Head of Quality & Build Reliability

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Hermeus is a high‑speed aircraft manufacturer focused on the rapid design, build, and test of high‑Mach and hypersonic aircraft for the national interest. Working directly with the Department of Defense, Hermeus delivers capabilities that will ensure that our nation, and our allies, maintain an asymmetric advantage over any and all potential adversaries.

We are seeking a hands‑on, pragmatic, and technically astute Head of Quality & Build Reliability to establish, implement, and enforce the quality systems that will enable us to build and maintain production aircraft to DoD standards. This leader will guide the company through the critical transition from experimental X‑plane development toward prototype and production builds, ensuring we execute with discipline while maintaining the speed required of a high‑performance aerospace organization.

This person will build and lead a small, high‑performing team of quality‑focused employees and collaborate deeply with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and program leadership. They will ensure quality becomes an accelerator—improving manufacturability, reliability, and production flow—rather than a barrier to progress. The role requires strong technical judgment, a willingness to work on the factory floor, and the leadership capability to scale quality systems for production operations.

• Quality Strategy & Leadership
• Build, manage, and develop a high‑performing Quality & Build Reliability team.
• Establish the strategic roadmap to prepare the organization for production‑oriented quality operations.
• Foster a proactive, prevention‑oriented quality culture that emphasizes accountability, rapid problem‑solving, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a hands‑on technical leader deeply engaged with manufacturing and engineering activities.
• Quality Systems & Compliance
• Create, document, implement, and maintain a digital Quality Management System (QMS) aligned with AS9100, ISO
  9001, ISO
  27001, and DoD quality and FAR/DFARS requirements.
• Lead all certification, audit, and surveillance activities for QMS compliance.
• Ensure all production, inspection, and documentation processes meet DoD and airworthiness requirements.
• Manufacturing, Assembly & Production Quality
• Oversee quality for internal manufacturing and assembly processes, including receiving inspection, in‑process inspections, acceptance testing, calibration and metrology.
• Develop production‑ready quality processes, documentation, and controls in advance of scaling to prototype and production builds.
• Lead nonconformance, MRB, and RCA/RCCA processes; ensure rapid turnaround, clear decision‑making, and deep root‑cause analysis.
• Create and maintain standard repair documentation to enable controlled and efficient rework.
• Design Collaboration & Build Reliability
• Partner with engineering and advanced development teams, as we design the production vehicle, to improve Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Test (DFT), Design for Reliability (DFR), and Configuration Management rigor.
• Provide early, actionable quality feedback to accelerate design maturation and reduce quality escapes.
• Define, track, and improve build reliability metrics across programs.
• Regulatory Certification & Airworthiness
• Support efforts to obtain and maintain Type Certification, Production Approval, and Operational Certification for unmanned aircraft systems.
• Ensure compliance with FAA regulations applicable to UAV certification, especially Part 21, 23, 91, and 135.
• Provide quality oversight for conformity inspections, airworthiness release documentation, and production airworthiness processes.
• Sustainment, Field Quality & Lifecycle Management
• Oversee sustainment quality including field returns, service‑life management, and fleet reliability tracking.
• Lead root‑cause investigations for in‑field failures and drive durable preventative actions.
• Technical Competencies
• Ensure…