qualification, audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Ensure supplier quality requirements are clearly defined, communicated, and achieved.
- Oversee incoming inspection activities, supplier nonconformance management, and supplier performance metrics to minimize risk and support operational objectives.
- Ensure quality requirements are reviewed during contract review and effectively deployed throughout the organization.
POSITION CRITERIA:
Candidate must demonstrate practical quality leadership in a regulated technical manufacturing environment, strong working knowledge of aerospace quality systems, and the ability to balance strategic QMS leadership with day-to-day QA/QC execution.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or related field.
- Minimum 8 years of quality experience in aerospace, defense, medical device, or other highly regulated manufacturing environments.
- Minimum 3 years of leadership or management experience, including experience leading and developing personnel.
- Experience maintaining certified Quality Management Systems.
- Position is subject to ITAR restrictions
Work Conditions include:
- Required to work with hazardous chemicals
- May be exposed to environment with loud noise and extreme temperatures.
Tools Used:
- UniPoint Quality Management System, including CAPA Management, Nonconformance Management, Audit Management, Training Management, Document Control, Supplier Quality Management, and Quality Metrics Reporting.
- Oracle ERP System, including manufacturing records, material traceability, inventory management, supplier performance monitoring, work order management, and operational reporting.
- Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, and Visio; Power BI and statistical analysis tools preferred.
- Inspection and measuring equipment such as calipers, micrometers, height gauges, thread gauges, pin gauges, surface plate equipment, functional test equipment, CMM reports, and inspection systems.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation and holiday pay.
- Comprehensive health benefits and 401(k) plans.
- Generous paid time off per year
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Nearest Major Market: Santa Barbara
Nearest Secondary Market: Santa Maria